TROUBLE AHEAD
Yesterday we adopted a dog from a shelter. Her name is Lucy, and she's mostly Lab, around 8 months. She's very sweet and has quickly adapted to our home and yard. Especially our yard, which she finds absolutely fascinating ("Hey! A dog urinated here! Wow! A dog urinated HERE, also! Ohmigod! A dog also urinated HERE! Wait a minute! A dog ALSO urinated..." etc.). The one troubling thing is that Lucy has discovered Walter.
Dave! A fascination with urine and a nice Oriental rug are a very bad combo.
Posted by: Meanie the Blue | October 28, 2008 at 12:34 PM
Awwww...Lucy is very cute! Looks like my dog, Shadow.
It was nice knowing Walter.
Posted by: Siouxie | October 28, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! How freaking cute!
Posted by: Margaritaville | October 28, 2008 at 12:37 PM
The difference between dogs and cats...
Posted by: Afkat | October 28, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Knick knack, Waldo's whack,
Don't give that dog a bone!
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 12:41 PM
ooops, I meant 'Walter.'
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 12:42 PM
"Luuuucy, I'm bone!"
Posted by: Walter | October 28, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Whadja expect? Lucy's a girl (after my own heart)!
Posted by: eilbeback | October 28, 2008 at 12:44 PM
P.S. Reminds me of Earnest... So great that you got a shelter dog!
Posted by: eilbeback | October 28, 2008 at 12:47 PM
What a face!
So long, Walter. It's been good to know you.
Posted by: gjd | October 28, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Penis envy?
Posted by: Mot the Hoople | October 28, 2008 at 01:05 PM
TMI, Mot.
Yes, Dave, thanks for getting a pound puppy.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 01:09 PM
Well, it's pretty obvious that Lucy is walrosexual.
Posted by: random thunking | October 28, 2008 at 01:17 PM
Walter is being Lab Tested (trademark thingee)
Posted by: CJrun | October 28, 2008 at 01:22 PM
Definite congrats on getting a shelter dog.
They are by the best.
Posted by: jon | October 28, 2008 at 01:28 PM
If you see Lucy digging a very long and narrow hole in the backyard, keep an eye on Walter.
Posted by: padraig | October 28, 2008 at 01:54 PM
You should get this book, and sit down and read it with Sophie...
And people, don't forget there's a lot of shelter kitties that could use a loving home too...
Posted by: Steve Haller | October 28, 2008 at 01:59 PM
Rut Roh! Dave, having rescued and fostered black lab and mixes for over a decade--I bring your attention to Lucy's feet. They look distinctly Great Danish.
Ciao Walter!
Posted by: Cheryl Howard | October 28, 2008 at 02:00 PM
She does have LARGE feet.
Posted by: Dave | October 28, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Lucy has very large feet. And you know what that means - eventually, in your backyard, you'll have very large piles of poo.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 02:05 PM
And very large holes. My black lab mix is a digger. Which is why I don't have a back yard anymore. He keeps trying to dig the tile now ;-P
He's not too smart.
Posted by: Siouxie | October 28, 2008 at 02:24 PM
I couldn't help myself, it was love at first bite.
Posted by: Lucy | October 28, 2008 at 02:42 PM
Siouxie, just tell him 'no!' and direct him toward an alternate activity. Like a book.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 02:47 PM
Dave, I wish I could say that that I'm kidding. Labs and retrievers have these great compact feet--proportionately speaking. Their toes aren't very long as compared to a ton of other breeds. Great Danes toes are so long as to almost look like fingers—one of the few breeds that have this characteristic. I compared Lucy’s photo up side by side to photos of my labs—and she definitely shares many facial characteristics. But a side by side comparison to my Great Dane, and she is dead ringer. I would send you photos, but I’d be in deep doo-doo with judi if I crashed the server
again.The good news is that Great Danes (mixes) are much calmer than black labs (mixes). Rather like living with a very graceful blue whale. Enjoy!
Posted by: Cheryl Howard | October 28, 2008 at 03:02 PM
She is doggone cute!
We have a Blog-Dog!
Posted by: Guin | October 28, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Yaaaay to Dave & his crew for adopting a shelter dog. Lucy is just the cutest, and I know even Walter will come to adore her. She's just a big puppy at heart.
Posted by: klezmerphan | October 28, 2008 at 03:23 PM
Labs are easy to entertain though. Just give her a big bucket of water and she will stick her head down in the bucket all day. We had a black lab/pit bull a while back. Best dog we ever had when I was a kid. It even saved me and my mom's life once, and the only person it ever growled at was my evil aunt. Good dog.
Posted by: Margaritaville | October 28, 2008 at 03:31 PM
You walked in on the girl and her BOB. Reminds me of that time when my college roommate...never mind...
Posted by: Merri Lee | October 28, 2008 at 03:50 PM
Sheesh, I have to work for a while and I come back and all my comments are already taken. Annie, I was going to say that Dave will need a bigger shovel, judging by those feets.
What a sweet face, though, and she looks so huggable.
Pound puppies are the best ! And good protection for Sophie, too !
Posted by: Telecomdropout | October 28, 2008 at 04:04 PM
I think Lucy's part Dane, too. Regardless, she'll grow to the exact height needed to clear your coffee table with her tail.
Posted by: Parkay | October 28, 2008 at 04:57 PM
If she is part Dane, I say hope for the best and try to break the record. Good luck!
Posted by: Jeff Tompkins | October 28, 2008 at 05:06 PM
Danes eat a lot. Dave will need to get another job. At least a full-time one.
*ducks*
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 05:44 PM
Aww...how cute!
