ONE 'LUCKY' GUY....and "HIS NEW BABES"...

We don't know if we will ever see 'Joey' again, but if he comes home...he will be shocked to see the new 'pals' he has to play with.

"LUCKY" came home with us tonight as Allen couldn't stand not having a buddy 'underfoot' any longer... and he was grieving a lot for Joey everytime he stepped foot outside for the past week, and insisted we look to see what we could find in the paper now.

There's been a lot more searching going on all week and knocking on doors as well for Joey, but no good news to report. Some folks are encouraging that we will get him back...but most believe he is gone for good. I regret that I am in the second school of thought myself.

I know we need a dog here, but I talked it over with Allen and we agreed that if we got another dog...It is best to get TWO of them, with one being a female as they seem less inclined to wander off by themselves than the males do...Especially if there are females around in season.

Anyway, we first went to Siletz and of course fell in LOVE with a little 'chocolate' female Lab we're going to call 'Nicky'. Nicky won't be coming home until December 10th as she is only three weeks old now and her eyes just opened recently, but isn't she a 'looker'?

What is unusual about her is that her mouth turns up in a smile in the corners, and none of the other dogs look like that. I'm a 'sucker' for a smile....so it was instant attraction for me. I also didn't want a male chocolate Lab again, as we can't pretend the new dog is 'Joey' because it's personality will be different just like people's are....so it had to be a GIRL.

Wendy, Jordan and Emily went with us to see the puppies, and they fell in love with a little 'blondie' (Golden) Lab that isn't named yet. Will didn't go because he said he would just fall in love with a dog and there is no where she can run around at their house right now.

Anyway, my daughter and Jordan and Emily said I should send pictures home so they could show them to Will, and MAYBE he will let them have her. I ended up making a deposit on BOTH of them, so if Will doesn't want Blondie...then it looks like 'LUCKY" got three twice as LUCKY as he is now...doesn't it?

The little female Chocolate and golden Labs have a black long legged Mother, and a Golden Dad who is more stocky...but in order to ever get 'chocolates' there has to be grandparents that were chocolates...since even then, most litters (sometimes as many as twelve pups) may have only one or two chocolates...so they are more expensive and more desirable for people I guess.

'LUCKY', A Newport guy, was the last Black Lab left in his litter, but he was the first one picked by a couple who took him home the minute they could. They had a little kid about Ean's age and kept the dog inside (no room to roam on their property), and as the puppy grew, he would knock the little kid down by jumping on him wanting to play...and then crying would start cause the little kid was afraid of him....so LUCKY was returned to the owners with sincere apologies...but as you can see, he was well fed and taken care of.

LUCKY will have the chance to bond with Allen (Labs are sort of one person dogs, although they love their family as well, want to please and are good with children)...LUCKY'S Mom is a SMALL chocolate Lab and Dad a small Black Lab...but they weren't very big...so he probably won't get too large.

It's a different story with the females parents who are both large...the Chocolate Lab is the Alpha female of the litter, and the Blondie is the runt...there is already a pretty big difference in their size. I wanted there to be no 'question' of who the Alpha female would be between the two if we end up with both of them, so it will work if we end up with THREE DOGS instead of two dogs (if Will doesn't want 'Blondie'...).

Of course, if Joey comes back...he would be the Alpha Male since his Mama and Daddy were about 100 pounds of Lab, so we'd end up letting the Golden have a litter to get her calmed down, and then fix her and Lucky...unless we wanted to go into the breeding business, and right now, that doesn't sound too appealing to me. lol

The Chocolate Labs are always the 'first to be picked', but the ad just went into the paper yesterday...and Allen was pretty persistent about wanting to see them TONIGHT...so we got the first choices of the litter...except for a chocolate male that was chosen before birth...and only two chocolates were in that litter.

LUCKY is now a little over eight weeks old and was born the day before Sierra's Birthday on September 18th, so we will always use that as a frame of reference. LUCKY'S other name is TROY...and that is Sierra's Dad's middle name...so it's a connection with that branch. He really has a beautiful face and his eyes are much 'rounder' than Joey's were...and his legs are shorter but he is more stocky than Joey was as well.

Notice how much difference in 'size' just 5 weeks make in the life of a Lab?

He's already out sleeping in Joey's bed 'quietly' which was sort of a surprise, and took to chewing on one of Joey's bones like a champ...but like a child, no one can replace 'Joey' in our hearts, so it will be up to LUCKY AND THE LADIES to develop their own personality and their own places our hearts as time goes on.

Allen was going to have LUCKY sleep in his room for a few nights...like he did Joey (until Allen was getting bitten by fleas right and left...) but when LUCKY promptly walked in Allen's room and crapped on his floor...that sort of changed his mind about that. lol

So for now, LUCKY has found a home where he will be doted on and spoiled to death, and he'll be the king of the ranch for the next few weeks...and then the 'girls' will come home and start bossing him around and playing with him...and following him wherever he goes, so we'll see how it goes with three sweethearts. I was very amazed to realize how 'entertaining' a puppy can be...but three of them? That should be something to see!

I know, I know...it sounds crazy, but it may turn out to be the wisest thing after all to have two or three of them instead of just one of them. It's a big ranch and it has lots of room...and when you see where their 'dog condo' is going to be...I don't think they'll mind going to bed at night either and snuggling up together.

The 'girls' will still be pretty small at Christmas so I am hoping Ean can enjoy them before they get too big and rambunctious like LUCKY is now. lol

If we can keep them safe until they get their height and weight on them, I don't think we will need worry about anything or anyone coming on this property unannounced and unwelcomed, do you?

Just another 'wilderness' adventure here for these two old fools...but maybe our hearts won't have to be broken again too soon if these 'huggables' look out for each other like I think they will.