Our journey in Labs began on a cold rainy December morning six years ago. We had visited a few breeders with pups, but nothing really clicked for us. Either all of the clearances were not there, or we did not care for the parents, whatever it was, it seemed it was not meant to be. Then I called a breeder in Virginia and inquired (asked all the right questions!) about a pup. Well, she had one female and two males left, OK, great, we are on our way!!! Where are you coming from? New Jersey! Oh, ok, see you in about 5 hours! Jim told me not to feel any pressure about taking the puppy even though it is a long drive. We must love it. Well, I kept calling Alice on the way, Please do not show the puppy to anyone!!! When we FINALLY arrived, Alice brought this chubby wiggly bundle of joy for us to see. Well, what did it take, 15 seconds??!! WE KNEW!!! SHE KNEW!!! And that is the beginning of Taylor’s story.
When Taylor was about a year and a half, we received a “birth announcement” from one of the breeders that I had spoken to about a puppy the year before. What a great surprise! The pups were one week old. They were the size of Idaho potatoes. Seven weeks later we drove back to pick up Madison.
A year and a half later, thinking of maybe a yellow pup would be fun to add to the brood! Lots of phone calls to breeders, lots of lists, not too much headway. I decided to call Alice , Taylor’s breeder (just love her pedigrees) and it just so happened she had a yellow female. She was going to be driving up to NJ for a breeding and would bring the pup! When Alice took this pupster out of the van and put her down, we knew, Sophie had arrived!
How wonderful! Three great Labs, we did obedience training, got their Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog titles, and started visiting local care facilities. We just loved the breed. They could do everything. What great temperaments (exceptional breedings). We were going to a lot of dog shows and specialties (just Labs at the show) and started thinking about getting involved with the “show world”.
We have learned so much in the last six years! Made wonderful friends.
So, we have Taylor, the “fairy godmother” to all, Madison, “the movie star”, Sophie, “the blonde bombshell” and Tango "the queen".