Our adopted adult "lab mix" turned out to be half rottweiler, half boxer. Turns out he had a tattoo, and once we discovered it, we were able to trace him back to his original owner, who had given him away as a puppy, and didn't know he had ended up in the shelter - twice.
This was pre-kids, and I had some reservations about keeping a rottweiler, but he ended up being a great dog, and very loving with the kids when they were born. After he went to doggie heaven, we adopted a shepherd-golden mix puppy. He's eight now.
Yay for animal adoption!
Posted by: Cat R | October 28, 2008 at 05:47 PM
adorable!! mazel tov!!
Posted by: queensbee | October 28, 2008 at 05:58 PM
There are a ton of companies that do DNA testing to find out your dogs exact breed(s). Kinda cool.
Jeff, a friend here in town met Gibson. She bought two of his nephews last year--delivered as pups. And she already had two adult Danes. Man what a glorious handful.
And Parkay is right...whether its a lab or a dane, anything lower than the 3 foot mark will be demolished by their tail. Bright side: it helps you purge out that pesky stemware and knick knacks.
Posted by: Cheryl Howard | October 28, 2008 at 06:06 PM
Parkay - that's why I don't have a coffee table. My kitchen table is exactly large-dog-nose height, so usually while I eat, there is a pointy dog snout resting exactly at my elbow. (Collie/Golden mix, also adopted through Petfinder 8 1/2 years ago.)
Posted by: Guin | October 28, 2008 at 06:14 PM
Walter, noooooo!
(And welcome to Lucy the adorable Blog-Dog!)
Posted by: Renee (the First) | October 28, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Somewhere in heaven, a walrus is laughing.
Posted by: Lairbo | October 28, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Ok, Parkay is me. I was making a Buddha/butter (I can't believe it's not butter/it's snot buddha)comment on the other post and forgot to change back.
We have a coffee table clearer, plus a smaller model, a schnauzer/cocker cross (schnocker) who, when we're sitting on the couch, enjoys leaping unexpectedly into our laps. Sort of like Tourette's Syndrome, only with cuddling.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 09:12 PM
Hey, you should've gotten a cat - a Maine Coon would've given you the same size entertainment and they clean up after themselves - more or less....
Posted by: Kathybear | October 28, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Hi Dave,
Congratulations on your new dog. What joy! Our next door neighbors adopted a 12 week old yellow lab recently. Sunday she ate their cockatiel.
Posted by: Holley | October 28, 2008 at 10:41 PM
That's one good huntin' dog, Holley. She's already bringing home her own dinner.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | October 28, 2008 at 11:18 PM
Dave, Get yer butt to a butcher shop, NOW!!! Get that dog her own bone, before Walter is no more!!!!
Also, butchers can tell you which bones are best for dogs and how to prepare them, etc....
Posted by: Sondra | October 28, 2008 at 11:20 PM
As the
overwhelmedproud owner of another 8-month-old Lab puppy, I can only say, "May G-d have mercy on your soul". And you don't even have access to nuclear weapons! You poor schmuck!Posted by: monsoon | October 28, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Three cheers for pound pups! We've got two: a shepherd/chow mix and an Australian Cattle dog. When we left the ACD outside longer than he apparently thought was okay, he chewed a japanese maple in half. Watch out for the oriental carpet, Dave - I've now got our carpet cleaner on my speed dial.
Posted by: emkay | October 29, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Sounds like we need a blogger group on Dogster.
Posted by: jon | October 29, 2008 at 08:54 AM
Dave, guard the remote! My latest pound critter has destroyed three of them!
Posted by: Nurse Tammy | October 29, 2008 at 09:19 AM
Great to see you've adopted a shelter dog- and a big black one at that! It's also nice to see that so many commenters have adopted through petfinder! Enjoy your new family member! Hope you have many happy years together!
Posted by: BlackCatRescue | October 29, 2008 at 09:38 AM
I do get lots of amusement from the fact that younger shelter-critter is bigger than original shelter-critter and his lethal club of a tail is at just the right height to concuss her when he does the whole-body-wag of excessive joy.... Even better, she just stands there with a squinty "OWOWOWOWOWOWIE" expression and takes the abuse. THUDWHAPWHAPWHAP
Posted by: Nurse Tammy | October 29, 2008 at 09:43 AM
I am an adopted half Lab, half Rottweiler. I look like a stocky Lab and weigh about 120 lbs. I think I am a lap dog! I am glad you adopted Lucy. We all need a good home like my mom has given me.
Posted by: biggin | October 29, 2008 at 09:47 AM
That's why they named you Biggin, dear. I am always reminded when you hop in my lap!
Posted by: biggin's mom | October 29, 2008 at 09:50 AM
What a cutie! Welcome to the blog, Lucy. Please be gentle with Walter.
Posted by: Suzy Q | October 29, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Don't know about Lucy's feet being Danish, but that look of complete innocence on her doggy face even as she sits atop the purloined item? THAT is pure Lab.
Posted by: padraig | October 29, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Have joy, Lucy, you lucky puppy! And Cheryl is so right about the Dane/Lab mix being a great combination; Danes are incredibly sweet and willing to please (not that Labs aren't, but they do take longer to calm down). Shelter dogs are the best, and mixed breeds are generally healthier, too. Dave, you done good!
Posted by: Jeff Carrie's friend Jean | October 29, 2008 at 10:30 AM
And just when you finally got the kids house trained.... .
Posted by: jon | October 29, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Great to see that you have saved a life by adopting a shelter dog.
And, by the way...Lucy is a nice name.
Posted by: PrincessLucy | October 29, 2008 at 09:05 PM