Tell me about your puppy

11 years ago my 9 year old daughter's Peekapoo female died. She was not an inside dog, we rescued her from the pound after being a kennel dog for 10 yrs. We had just built a new home on 40 acres in the country and thought it was time to find my daughter a more suitable companion to accompany her on her 'critter gathering expeditions' (her knickname was Elly Mae Clampett. Always bringing home baby rabbits and such).

But anyway, we had never had a really 'good' inside dog but, wanted to give it a shot and do it up right. After doing our homework, we decided on a black Labrador Retriever, located a good breeder with a litter of 10 from which we had our pick. They were all jumping on the fence and goin apeshit, except for one. This black male was just sitting, watching, with a really intelligent look in his eyes. Against my daughter's wishes (she wanted one of the apeshit dogs) I had the breeder pull him out. He went straight to her and that was that.

We named him 'Boomer'.
He wasn't as laid back as he put on that first day, he was all puppy. We stuck to a very strict training routine for about 8 months though, and ended up with a very active but well trained dog.

As you all know though, God throws a devine curveball. One year after getting Boomer (seven yrs after a vasectomy) my wife gave birth to our 2nd, a boy. As my daughter grew, she was Boomer's sweetheart and he was always with her. He walked her to the school bus and was there to walk her back every day. He could hear the bus a half mile away when it turned off the state route, his eyes would light up, tail would wag. She was coming. He would wait for the bus to come to a stop and then he would run down the hill at 40 mph and meet her at the end of the driveway. Boomer loved all of us but, his world revolved around her.

As she grew up and went off to college, Boomer transitioned to being the boy's companion (although he still dearly loved the girl). It was the same drill; school bus,chasing him on his bike,sledriding,exploring the woods. Everybody who met this dog loved him and wanted to take him home. Smart, loving, funny, loyal, protective, he had it all.

Like I said, Boomer was 11 yrs old last month.
His legs started giving out last winter and he stopped eating last week. Monday he could no longer get up to go pee.

Tuesday was the end of Boomer's life, and one of the worst days of mine.
I called my daughter and told her to meet me at the humane society. When I told Boomer that we were going to see her, his eyes lit up and he wagged his tail a little. Watching her say goodbye to him, and him to her (because...he knew), broke my heart. She was his girl.

I brought him back home and laid him to rest overlooking the creek, where him, his girl, and his boy hunted salamanders. He loved apples, I'm going to plant him some Golden Delicious, his favorite. Because that's what a good friend and master does.

Yep. He got to me too.
When he wasn't helping me raise my kids, he was my hunting, fishing, 4 wheeling, and camping buddy. We've been to the tops of mountains together but, in the evening he was always at my feet. Not because I told him to, he saw me as the leader of the pack. And I promised him that I would always look after him.

So, here I am, teary eyed, telling you about one of the purest souls I've ever known... with possibly one just like him curled up next to my feet. I didn't tell her to either. Her name is Penelope (Penny for short), she's a 7 wk old black Lab who already adores the boy. He's 10 now. Here we go again...

The boy and I are going to gather Boomer's stone this evening, it's a 400 lb block of sandstone. We're going to engrave 2 words;

BOOMER

Unconditional



I know you all have stories too.

That was SO sweet, happy and sad. Best of luck with your new pup. My husband gave me a dog that is my best friend and although he's only 2, I can't even think about losing him without tearing up. We are in our 40's and don't have kids, so our dog and cats are our kids. I dread the day when I won't have one of them around anymore.

I'm going to go kiss some pets right now!

sorry too hear about Boomer like that,,,,I love all animals and they seem to like me,,I've hand fed wild raccoons,,,had a baby raccoon as a pet for a while,,had baby squirrells,,dogs,,a cat,,,,it sucks that they don't live as long as us,,seems you did the right thing though,,getting a new pet right away,,the longewr you wait the harder it gets,,but the faster you do it,,,the faster that void is filled,,,,good luck with the new pup

Bud...I'm not even gonna lie to you. That made me cry. I've only had my boy (Moose) for a year, and prior to him we had a 11 week old puppy succumb to parvo. So he is my first true pet. I don't come from a family that looks favorably among animals, so growing up I never really had an opinion of them. But now I know. I know the profound effect animals can have on your life. I have never known a love like his. Unconditional, unwavering, never disloyal...just always there for you. I am so so sorry for your loss. I wish you and your family the best, and may god bless you. May boomer finally be able to rest in peace. I'm truly sorry bud.

*Raises cup of water*...To boomer...

Aw, shit, here I am wiping tears away from my face. That... was a sad and beautiful story. Dogs (and cats, for that matter) are wonderful creatures and we're lucky to spend the kind of time we do as a species with them.

