My son and I were behind a car today that had two yellow lab puppies in the back. They watched us curiously at the stop light, then played and wrestled together as we made our way on our journey. It reminded us both of when our own 4 year old yellow lab, Casey, was just a puppy. The adventures he had as a puppy and still has have made for some memorable tales. I could fill the pages of a small book with those adventures. My wife had quite the persuasive argument for why we needed a dog, and not just any dog, but a yellow lab specifically. She told me, “Families with dogs are happier families.” I wanted us to be a happy family, and being a happier family sounded even better. At the time I needed all the happiness we could muster.
Casey is not our first dog. My wife and I grew up with dogs in our homes. A few months into our marriage, we bought a cocker spaniel, Buttons, who was with us for fifteen years. So being a family without a dog was a new experience. We needed a dog. We wanted a dog. We are dog people. I wish the book "Marley and Me" had come out before we got our yellow lab to prepare me for the adventures of owning a lab. But alas . . .
Tonight, our yellow lab, as he often does, wandered into our closet and brought me one of my shoes, a sure sign that someone left the bedroom door open. I scolded Casey gently and he gave me the shoe. A few minutes passed and he came with the other matching shoe which he dropped at my chair. Dogs may be colorblind but Casey is quite capable of matching shoes. If you come to our home you may wonder why all the doors to all the rooms in our home are closed. Our children are so accustomed to closing the doors to keep Casey out of their things that even when they are at someone else’s home they close the doors on the rooms as they leave them. If only I could teach them to pick up after themselves as easily!!
My wife is right of course, we are a happier family. It’s hard to imagine life without our 113 pound yellow lab who insists on walking right beside you, even when you have your Sunday dress clothes on, and whose tail wags indiscriminately throughout a room reminding my wife and me that though are children are older, we still have to keep fragile items up on a higher shelf. I have thought that perhaps we misnamed our yellow lab. "Moose" seems a more fitting name at times.
Casey has added, as have all our dogs, companionship, loyalty, and unconditional and unmerited love for all four of us. God has given us a gift and for that gift we call Casey, I am thankful.
Tommy
Casey is not our first dog. My wife and I grew up with dogs in our homes. A few months into our marriage, we bought a cocker spaniel, Buttons, who was with us for fifteen years. So being a family without a dog was a new experience. We needed a dog. We wanted a dog. We are dog people. I wish the book "Marley and Me" had come out before we got our yellow lab to prepare me for the adventures of owning a lab. But alas . . .
Tonight, our yellow lab, as he often does, wandered into our closet and brought me one of my shoes, a sure sign that someone left the bedroom door open. I scolded Casey gently and he gave me the shoe. A few minutes passed and he came with the other matching shoe which he dropped at my chair. Dogs may be colorblind but Casey is quite capable of matching shoes. If you come to our home you may wonder why all the doors to all the rooms in our home are closed. Our children are so accustomed to closing the doors to keep Casey out of their things that even when they are at someone else’s home they close the doors on the rooms as they leave them. If only I could teach them to pick up after themselves as easily!!
My wife is right of course, we are a happier family. It’s hard to imagine life without our 113 pound yellow lab who insists on walking right beside you, even when you have your Sunday dress clothes on, and whose tail wags indiscriminately throughout a room reminding my wife and me that though are children are older, we still have to keep fragile items up on a higher shelf. I have thought that perhaps we misnamed our yellow lab. "Moose" seems a more fitting name at times.
Casey has added, as have all our dogs, companionship, loyalty, and unconditional and unmerited love for all four of us. God has given us a gift and for that gift we call Casey, I am thankful.
Tommy
