Now that Shadow likes us, his aloofness isn’t the only thing that vanishes. All that calm stillness seems to have evaporated like dew on a dry summer’s day. By the end of the first week, we begin to get an idea of what we’re truly getting into. We decide to call him Shadow, because it’s […]
Doodlewhacked
You know that perfect dog from your childhood? The one that did everything right, was intensely loyal and loved you more than anything? I had a dog like that once.
This is not the story of that dog.
[Start at the beginning]
Chapter Three: Putting It All on Black
The night we bring him home, he huddles against us like a scared rabbit. We take him to a fenced area in the back yard and put him down. He hops a few steps, still rabbit-like, then hugs the ground. No interest in exploring. No interest in us. I begin to worry that we have […]
Chapter Two: How Not to Get a Puppy, Part Two
It all started innocently in 2006, when, daydreaming about owning a labradoodle, I did a web search for labradoodle breeders in the area. I live in Southwestern Virginia, a place my daughter calls “the middle of freakin’ nowhere” so by “area” I meant anywhere in West Virginia, North Carolina, and Virginia. To my surprise, I […]