Sunday, February 1, 2009

Honey & Molasses ~ 6 Weeks Old


Meet the new additions to our family, Molasses (Mo for short) and Honey, 6 week old Labrador Retriever sisters. We got them from a neat urban homesteading family about 45 minutes east of us. Their mom is a 7th generation Chocolate Lab and dad is also a Choc lab. They were part of a litter of 10. Their home had dogs, chickens, cats, rabbits and kids - hmmm, sounds very familiar.

The boys decided on this ones name first ~ Honey. She is super sweet, but much more adventureous than Mo. Honey is the first to explore and she has an amazing vertical leap!

Since they had already decided on Honey's name, we needed a name for this sweet lady. I suggested Molasses, Mo for short. It seemed fitting. She is also very sweet, but a more laid back, slower temperment. She is the snuggler of the two and when you pet her, she sighs contentedly.


This is a photo of our 4th Lab, Bo and me. He was abandonned on a farm and rescued at 6 months old. He and his brother had to fend for themselves, so he was used to hunting up his own food. He hadn't had a lot of human interaction until we adopted him. He immediately fit right in with our crazy crew. The best part of adopting an older pet, is that they have moved beyond the chewing, not-housebroken, crying-at-night stage. If I remember correctly, it doesn't last long. (fingers crossed - I'm a bit tired right now from the midnight dashes out to potty.)

Bo was our first Choc lab. He was just the most happy-go-lucky, mellow and loving dog. He had the cutest face he'd make when he wanted to be extra loving ~ he'd scrunch up his nose and wiggle like crazy. It was his signature move! He did really well when we got the chickens last fall. I was a little concerned he'd resort to his hunting days, but after a few sniffs, he left them alone.

He was just 7 years old when his hips starting showing signs of giving out. (Labs have this common ailment - 3 of our 4 had their back hips give out.) Then, cancer took over. Just 10 days from the cancer diagnosis, we had to have him put down. His spirit was still strong and vibrant, but his body was so far gone that he had paralysis in his legs and he had stopped eating days earlier. It's never easy making the decision to let go, but part of pet ownership.

This picture was taken three years ago - he was just 4 years old. I have an entire series of shots with him not being a good model ~ i.e. licking, rolling, walking away, playing etc. He was already up for whatever we wanted to do. He loved going to the lake and swimming. He loved being off his leash to run and run and run. He loved doggy treats. He was easy to train and was like sunshine on four legs. He loved life so much and I'll miss him dearly.

9 comments:

Judy T said...

Oh, have fun with the new puppies! Our dog was also a rescue after he had been abandoned near my parent's farm. He was about a year old at the time. He looks like a lab, German shepherd mix and was at that awkward stage of a big dog where he weighed 75 pounds and still thought he was a puppy. We figure he was too energetic for whoever had him before. He's now 100 pounds of big lovable dog. It does make me really angry that people would just abandon him (or any pet).

Farmgirl Cyn said...

OOHHH! I love puppies...just don't love all the work involved! We have a 5 yo Golden, who, quite frankly, still acts like a puppy. In spite of going thru obedience school 2x, he STILL won't come if he happens to get loose. Just runs like the dickens!
Not sure where I 1st found you...maybe Eclectic Culture Farm?

Jennifer said...

Too cute, I remember that age.... you have your hands full! Our furry daughter is 6 years old and she is still crazy!

Lanny said...

Oh what adorable little buggers! You might be able to avoid future hip issues with vit C. A friend of mine who has raised labs for nearly thirty years has had terrific results. Best wishes for the puppy potty and chew stage! But they are fun!

Leasmom said...

What gorgeous babies!

Tina. said...

What a bittersweet post. The puppies are gorgeous and I just love their names! Hopefully they will fill the hole in your heart from you missing your sweet Bo...

Janelle said...

The puppies are adorable.

Chris W said...

Beautiful pups! I miss our old lab my sis and I had growing up. Tas was a beautiful 160 pound monster, lol. That old girl lived to be almost 16.

Lisa and I have 5 dogs now, a beagle, a basset, a bloodhound, a lab/border mix and a sheba/pom mix.

Jennifer said...

The new puppies are beautiful and so cute!