Puppyhood
Dear Ashley,
Good morning!
Last night, I read a book that Dad bought. It was all about Retrievers. Reading the history of Retrievers, to puppy care, to the differences between breeds, and the like brought back fond memories of January 4, 1996, when I first got you as a pup.
Days before that, Dad was given an offer by Tito Alex (you remember him, right? Well, all the Labs we've had, with the exception of Hugo, came from his kennel). He said we could have one puppy since his Lab, Nala, had just given birth. Dad proposed that we get a Lab and I couldn't have been more excited. We bought this thick magazine on dog breeds (which we still have somewhere at home) and I quickly devoured its contents. I must've memorized every single thing that had to do with dog care. I memorized almost all the dog breeds. I knew that the Retriever family consisted of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the Curly Coated Retriever, the Flat Coated Retriever, the Golden Retriever, the Labrador Retriever, and I also thought that the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever was a part of the family, too. (Now, however, I don't think that it is. But let me research on that.)
And we got your accesories: your leash, your collar, your dish, your toys. We also stocked Chuck's room with lots of newspaper to housetrain you.
The big day arrived. Dad and I went to pick you up and what greeted us was a litter of black Labs. Eventually, our heartstrings were tugged by this female puppy with a slightly crooked left front leg. That was you, Ash! I picked you up, took you inside our Lite Ace, and sat you on my lap. At first, you stayed still, content to enjoy the ride. Seconds later, you started wriggling and worming your way out. What a frisky puppy!
We got home and immediately showed you to your new home. You sniffed around and shortly after, you peed on the floor. I tapped you on the nose and placed newspaper over the wet spot. When you had to pee again after a few minutes, you peed on the newspaper. That's when we knew we had a brilliant dog. You never made a "mistake" again.
Chuck and Cooks expected that we would get a yellow Lab, but you enamored us with your puppy charms so we took to you right away. We named you Ashley because you were our first black dog.
It was you who started our love for the breed, Ash. When you had your first litter, we kept your only yellow male, Max. Then we had Rafter, then Buster (both from Tito Alex), then your second litter. From that litter, we kept Daisy, your only female, and a yellow one, at that! It didn't work out well with Daisy, so Tito Alex had us pick another puppy. And that was Shadow.
Eventually, Shabby had his own litters (remember Hugo, his son whom we kept for about a year?) but you were the predecessor of our Lab obsession. Remember we had a family email address called lablovers@netasia.net? You started all this!
We've had a good ten years of experience with the breed, I must say.
Anyway, Ash, I gotta go work now. It's been fun reminiscing the days of your puppyhood!
I love you!
Good morning!
Last night, I read a book that Dad bought. It was all about Retrievers. Reading the history of Retrievers, to puppy care, to the differences between breeds, and the like brought back fond memories of January 4, 1996, when I first got you as a pup.
Days before that, Dad was given an offer by Tito Alex (you remember him, right? Well, all the Labs we've had, with the exception of Hugo, came from his kennel). He said we could have one puppy since his Lab, Nala, had just given birth. Dad proposed that we get a Lab and I couldn't have been more excited. We bought this thick magazine on dog breeds (which we still have somewhere at home) and I quickly devoured its contents. I must've memorized every single thing that had to do with dog care. I memorized almost all the dog breeds. I knew that the Retriever family consisted of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, the Curly Coated Retriever, the Flat Coated Retriever, the Golden Retriever, the Labrador Retriever, and I also thought that the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever was a part of the family, too. (Now, however, I don't think that it is. But let me research on that.)
And we got your accesories: your leash, your collar, your dish, your toys. We also stocked Chuck's room with lots of newspaper to housetrain you.
The big day arrived. Dad and I went to pick you up and what greeted us was a litter of black Labs. Eventually, our heartstrings were tugged by this female puppy with a slightly crooked left front leg. That was you, Ash! I picked you up, took you inside our Lite Ace, and sat you on my lap. At first, you stayed still, content to enjoy the ride. Seconds later, you started wriggling and worming your way out. What a frisky puppy!
We got home and immediately showed you to your new home. You sniffed around and shortly after, you peed on the floor. I tapped you on the nose and placed newspaper over the wet spot. When you had to pee again after a few minutes, you peed on the newspaper. That's when we knew we had a brilliant dog. You never made a "mistake" again.
Chuck and Cooks expected that we would get a yellow Lab, but you enamored us with your puppy charms so we took to you right away. We named you Ashley because you were our first black dog.
It was you who started our love for the breed, Ash. When you had your first litter, we kept your only yellow male, Max. Then we had Rafter, then Buster (both from Tito Alex), then your second litter. From that litter, we kept Daisy, your only female, and a yellow one, at that! It didn't work out well with Daisy, so Tito Alex had us pick another puppy. And that was Shadow.
Eventually, Shabby had his own litters (remember Hugo, his son whom we kept for about a year?) but you were the predecessor of our Lab obsession. Remember we had a family email address called lablovers@netasia.net? You started all this!
We've had a good ten years of experience with the breed, I must say.
Anyway, Ash, I gotta go work now. It's been fun reminiscing the days of your puppyhood!
I love you!
posted by tinaaraneta @ 9:29 AM
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