Don't Drown, Cassidy

When i first looked at this, i wasn't sure whats going on, so it took a few moments to understand whats going on. Usually, when an animal, lets say a dog, since this looks like a dog to me, mostly their shoulders, and head would be above water, because of the way they kick. I also cant tell if the tail ends, because it blends in with the background, and I cant see if it goes into the water.
the design looks good, i like the shading, i feel like you could have put something in the background, to get rid of that negative space, like stars, or something, if this is supposed to be outside.