My Furkids

[RandomGemini]

These are my fur kids:

All three are rescues. My husband is a Lab fanatic, so they are all Labs. Lexi and Jazz are purebred, we think Jet is too, but he may have something insane in him, like border collie. We're not sure.

Jet is the youngest, around two years old. We adopted him from an animal shelter about a month after he arrived there. When he barked at me for the first time, I looked at him and I knew that he was meant to be with me. He's my partner in crime.

Lexi, our 7 yr old yellow Lab, is Jet's partner in crime. We adopted Lexi just over a year ago from a rescue about 300 miles away from us. She had six owners before we adopted her. When she came home, she sort of looked around and said, "Okay, where do I put my stuff?" She knew she was being rehomed when it happened. That broke my heart and I vowed that she will never be rehomed again.

Jazz is our 13 year old girl (in the pink blanket). We adopted her when she was 11 years old. Her previous owners lost their home and had placed her with a family member who dumped her in their back yard. When they saw her living conditions, they took her back and posted an ad on craigslist asking for help. My best friend saw the ad and contacted me. I went to get her the following weekend. Jazz won't be with us much longer, she has cancer and it's taking its toll on her, but she's still sassy.

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Adorable!

[No-Pro-mwa]

Oh there so lovely. What wonderful stories. I'm sorry about Jazz I have lost 2 to cancer and we had a tumor removed from Maddie last year. I was afraid she was to old but her blood work looked good so we did it. She has bounced back very well. Well except for those hind legs.

You just need one more then you will be as bad as me

[RandomGemini]

Well, I did find out that the english mastiff that is usually at the local aquarium store when I head up there, is actually a foster dog. I LOVE this dog. My husband is very biased against other dog breeds though, so convincing him that we should have a mastiff... yeah, probably not gonna happen. I have also been arguing in favor of a Lab puppy too, because that might bring Jet down a peg... but he's not budging. Three is enough, he says, and he's probably right. There are days when three dogs can stretch the limits of my patience.

Thanks for the thoughts about Jazz. Jazz has lymphoma, so there are no tumors to remove. I caught it early though, because I have had some experience with dog cancer in the past, so I do monthly body checks on my furkids, even Jet, and I can find the lymph nodes around their face, so when her lymph nodes started to swell, I caught it before they were too large. Thank God I did, because we have had more time with her than most families who get the diagnosis of this cancer for their dog. I'll swear by doing those monthly physical exams forever now.

[Orchidgirl83]

Aww, poor Lexi, that makes me sad that she has been abandoned so many times. At least now she has a true forever home.

[WhiteRabbit]

Beautiful dogs!

[RandomGemini]

Lexi's story is pretty common for dogs like her. She's very large for a Lab, she weighs nearly 90 pounds and she's not overweight. Even at 7 years old, she's still very active too and was probably even more active as a younger dog than she is now. She's field bred and field bred dogs tend to need to run and burn energy off throughout their lives. She's a LOT of dog. She needs a job to do and things to keep her mind occupied. The average dog owner can't handle a dog like that.

I can make sense of it, but I don't really understand it. If those owners had just done a google search on the breed before adopting a dog, they would have known what they were getting into and could have chosen more wisely for themselves, you know?

[DweamGoiL]

They are all gorgeous and thank you for adopting them....kudos!

[mexorchid]

Originally Posted by RandomGemini

I can make sense of it, but I don't really understand it. If those owners had just done a google search on the breed before adopting a dog, they would have known what they were getting into and could have chosen more wisely for themselves, you know?

I can only agree! Some people only see the "cuteness" but not what this specific cutie needs. I have always dreamed of having an Alaskian Malamut. Now I have moved to Canada, perfect country for this dog, but still will never get one. Just don't have the mindset for this kind of dog. My german shepherd is already keeping me busy enough and he is really easy to train.
Hope your dog doesn't have to suffer too much. Sure Jazz is happy about the great company she's having at your home!

[RandomGemini]

Originally Posted by mexorchid

I can only agree! Some people only see the "cuteness" but not what this specific cutie needs. I have always dreamed of having an Alaskian Malamut. Now I have moved to Canada, perfect country for this dog, but still will never get one. Just don't have the mindset for this kind of dog. My german shepherd is already keeping me busy enough and he is really easy to train.
Hope your dog doesn't have to suffer too much. Sure Jazz is happy about the great company she's having at your home!

Exactly my thinking! I see people get in over their heads with Labs especially. Labs are active dogs and they have this reputation for being the "perfect" family dog and they are, but not until they are older. Young Labs are very, very busy dogs. It's like having a toddler in the house until they are between 3 and 6 years old. If you've seen Marley and Me, you have to understand that the movie is not an exaggeration! I've had a dog eat a hole in my wall… in the middle of the wall, not on a corner, because I stepped out the front door for ten minutes to talk to someone.

Thank you for thinking of her. Jazz is doing well, considering her cancer. Cancer sucks, but she's happy and we have her on medication that seems to be working on the cancer, but we know it's only giving us more time. She'll let me know when she's ready to go to the bridge, until then, I plan to give her all the cheese she wants.