Emma and her Day

Here's Emma.... ah......to be a lab at my house. She is 13 years old and still very very active. Last year she finally outgrew the "jumping all around exuberant stage"..

She's been retrieving for me today






Then she did a little shoreline exploring after her swim with her kitty friend Buddy.


I might have to go jump in the water myself. I know it will be cold but looks so freshing. A quick non-thinking dive and I might not notice the temperature.

My husband and I have a DATE on Nov 1rst to dive in..

Jenn

Here's her sweet little face...... full of gray and character... It will be a horrible day when she passes.. I know she's 13 but I hope she has several more years. This was taken yesterday. We feed her good and keep her healthy. She nearly had to have knee surgery once but we move back to Arkansas and her yard is not rocky now and the problem corrected itself. She has had one ear hematoma that she had surgery to correct but all in all, she is very very healthy for such an old big dog. We adopted her at 5 years old. She was skittish and scared and turned out to be the best dog decision we have ever made. She had been at the pound for a year and had been passed by time and time because she is a black dog. Their loss and our absolute gain.

She has a scar on her tail where no hair grows but she is 100 percent perfect. She guards us, takes care of us and is very very loyal. I can take her anywhere and she is well behaved.

She's beautiful.

We have a black lab mix that looks a lot like her, he's almost 11 and is still going strong too other than some arthritis. They are great dogs!

My Lab Coco would love to come visit - swimming & fetching - what a day!!!

Emma is beautiful!!

We have an adopted black lab too! My stepdad found him as a stray puppy last year when he and (presumably) his parents kept coming around the construction site where he was working at lunchtime. One day, the parents stopped coming, and it was just Bear. So he took him home.

For some reason, the picture won't embed. But here he is:
He's like your Emma -- still a puppy and probably will be until the day he dies. He just turned 1 at the beginning of this month, and we're hoping he'll have many happy years with us. He nearly died from parvo right after we brought him home, but a few days in the puppy hospital set him right. He's been a happy and healthy boy otherwise. He loves to swim too, and we live on the bayou, so he gets to swim every morning.

Your Emma has some brindle on her toes and mouth. I love brindle coloring I wonder what kind of dog she's mixed with -- maybe a pit bull? We think Bear might be mixed with a Chow Chow but only because his tail curls up and over.

Gorgeous dogs!

My lab mix is 13 as well (also named Bear)
I adopted him from the city pound in Seattle when he was 9 months old, best $200 I ever spent.
Still acts like a pup, just does the hyper bouncy stuff when excite, still thinks he's a lap dog
Never been sick in his life, still no sign of arthritis, but he does have fatty tumors so common to labs.

Thank you all....... We love her very much. I have a picture of her somewhere when we first got here. She looked a lot different then and the thought crossed my mind that she might be part pit. But I put it out of my mind because I am scared of those dogs.

The TWO reasons I choose her was:

She had been at the pound longer than any other dog. And when I met her she stood up and put her paw very gently on my shoulder. And this was in spite of having surgery the day before. So I fell in love with her at first sight.

She has been a keeper. I'll see if I can find that picture.

She is beautiful!! The water looks so clear and refreshing.

the first pic of Emma....... She only weighed 55 lbs.... She is up to 80 now. She was trimmer this summer because she swam so much but with winter setting in, she has gained weight.....

She was so afraid of everything when this was taken. She was scared of all vehicles except mine. She was so happy that I saved her.

At that time, pitt did cross my mind, but vet said she thougth she was lab/sharpei. I don't see it but vet said she walked on her feet like a cat as do shar peis. So I have always called her my lab-pei..... it's hard to say. She would have been an aggressive dog had I wanted her to be. As it is now, she is very protective but if I like someone, she loves them too. If I don't, she won't go near them. If I take her fishing, she stands watch over me making sure no one comes near. If anyone approaches and she knows we don't know them, she will growl low but when I tell her it''s ok, she settles down instantly and loves them and lets them pet her. I think she understands everything I tell her. Seriously. She reads me very well.

When I first got her, I went to our town square everyday with her for months and all the kids that came by, petted her, all the old men and everyone. I had to socialize her. We lived in town and so we walked around block after block, sitting with the sit command on every corner. She learned what I expected and as a result, she is absolutely perfect in every way!! She comes, fetches, minds, sits, lays down, finds her daddy, everything.... She knows it all.



Once I was hiking in the wilderness and had emma with me. I got turned around and got lost. I sat down and just gave up for a few minutes. I had no cell with me or anything. I was on ly a few miles from home but every direction looked the same. I told emma to take me home and I followed her trusting her and we came out right at our creek. She is a very handy dog.

This summer, she saved me from a snake by jumping on me in the water to push me under the snake. She took a snake bite for me.

This one was back in 2007. She can look very menacing but she's not. One of my daughters was afraid of her for a long time due to her look. But then she got to know her.

I want to add one thing. She does have one flaw and she has had it from day 2 of having her. But it is a sweet flaw.

She hides my shoes. She doesn't chew them up, but she will take one and hide it so she can keep it in her bed. Anything of mine that is missing will usually be found in her bed.....!!

Against all dog rules, I gave one ONE of my old houseshoes. She happily carried it for months. I kept it washed for her. When it finally fell apart, I gave her the other one. and she is happily carrying it now. She lays her head on it.