Labrador Retriever

As you probably know, we are celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month! I chose the Labrador Retriever as the Dog Breed of the Week because it is one of the most common dog breeds found in shelters. That's probably because Labs are one of the most popular breeds today. A very large percentage of shelter dogs are at least Lab mixes, if not purebred Lab.
If you know Labradors, then you know that these are happy, friendly dogs with sweet, loving personalities. They are also masters of retrieval - just try to keep a Lab from chasing a tennis ball! With a strong history as water dogs and hunter's helpers, Labs are also great competitors in most of today's dog sports. Plus, their intelligence and loyalty make them perfect assistance dogs. Are you a Lab-lover? Tell us all about your "Labradorable" dog!

We Never Told Him He Couldn’t Do It

My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally - but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk. 　　The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn’t know. 　　In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know. 　　He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn’t run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn’t know. 　　Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn’t expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn’t do it. We never told him he couldn’t do it...so he didn’t know. He just did it.