My Life with Labs Vol 2

[barry581]

As most of you know I've had a bad couple of weeks. Things are a little better, but the pain is still very real, and very raw. Bruce's ashes were returned to me this week, I have them safely tucked away until the time comes for me to set him free.

On a happy note, this is my second installment of My Life with Labs. These pictures were taken in the spring of 1985. My friends not only had Labs, but sheep, cows, and chickens. The invited up over to see the lambs that were born that spring. My wife and I took our two kids, plus a couple of kids of AF friends. No laughing at how young I was, or how I was dressed, it was 1985 for cryin' out loud!! And I haven't owned a pair of tube socks since then!!!!


My daughter and I reading the "Stars and Stripes" or as we commonly referred to it, "Yesterdays News Tomorrow"!!!!! That's Ella laying at my feet, where she often was. Sophie has laid in the same spot since she was a puppy. Must be something in their lines!



DD, aged 3 1/2 and me with Ella.



My son, aged 2 1/2 with Ella in our kitchen. Ella absolutely loved him. She'd follow him everywhere, and never let him out of her sight if at all possible.



Visiting my friends and holding the new born lambs.



My DD and I.



Me and the Lamb. 30 years younger and about 40 pounds lighter!!!



My friends kennel runs. 30 years have gone by, and they are pretty much the same today.

To the best of my recollection, left to right the dogs:

Bruce, their first Show Champion. Donna, the dam of the two to her right, and I believe she was Ella's dam. Guy, their second Champion, and the most handsome, hard working, true to type Labrador I've ever known. Abba, Guy's litter sister, who would produce two of the most influential yellow Labs in history, but that's another story....



This picture was taken on a trip to my friends. One of my very favorites. I think this picture truly epitomizes how these wonderful dogs love their families.

[Annette47]

Love seeing these pictures!

[POPTOP]

Love the story and so glad you decided to continue sharing it with us.

[Bamps]

Thanks for continuing your story.

[Blackboy98]

Thank you for sharing, makes me smile to see pictures of olden times with kids and dogs.

You are so right with that last picture and the first, how these amazing dogs are more than part of the family.

[JC001]

Thanks for sharing both the pictures and stories.

[Tilly]

Thanks for sharing Barry, and hoping you are feeling a little better. That last picture says it all about labs and kids. Take care

[MightyThor]

Such a wonderful story and a great trip down memory lane.

My mom has recently been scanning a bunch of family slides from the 70s and early 80s. I've been slowly posting them online and as I go through them the ones that bring the biggest smile to my face are the ones with our dogs. Our dogs definitely helped raise me to be the person I am today. They sure are a huge part of our past and future stories.

[TuMicks]

Barry. I love the stories and pictures. I get a little misty, but enjoy reading them. Did you bring Ella back to the states with you? Was that a difficult process bureaucratically speaking?

[barry581]

TuMicks - I brought Ella and black boy, Clancy back from the UK with me. Back then it was a piece of cake. When my flight was booked, I called the airline (Pan Am) and told them I was bringing 2 Labradors as excess baggage. No problem, $75 each for excess baggage, dropped them off when we checked in, picked them up at baggage collection when we arrived at IAD (Dulles).

Now, not so easy. I had planned on doing the same when I got Sophie. I rapidly found out you can't ship pets as excess baggage from Heathrow anymore. They have to be shipped as freight, and it has to be handled by a shipping agent. Two years ago I shipped my daughters golden retriever to her over in the UK. While there is no longer any quarantine, there are still a myriad of hoops to jump through. Shipping Sophie and Bruce was relatively easy, as my friends know people who own a shipping kennel. They were 10 weeks old when I had them shipped. Sophie did great, she came out of the crate all bouncy and happy. Bruce had a rough time. He was huddled all the way in the back of his crate, scared to death. He'd pee'd all over the crate and was a mess. I felt so bad for him, knowing I had put him through all that. Even though he perked right up when I got him out of the crate and fed him, I knew I'd probably never be able to put another puppy through that shipping process.