Get another dog! That’s what everyone said when I had to put my wonderful Yellow Lab Sammy down last month. And I knew it couldn’t be a Lab, since I already had the best one in the world; it had to be a puppy, so he would imprint on me; and it couldn’t be black because they get so hot in the sun. (I didn’t say all my reasons were rational.)
So look who I ended up adopting today at the Mayor’s Alliance Adoption Fair in Central Park: an 18 month-old black Lab. I knew he was meant to be my dog the minute I saw him. I saved him from the Center for Animal Care and Control, where his number was up tomorrow. And he saved me from “the house sure is empty without a dog” blues. He even got a free microchip so I’ll get him back if he ever lands in a shelter. That’s George and my friend Anthony right after we sprang him.
UPDATE: I’ve changed his name to Teddy, “T” for short. So we are BL & T.
He soon grokked that he is safe
As soon as George (that’s his name, for now anyway) got to my house, he grokked that he has a permanent home now. He’s sleeping at my feet as I write, and as soon as he and the cat work things out, everything is going to be honky dory.
His death sentence was not entirely the CACC’s fault. There are so many unwanted dogs and only so much space and money. But what kind of human beings take their dog to a kill shelter when there are so many alternatives? They said they were moving and they couldn’t bring him. The answer to that is simple: move somewhere you can bring all of your family members.
Congrats to you and George! I noticed he’s smiling in the second picture once he was yours.
I did the same thing when I was hanging out in a lonely hotel room back in NJ after my last company was aquired and I was telecomutting. Adopted big yellow lab the kids renamed Newman on my return to Seattle. Dam near cost me my marriage though, getting second dog and sneaking him home. ;)
Labs are great dogs. Zoe is our first. She’s about 2 years old now. She’s a black lab.
I put up a couple of pics here:
http://lab-tested.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20
Anyway… a “Kill Shelter”? Sounds a bit like an oxymoron to me.
Sounds like you’re enjoying your new pet though and you’ll give it the love that it’s previous owners obviously couldn’t give him.
Way to go BL!
We have taken in many animals and it never ceases to amaze us how quickly they adapt to new surroundings and form a bond with us, no matter what age the animal or what it has gone through. With multiple animals, the pecking order is usually the biggest hurdle for them to overcome.
My wife decided to expand beyond cats and dogs this year, so we now a have couple of goats too:)
Derek
B.L. Congratulations on the new family member! He looks adorable and so well behaved. I wish you many many years of companionship.
Congratulations on the new addition to your family! I too adopted a black lab many years ago. She was two years old when we were blessed with her presence. But at least you got to name George. Her name was Sassy and she knew it so I didn’t want to change it. And now when people ask her name, I have to stop myself from saying, “Sassy…but I didn’t name her.” because Sassy is so not what I would have named her. But it definitely fits her personality, at least.
“I’ll hug him and squeeze him and call him George”
Give that precious hound a hug from me!
Jim: Is that a line from a song? a poem?
George’s happy with hugs, that’s for sure. he’s an affectionate little guy. Well, 65 pounds is little compared to my Sammy dog, who was 92. When they released him from the training program, Guiding Eyes told me that Sammy would be about 65 pounds. And he was, for about 15 minutes.
The vet says George probably won’t get much bigger. Now if he’d stop chasing the cat, we’d all be fine.
B.L.
Congratulations to you and George! I’m so glad you’ve found each other! From your emails, I know he’s a lucky, lucky critter.
Here’s wishing you both many, many happy healthy years together.
Donna
A good way to start the New Year. Hope the both of you have a good one.