Reflecting On My Old Furry Friend – Pets Challenge!

 


This week’s I ♥ Hearts challenge is ‘Pets’, and I have no shortage of pet pics! My dogs are usually declared my models because, unlike my human family, they don’t complain about it! I usually wind up publishing a photo of my little Jack Russell, just because he’s so cute and animated, but this time I went with one of my Lab.

I love this pic, not just because of the reflection, but because that’s his normal expression - it’s just real.
This is Spanky and Spanky has been an incredible dog! I say ‘has been’ because Spanky will be 11 at the end of this month and so probably won’t be with us for many more years.

We originally purchased a female Labrador puppy from a relative.  My husband didn’t want a dog, but I really wanted my son, who was an only child, to have something to love and be responsible for. So hubby got a new truck and agreed to let me get a dog.  The female, Sassy, died of a congenital defect after we’d only had her a couple months.  We were heartbroke. Ironically, my husband, most of all! So,he insisted we go find another Lab two nights later.  We ended up with Spanky.  Spanky was the friskier pup of the two we looked at and that’s why my husband wanted him.  But a frisky Lab is A LOT of work!

Some of the antics of his puppyhood included dragging my son by his hoodie through the snow, tearing up every dish towel and pillowslip in the house, ripping my wrap-around skirt off of me, and he even dug through my vinyl floor when I left him in the bathroom all day!

It may sound like he was horrible, but he was just a Lab puppy. If you’ve ever had one, or seen Marley and Me, you know how rambunctious they can be, but you also know how they eventually calm down and are the best dogs you can have.

Spanky would never hurt anyone, he even cowers to my much smaller Jack Russell! His entire body seems to smile when you take him for a walk, and he ‘talks’ when you rub behind his ears. He sleeps with my son every night, even though he can barely make it up the steps any more; and the only real drawback to having him (since he calmed down) has been the dog hair.  If I could find a way to keep Labs from shedding, I’d have a more of them!

Thank you Spanky for being such a great friend! We hope to keep you happy and pain free for as long as you can remain with us!