Labrador's 'Immediate Regret' After Destroying Her Kiddie Pool Is Cracking People Up

Most Labrador retrievers love the water, but not all of these dogs are lucky enough to have both a big swimming pool and a kiddie wading pool to splash around in. A fox-red Labrador retriever named Mabel has made it her life's mission to figure out how to get her small blue wading pool (dubbed the Blue Pearl) to float in the big pool so she can ride around in it like her own private yacht. 

"Mabel is always causing some type of chaos," her owner, Khristen, told The Dodo in a video that's been viewed more than 838,000 times. The determined doggo — with her Dalmatian puppy sidekick never far behind — tried repeatedly to float in the Blue Pearl but ended up sinking it over and over. One day, Mabel got so frustrated that she ripped apart the Blue Pearl, then stared forlornly as a piece of it sank into the big pool. Khristen said, "There was immediate regret."

"The immediate regret was the most adorable thing I've seen in ages 😊," one viewer commented. Another joked, "Being so mad at your boat, you tear holes in it? Sounds like Mabel knows boating." One person was reminded of a specific TV character known for regretting his impulsive behavior: "Mabel ripping apart the Blue Pearl in frustration had some serious Homer Simpson energy to it." Several people suggested getting Mabel her own actual boat, along with a kayak, a surfboard, and even a Jet Ski.

Labrador retrievers are one of the top waterfowl dog breeds, descendants of the St. John's dogs bred in Newfoundland, Canada, around 500 years ago, long before Canada was a country. St. John's dogs loved the ocean and spent much time helping fishers haul in nets and lines and also diving into the water to retrieve dropped fish and gear. The larger descendants of these water-loving canines eventually became Newfoundland dogs, while their smaller descendants ultimately became Labrador retrievers. St. John's dogs no longer exist.

Modern Labrador retrievers have never lost that innate love of swimming and the water. Still used today by hunters to retrieve waterfowl such as ducks and geese, Labradors are one of the dog breeds with a double coat that consists of a water-repellant outer layer and an insulating undercoat, making them well-suited to splashing around in icy waters. Their thick tails — sometimes referred to as otter tails — function like rudders when these dogs swim, and their webbed feet easily propel them along.

As Mabel so clearly demonstrates, a desire to sail the seven seas just might be an inborn trait for this breed. "She's a sailor at heart. The open sea calls to her," one viewer wrote, while another remarked, "Living her best boat sinking life 😂."