We are looking at several Labrador Retrievers for one to adopt from a shelter.

[old mark]

Anyone have one of these dogs? I have never owned one, but I have known other people's labs for decades and have heard only good things about them. We are looking for an adult dog-3 or 4 years old as a family member.
We have an appointment Monday AM to visit several at a regional animal rescue ranch (They have horses, too...)

Thanks.

mark

[murielm99]

1. We had one for fourteen years.

She was a love, and I still miss her.

She was friendly and happy almost all the time.

This particular lab was quiet, because she had been neglected and abused as a puppy. She belonged to some tenants, and my husband talked them into giving her to us when she was about a year old. She thought she had died and gone to doggie heaven. She was great with our cats, with our older dog, and our kids. I can't say anything bad about her.

When I was young, I had a yellow lab, a male. He was totally devoted to me. He had that loopy, happy lab personality as well, except that he was protective of me.

Both of these dogs were smart.

Right now, I have a doberman/lab mix. She is wonderful. I see the lab personality in her, too.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Labrador Retrievers are the sweetest most loving dogs ever....

You cannot go wrong with a Lab. Especially a rescue. They know they have been rescued and their gratitude is eternal.

[old mark]

3. Our dog just died unexpectedly Thursday-our new dog will be rescuing us, as well...

Our dog was a Doberman/Dane mix, and I think any mix with a doberman in it produces some extremely smart dogs...I bet a Doberman/Lab can almost talk, and mus have a very sweet personality.

That is just what we will be searching for.

Thank you!

mark

[BrklynLiberal]

5. PLEASE keep us posted and send pics of your new pup....

I think it is incredibly wonderful of you and your family to go out and share your love with another loving, sweet creature.
They always leave footprints in our hearts.

The Last Will and Testament
of An Extremely Distinguished Dog

The reputation of Eugene O'Neill as the American Shakespeare was established even before his death in 1953. O'Neill's output was formidable - more than 30 plays, including the posthumously produced classic, Long Day's Journey Into Night. He was a Nobel Prize winner. Reflecting his own tempestuous emotional background - be came from a yeasty but tragic Irish-American family - his plays are rarely engaging.

So his epitaph to his dog is a rarity among O'Neill documents - sentimental, even whimsical, close in spirit to his one major comedy, Ah Wilderness! The dog was acquired at a relatively peaceful period of O'Neill's life. He and his protective third wife, the beautiful actress Carlotta Monterey, looked upon it as their 'child.' O'Neill wrote Blemie's will as a comfort to Carlotta just before the dog died in its old age in December 1940

Last Will and Testament

I, Silverdene Emblem O'Neill (familiarly known to my family,
friends and acquaintances as Blemie), because the
burden of my years is heavy upon me, and I realize the end of my
life is near, do hereby bury my last will and
testament in the mind of my Master. He will not know it is there
until I am dead. Then, remembering me in his
loneliness, he will suddenly know of this testament, and I ask
him then to inscribe it as a memorial to me.

I have little in the way of material things to leave. Dogs are
wiser than men. They do not set great store upon
things. They do not waste their time hoarding property. They do
not ruin their sleep worrying about objects they
have, and to obtain the objects they have not. There is nothing
of value I have to bequeath except my love and
my faith. These I leave to those who have loved me, to my Master
and Mistress, who I know will mourn me most,
to Freeman who has been so good to me, to Cyn and Roy and Willie
and Naomi and - but if I should list all those
who have loved me it would force my Master to write a book.
Perhaps it is in vain of me to boast when I am so
near death, which returns all beasts and vanities to dust, but I
have always been an extremely lovable dog.

I ask my Master and Mistress to remember me always, but not to
grieve for me too long. In my life I have tried to
be a comfort to them in time of sorrow, and a reason for added
joy in their happiness. It is painful for me to think
that even in death I should cause them pain. Let them remember
that while no dog has ever had a happier life (and
this I owe to their love and care for me), now that I have grown
blind and deaf and lame, and even my sense of
smell fails me so that a rabbit could be right under my nose and
I might not know, my pride has sunk to a sick,
bewildered humiliation. I feel life is taunting me with having
over lingered my welcome. It is time I said good-by,
before I become too sick a burden on myself and on those who love
me.

It will be sorrow to leave them, but not a
sorrow to die. Dogs do not fear death as men do. We accept it as
part of life, not as something alien and terrible
which destroys life. What may come after death, who knows? I
would like to believe with those of my fellow
Dalmatians who are devout Mohammedans, that there is a Paradise
where one is always young and
full-bladdered; here all the day one dillies and dallies with an
amorous multitude of houris, beautifully spotted;
where jack-rabbits that run fast but not too fast (like the
houris) are as the sands of the desert; where each blissful
hour is mealtime; where in long evenings there are a million
fireplaces with logs forever burning and one curls
oneself up and blinks into the flames and nods and dreams,
remembering the old brave days on earth, and the
love of one's Master and Mistress.

