I leaned so far I almost fell overboard. The driftwood bumped against Lady Tia’s shiny white hull. It bobbed up and down. It drifted close to my hands. “A-ha!” I scooped it out of the water. It was a huge clump of dripping wet seaweed. I laid it on deck and lifted handfuls of seaweed. I tossed the seaweed overboard. Underneath was a wide flat board. On the board was a very tiny, very wet puppy. The puppy’s eyes were closed tight. The tip of her little pink tongue hung out from her mouth. The puppy didn’t move. “Oh, Puppy,” I said. “I am so sorry. I should never have left you alone. I should never have let you fall overboard.” Very gently I picked up the puppy. I put her on my lap and rubbed her tummy. Water trickled from her mouth. She shivered. This was a good sign and a bad sign. It meant the pup was still alive, but she was very cold. I needed to warm her quickly. So I took off my wool sweater. I rubbed the pup all over. Then I tucked her inside my shirt. She snuggled against my stomach.