My first dog was a German Shepherd/Lab/Husky mix... huge thing... I had him from the time I was born until the time I was 9 years old. He was insanely intelligent, something I didn't really appreciate until I was much older. When I was a baby, he'd lay next to me and wash me constantly (I was NEVER clean enough)... he loved children, especially babies. One of my fondest memories of this dog was me sitting in the living room, coloring in a coloring book. He came and lay down next to me, watched what I was doing, picked up a crayon in his teeth and made marks with it across the page. I got mad at him for ruining the picture (HE COLORED OUTSIDE THE LINES DAMMIT) and getting drool on the page... but upon reflection, I'm amazed at how he was able to deduce the goal I was trying to achieve and took an active part in trying to help me achieve it. He was 11 or 12 when he died, all of his organs were failing and he was very ill. He went out with dignity, which is nothing less than what he deserved.

We adopted another dog from an animal shelter not long after he went... a sassy Australian Cattle Dog/Husky mix. He had one blue and one brown eye ... and loved to run and play. Not long after we got him, my mother was in a serious accident in which she was injured quite badly. While she was at home recovering, this puppy was growing up... and he developed a special bond with her that lasted until the day he died. She was HIS person... as far as he was concerned, she could walk on water, eat glass and shit ice cream. He was 13 when his time came ... rectal cancer was the culprit. When we took him to the vet, I wasn't letting myself cry... I needed to be strong for my mother, who was bawling her eyes out. Now, I've known my mother for 25 years now... and I can count the times I've seen her cry on one hand and still have fingers left over.

The vet's office we took him to was new in town... and it was (still is) a fantastic place. A few days after we put my dog out of his misery, we got a hand-written and sincere sympathy card from them. I was warmed by the gesture, it was nice of them to think of us that way. The day after that, they called us at our house... they had a gift for us, they said, and the next time we were in the area of the office we could stop by and pick it up. My older brother went ... and when he came home, he had a small plaster cast of my dog's pawprint .... embellished with his name and beautifully painted designs. I was stunned... and grateful. The pawprint has a place of honor in china cabinet, on prominent display to anyone who comes into the house. Needless to say, anyone I know that has pets has heard this story...and many of them are now faithful customers of that vet's office. They REALLY went the extra mile...

*sniffles, wipes eyes* what a way to start the day... It's good to tell these stories, though... that way our buddies are never forgotten.

Sorry to hear about that.

I lost my butterscotch labrador almost two years ago, to basically the same thing. Hips went out, couldnt get up... Worst part was that is was around the 4th of July, so we couldnt get him in to the vet. Had to put him to sleep a few days later.

I picked up a little friend from the breeder shortly after his death. He is a chocolate lab, and is part of the same bloodline as my previous labrador. It's amazing because he has some of the exact same mannerisms.

Sorry to hear about your freind,we have lost 9 that i can think of.The death of a pet does not get any easier with time.My wife could not have children,so we adopted dogs.Our first dog peteie,a alaskan malamute and border collie mix was the hardest to loose.His kidneys failed and we had to put him down when the dialisis(SP?) did not work.He went everywhere we did and was the best dog we have had.We had to spell backwards to keep things from him,and he soon learned that trick also.
We are down to 4 now from 8,and our oldest happy is still going strong at ten.The poodle is next at 8,there is nothing fo-fo about him.He was raised with 7 big dogs and is just as tough as they are.the twins are next at 3 and are just starting to settle down.
These will be the last we raise,we do not look forward to looseing any of them.OPH

Thanks everybody.
It's been tough, up until Boomer we had been renters and couldn't have inside dogs. I've had plenty of huntin dogs and such over the years but, they were outside or kennel dogs. I liked em and took good care of them but Boomer was the first one to get in my head.

When Boomer was a pup, my daughter would sneek him out of his crate at night when we were potty training him. My wife or I would go upstairs and here the pup would be in bed with her, we'd put him back in the crate.

3 yrs later or so, my wife goes upstairs then calls for me quietly. I go up and here's this 100 lb dog under the blankets curled up next to her, arm around her, head on the pillow next to her. He looks over his shoulder at me like; "Are we good?"

Heh, my current dog is about 100lbs and he thinks he's a lapdog. He loves to be NEAR people.

is he registered? maybe u can do the akc hunt tests and the ukc hunt tests, they are a blast and it keeps your dog on birds all year long. go to akc.org to learn more. Hope the pup has all its clearances. u can also go to retrievertraining.net and they are great on there u will learn a ton just like I did on here and there. Roach