In our old home, the soil was too rocky and glaciated for me to dig my way out successfully. In my new house I’m lucky because the soil is much softer and I can really dig down deep – and quickly.

My favorite places to dig are around trees and by the sides of our home, particularly in the nook of a corner where it was particularly shaded or hidden. Studying my habits, however, m mom Jane got pretty clever and decided to purchase chicken wire and to lay it under the dirt around the trees and in particular between the trees and the house, one of my favorite digging spots. On top of the dirt she placed small rocks to keep the dirt and the chicken wire down, and to make the area look a little more attractive; in some places she lay down slates as an extra deterrent.

Here is a photo of one of my favorite digging spots – of the past. If you look, you’ll be able to see the chicken wire sticking out. It was an excellent spot, in between a tree and a wall, until my mom outsmarted me.

Here is a photo of one of my favorite digging spots – of the past. If you look, you’ll be able to see the chicken wire sticking out.  It was a good spot, hidden by the trees, until my mom outsmarted me.

Behind our old home ran an old stone wall that marked the boundary between our property and our rear neighbors’ property.  Our yard itself had a gentle rise toward the back, and the stone wall added even more height.  Thus elevated, sitting on any stone along the wall enabled me to see everything happening on our block and on the intersecting road as well: people walking up and down, jogging, bicyclers, mail being delivered, and most importantly, dogs being walked.

From my perch on the wall I could also see them and detect if they were looking at me.  The smallest movement on their part, a face in the window, a movement through the door, would and could catch my eye and call off my plans.

Every once in a while I was able to outsmart them.  Using my nose, or snout, I would nudge open the lock of the gate on the fence.  Once outside, there were so many different directions I could choose to go in, all equally wonderful.  However, this all ended when my parents put a padlock on the gate. If the gardeners, coming to mow the lawn, forgot to put the padlock back on after left, I was in luck and would take advantage of the opportunity. In this home, after a while that was my only hope of escape, since the ground here was too rocky to tunnel my way under the fence and out. Needless to say, the gardener was a good friend of mine!

Happiness is being outside with my dad when it’s snowing. Even better, I’m also doing one of my favorite hobbies, which is walking or, even better, running.

Do you see the silly red coat that my dad has me wearing? The truth is that every time I had a chance to take it off, that is, whenever Phil wasn’t looking, I managed to get it off of me.  I use my intelligence and determination to maneuver myself out of it.  On this night, the cold didn’t bother me but the coat did. This is one of the last times I ever wore that coat.

My name is Joey, and I’m a Chocolate Labrador Retriever.

When I began to write my story, I was 9.78 years old. That’s a pretty exact age but I know this was correct. You see, last month I was taken to the emergency room of the animal hospital in Roxborough MA and there they calculated my age – to two decimal places! Although I was in a hospital, I really made lots of friends there .

Earlier that fine spring morning I had found myself in a situation that I had not anticipated. And neither had my mom, when she opened the kitchen door that led to the back yard to allow me to spend some of the morning hours outside while she prepared herself for the day.

For the next six days, beginning with my sojourn to the hospital, and since then, I’ve heard children and adults ask many questions about us dogs. It’s been difficult for me to express myself to you all, so I’m now taking the time to tell you a little about us and what we need, and how to care for us.

I understand the expression, “Dog is man’s best friend” and in my heart I know that man is a dog’s best friend, too. My life has been an expression of that relationship.  So my tale is dedicated to our friendship!

Please read my story.  You will learn how how to care for a dog and a pet that has been wounded or injured. My story also has a lot of interesting information about dogs in general, about Labrador Retrievers in specific, and a lot of pictures and illustrations.  My story is also about people – people like you, and people like your neighbor. People who have dogs and people who don’t.  I also provide a lot of information for children and adults, so that children and their parents can learn about us dogs, and how to care for a dog and a pet that has been wounded, injured or is ill.

I begin my story one snowy night when my parents took me for a walk!

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