But they weren't sure how I would fit in with Betsy, so my Mommy stayed with me and Daddy left. They were very good judges of character and appearance. When they saw the big rescue sign, they stopped and found me and thought I was pretty cute. I could have told them that when I saw her, the way she strutted around and acted so bossy. They already had a dog named Betsy, that they thought was part border collie but turned out to be a corgi. Apparently, they had recently lost, or I should say she passed away, another lab named Tessa.

My future Mommy and Daddy were driving home from a Toys for Tots party at Pendleton Marine Base and they saw a sign for a lab rescue. It’s where doggies who have been given away or abandoned are placed up for adoption.

I was adopted at a Labrador rescue event they held near our house. And, I do follow him all over the place and practically run into him when he stops.

He calls himself Daddy and I respond to it. It does sound silly, but if that’s what it takes to get treats and so forth, you go along. That's what my mommy called herself, when she talked to me. I know it sounds stupid, but that's what he calls himself. I don't know what they call it.Ī word about why I call him Daddy. In fact, I still do, everywhere! My daddy says I shouldn't follow him into this sort of small room it has a white thing that he sits on sometimes and sometimes he stands up. They called me Shadow because I was always following people around. I guess I must've been hurt pretty bad and traumatized, whatever that means, at an early age. I'm not sure really what happened during that time, but I wasn't treated very well, because I have never wanted anyone ever to touch my feet or my mouth. My brothers and sisters and I were adopted and lived with a family and a bunch of people off and on for three or four years. There were about five or six of us in my litter. Cats can't understand anything and they don't care anyway.Īs I'm writing this, I'm a ten-year-old lab. How many times have you really thought that your dog understood what you were saying? Forget about cats. I know it sounds a little far-fetched, but think about it. What you don't know is that we really understand you all the time. It's just that you can't understand them. I suppose you're pretty surprised that I'm talking.

Lessons from Shadow by Shadow Bregman