I am afraid this is too much for even such a dog as I am to
expect. But peace, at least, is certain. Peace and long
rest for weary old heart and head and limbs, and eternal sleeps
in the earth I have loved so well. Perhaps, after all,
this is best.

One last request I earnestly make. I have heard my Mistress say,
'When Blemie dies we must never have another
dog. I love him so much I could never love another one.' Now I
would ask her, for love of me, to have another. It
would be a poor tribute to my memory never to have a dog again.
What I would like to feel is that, having once
had me in the family, now she cannot live without a dog! I have
never had a narrow jealous spirit. I have always
held that most dogs are good (and one cat, the black one I have
permitted to share the living-room rug during the
evenings, whose affection I have tolerated in a kindly spirit,
and in rare sentimental moods, even reciprocated a
trifle). Some dogs, of course, are better than others.
Dalmatians, naturally, as everyone knows, are best.

So I suggest a Dalmatian as my successor. He can hardly be as
well bred, or as well mannered or as distinguished
and handsome as I was in my prime. My Master and Mistress must
not ask the impossible. But he will do his
best, I am sure, and even his inevitable defects will help by
comparison to keep my memory green. To him I
bequeath my collar and leash and my overcoat and raincoat, made
to order in 1929 at Hermes in Paris. He can
never wear them with the distinction I did, walking around the
Place Vendome, or later along Park Avenue, all
eyes fixed on me in admiration; but again I am sure he will do
his utmost not to appear a mere gauche provincial
dog. Here on the ranch, he may prove himself quite worthy of
comparison, in some respects. He will, I presume,
come closer to jackrabbits than I have been able to in recent
years. And, for all his faults, I hereby wish him the
happiness I know will be his in my old home.

One last word of farewell, Dear Master and Mistress. Whenever you
visit my grave, say to yourselves with regret
but also with happiness in your hearts at the remembrance of my
long happy life with you: 'here lies one who
loved us and whom we loved.' No matter how deep my sleep I shall
hear you, and not all the power of death can
keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.

[old mark]

8. Our home is empty withour a dog. we have had one since we moved here

almost 15 years ago, and it is not easy to live without one.

We were planning to visit a rescue ranch abour an hour's drive from here-they had several labs abd lab mixes we were interested in, but they were all adopted by early this evening.

We will be looking at a local humane society Sunday and maybe schedult the trip to the ranck for later in the week to give them a chance to get more dogs ready for adoption.

Thanks very much. We love our dogs so much, it just aches to lose one, and I hate to see them without homes.

mark

[Paper Roses]

4. Hi old mark. Can I tell you about an organization that rescues Labs?

I care for my daughters Yellow Lab several days a week and have for years. I miss her on the days she is not here. Ours is a Lab town. There are many here who will swear by the loyalty, the love, the intelligence of these dogs. I agree.
I have volunteered to be part of a Lab Rescue Train to bring these wonderful animals from kill shelters in NC to all states in the union. I happen to be from New England and have not yet been called because there are many others in my area who would cover the same route. My daughter has been part of the Lab Train from NC to NH.

All animals deserve a chance for another life, no question. If you have decided on a Lab, there is, in my mind, no smarter or loving animal.

Your profile does not show where you are from. I ask that you check out this web site and see what is going on at the moment. The people who run this organization not only need to find forever homes for these rescued Labs, they need Foster homes and of course, donations for the care and medical needs of these dogs.
I have donated and await my turn to drive a leg to help one of these dogs.

You should check out:
http://www.savealabnc.com/

The cost is far less than the price of a Lab puppy and the same love will be given to you.

[old mark]

7. Thank you-- I am filling out the application and will send it Sunday....nt

[old mark]

11. Thank you again-we were accepted by that group and will start

meeting labs in March.

mark

[Stinky The Clown]

6. We have lived next door to a succession of Labs and near-Labs for 30 years

Our neighbors have had a succession of Labs, Chessies, Goldens, all sweet, gentle, big, snuggly, wet muzzled, wonderful dogs.

They lost one about two weeks ago. He'll be missed by us almost as much as they'll miss him.

I've known a lot of Labs over the years and never met one who was anything other than a great family dog (some are a bit protective, but that's a good thing, I think).

[old mark]

9. We are in touch with several rescue groups in the area, but we decided it would be best to wait

for a few weeks-sometime in early March-to actually start searching for our lab...I have 3 places who have our information and I have no doubt we will find a great dog.

Thank you all.

mark

[livetohike]

10. Until we adopted our current dogs, we always had Lab mixes

Best dogs ever :-). Gentle and sweet. They love the woods and especially swimming, so if you have a stream, river or lake nearby they will be in heaven. We had two from the same litter. The female lived to 13.5 years and the male was a few weeks shy of his 16th birthday when he passed. They are easy to train - love to retrieve frisbees, balls, etc. One of our dogs even made his own throwing sticks from downed branches! He would break them into the perfect size.

