If Jimmy Buffett personified endless summer, then so did Stanley for me.

“If there’s a heaven for me I’m sure it has a beach attached” -Jimmy Buffett

It seemed wistfully appropriate that news of Jimmy Buffett’s death came at the beginning of Labor Day weekend that demarcation point of summer’s symbolic end. Buffett embodied something his devoted fans held onto as the world grew so complex- the promise of an eternal summer- of white sand,  blue water, and gentle winds.

If Jimmy Buffett offered his Parrotheads an endless summer, that is exactly what my dog Stanley offered me.

Labor Day never signaled the end of summer for me, in fact, it was a beginning.

The next day, Tuesday was always the start of a second summer- the chance to bring Stanley to the beach with me full-time, no restrictions.

During high summer my beach did not permit dogs during prime hours so Stanley’s beach time was always after 5 o’clock. Glorious sunset swims were magical.

But post Labor Day, restrictions no longer applied, all bets were off and Stanley and I could spend all day together at the beach we both loved. Suddenly in early September, beloved dogs of all shapes and sizes would litter the beach, sitting with their owners under Tommy Bahama umbrellas, running in the salty surf, digging in the sand, their ebullience matched only by their owner’s own love. Along with the glorious light of the September sun, it was a glorious chance for me to be with my son unfettered, at a place together that meant so much to each of us.

“If there’s a heaven for me,” Jimmy Buffett said, “ I’m sure it has a beach attached.” And for me, that beach Heaven will be full of dogs.

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