"We'll have to have one at some point, then," Watson said. "Don't let me forgot that."

Hefting the stick high to get Nell's attention, he tossed it out into the water. Nell sprang after it, tail wagging. She pulled up short at the edge of the water, for a moment hesitating over just how wet she was willing to get. She glanced back at them, looking for some sort of approval which she evidently found, because she turned and bounded into the water. Apparently unbothered by the salt and the cold, she soon returned to the shore with the stick in her mouth.

Watson laughed. "You're a brave girl to go swimming in that," he said. "Come here, Nell. Give me the stick."

Nell wagged her tail, and sat, but didn't release her grip on her prize, either.