We got different dogs this time around (they are 8 years old already) because we didn't want to keep comparing our new dogs to the sweetest dogs on earth - our Labs. Good luck and as you said up thread - they will rescue you :-).

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. I'm with my second yellow lab now.

They're just absolutely wonderful dogs. Real pleasers and very tuned in to you. They're also 'puppies' for a very long time so rescuing a 3YO should get you past that bouncing off the walls high energy stage.

[Paper Roses]

13. Hi old mark, did you see this?

I gather this was posted on Facebook, it shows on my page but not the savealab page. What a sweetie.
If it isn't too soon for you, maybe you could have the owner e-mail you a pic.
Posted on Savealabnc.com


Crosspost~
My name is Brooke and I have a white lab named Bianca who is just under 2 years old. My husband and I adopted her in November 2009. We now have a 2 month old daughter and don't have adequate time to care for her the way she should be cared for. We are trying to find her a good home where she will be loved and cared for like... she deserves. She is very friendly and gets along with other dogs and children. If you can help us find a home for her we would greatly appreciate it as we have no idea how to go about the search. I have attached a recent picture of her. She is spayed, we need to check with the vet to see if she is up to date with her shots. We live in Goldsboro, NC. Thank you for your time and any help you can provide.


Brooke Zwiebel
940-867-1606
[e-mail]
See More

[Bonhomme Richard]

14. I got a 5 year old Yellow Lab from a shelter in August.

He is a great dog but we do have to constantly work with him. Never had that issue with the Labs we had in the past but we got them young. His background was not supposed to be traumatic but he does have issues. It seems to us that he was beat in the past just by the way he tends to cower like he is going to get hit. I suspect he will get over that. We also have some pack leader issues that we are working on. He knows all his commands and listens 90% of the time but when his brain goes click he pays no attention at all and sometimes a 95 lb. dog can be a handful. Won't even take a treat if he is focused. He doesn't do stairs (don't have a clue what that is about as they said he did before) and seems nervous about a lot of things like when one of us isn't home. He won't relax until the pack is together. I think he is stressing because he feels responsible until they get back. That's another leader issue I think. I decided all this will take time.
Most importantly we chuckle all the time at his antics and he is a real pleasure. We wouldn't trade him for anything. Definitely worth the work.

[old mark]

19. Both of our dogs together were rescue dogs, and both had been abused

early in their lives, as has our new dog. They will respond very well to love and you will have a wonderful companion. They will give it all back many times over.

mark

[hobbit709]

15. I had a lab-chow mix for 13 years.

Donna found him crying on the street as a puppy. He was maybe 6 weeks old. I went through the whole neighborhood and nobody knew him so I figured he was dumped. He was definitely my boy. He had the build and tongue of a chow and the disposition of a lab. If he got near water he was ALL lab.


The night he died he woke me up about two in the morning and wanted attention and a cookie, which he got. when I got up in the morning he was lying dead there beside my be.

[glinda]

17. Oh wow. I am sorry. What a beautiful boy. Interesting story.

[happyslug]

16. You need to tell us where you live and how far are you willing to tracavle

The Cambria County Humane Society keeps its pets ready for adoption on line. I suspect others do also, but if you live in California it is useless information. Thus the request for about where your live, the exact address is not needed, but the State would be helpful.

http://hscc-online.org/

[old mark]

18. WE are approved by save a lab and we are starting to get information on dogs

we already have several we sould like to see and I think we will get ours possibly next week.

Thank everyone so much-the dogs from this group were all rescued from being killed in shelters that still do that.

here is their site:

http://www.savealabnc.com/index.html


mark

[old mark]

20. Brought our dog -JJ- home about 4 PM Sunday, He started the weekend in Georgia, and

went through 3 different homes and humans, and he is beginning to unwind from that trip already. He is a mostly black lab mix, with tan lower legs, and black toes. He is about 75 pounds, and he does have a real puppy-like quality about him.
We are letting him ease in, and reassuriong him that he is finally home.

Thanks again, every one - Save A Lab people are absolutely wonderful and I really can not recommend them highly enough...they restored my optimism about people.

Thank you all.

Mark

[get the red out]

21. Pics?

Can't wait for pictures! He sound beautiful!!!!!

[old mark]

22. Coming soon...nt

[MiniMe]

23. I volunteer for a lab rescue

I love labs and foster often for them.

These are my current fosters

[get the red out]

25. They are PAINFULLY cute!

They little guy in the middle is like "Get me out of here, I'm getting SQUEEZED!!!!"

[old mark]

24. Delete-have to figure this out...

[old mark]

26. trying to post a pic- let's see how it works out...

no good-I get the whole album...

[Paper Roses]

27. We have patience old mark. We want to meet JJ.

When you figure it out, please post. I could never begin to post pictures. This new camera is beyond me. I wish I did not download the Kodak software. It confuses the issue.
I hope JJ is your best friend ever.
PR