Lady was born in Alamosa, CO and joined our family through adoption from the Brighton Puppy Rescue. Lady was 9 weeks old when we brought her home, and she immediately began her task of training us to be her family.
Lady was the best puppy ever; never chewing on anything except her toys or items she knew �were hers�. Little did we know at the time, but this is how Lady trained us to always have plenty of toys available for her to choose from. She would often search through her �baskets� of toys, emptying them out in the family room until she found that special one she was looking for. This of course is how Lady trained us to pick up after her.
During her younger years, Lady was unsure why her tail would follow her everywhere she went. She would often chase it, running in circles until it tired enough for her to catch it in her mouth. Once apprehended she would pull like crazy hoping to dislodge the annoying menace. Thankfully she failed at this task, and later learned the true value tails would provide in showing her happiness.
Lady was a quick learner when it came to chasing and retrieving, starting with the tennis ball. This activity quickly advanced to catching and returning Frisbees, which became one of her favorite activities, closely followed by hiking, swimming, snowshoeing, and treats or giving kisses of course.
Lady was also quite the performer. She would roll over, sit up, play dead, hold a treat on her nose and then flip it up and catch it on command. Her best trick though was retrieving the morning newspaper from the driveway every day; rain, shine, snow, or even those over-stuffed Sunday versions. She would walk out to the paper, look around to make sure at least one neighbor or passerby was �watching�, and then pick the paper up in her mouth and prance back to the door. Of course we were trained to watch through a crack in the door, open the door at just the right time, and have a treat ready to replace the paper in her mouth. Lady�s ability to �perform� landed her in the star role of �The BIG Movie�, which incidentally Lady also Produced and Directed.
When Lady trained us on the newspaper trick, it was mandatory that anytime she found a paper and brought it to us a treat was readily offered. Lady was know to �recycle� papers that were laid down and not read right away; and of course, there was no limit on how many treats the same paper could bring. She would also monitor the weekly choir of �Laundry�, ensuring the highest quality would be maintained by sitting outside the laundry room door. Even though a �treat� payment was required to leave the laundry room, this was in no way was a �bribe� impacting her quality oversight.
Lady loved to go everywhere with her family. She loved hiking to the top of 14ers, or snowshoeing, or camping, or just walking around the block. She loved doing anything we were doing and being with us no matter what.
During the summer of 2011 Lady suffered a spinal injury and was immediately rushed to the doctor�s office. After an exam and x-rays, it was determined that she had a bulging disc that was pushing against her spinal cord and impacting the use of her hind legs. She was placed on medication, and responded extremely well for several months. Some of her favorite activities were put on hold during her recovery, but her kisses, love for treats and her family never wavered. In January, a few days prior to her 10th birthday Lady experienced a relapse and again she was taken to the doctor for evaluation. The news was the worst ever, and Lady continued to degrade very quickly from this point on.
Lady passed away on March 2, 2012 with the help of Dr. Cooney, ensuring her end of life journey would be without pain or discomfort. She tasted ice cream for the last time, and was surrounded with love, hugging and holding her as she drifted away. We miss Lady every day and know that someday we will see her again in Heaven with a Frisbee in her mouth and her tail wagging, ready to play.
We originally thought that we were doing a good thing by giving a home to a little orphan lab-mix puppy. Little did we know, but Lady was really adopting us for a 10 year lesson on life, love, devotion, and affection. We are blessed that Lady chose us to be her family, and we will always remember her and the valuable lessons she taught us.