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OCTOBER SUCCESS STORY
- Tucker

Adoption day

Tucker had reached the end of his alotted time at a local shelter when they called us. We're so happy that they did -- we couldn't resist sharing his new dad's entire email to us. Steve grew up helping his family train Labs as Guide Dogs, so he's very familiar with the breed.

Hey Leslie - I don't know if you have submitted the article yet, but I meant to send you a few short tidbits of funny stuff Tucker has done since I've had him...

The day I first drove him home, he climbed all the way up to the front seat. Normally I would have made sure he stayed in the back, but I felt so bad, he seemed really nervous and I wanted him to feel comfortable. So we rode home all the way together in the front and he laid his head and front paws on my lap and the rest of his body across the middle console ...and he wouldnt budge, he just laid all over me the entire way home.

That night I took him to a park to run around and he immediately found the largest puddle and plopped down in it and just sat there for a minute before he was ready to play. Then later in the night the sprinklers came on and he was just running from one to the next, standing in the sprinkler letting the water hit him. Needless to say my first day/night with him was a wet one!!

I had remembered what you said about him loving water so much and that he would even jump in the shower! So I always made sure to shut the shower door when I had the water running. Well, about 2 weeks after I had him, I turned the shower on, went to grab something from another room and forgot to shut the door, and when I came back he was laying down in the shower with his eyes closed just hanging out, loving the water spraying on him.

He's been extremely well-behaved in the house, he only has slipped up stealing food twice. Once I left a chunk of cheese on the counter when I went in the other room and I came back in and he was just sitting there staring at me with the most guilty face so I knew he had done something, and then I noticed the cheese was gone! Another time I was eating dinner in front of the tv and I got up to go to the kitchen and came back in and he had stolen the rest of my BBQ sandwich off the table in front of me. That time I caught him in the act licking the plate clean, I guess he couldnt resist.

Otherwise he has been great. I taught him last week to flip a bone off his nose into the air and catch it! And he's really good at it - he's very smart. I keep his balls and toys in a box on my back porch and when we go outside he goes right to it, opens it up with his nose, sticks his head in, and takes out whatever toy or ball he wants to play with. And he even puts the balls back when we're done before we go inside. He's really settled in nicely, his barking is down to a bare minimum, he gets along great with other dogs, and just always wants to play! everyone always comments on what a great-looking dog he is!!

Anyways, hope this is some good info for your article, let me know if you want to know anything else in particular. look forward to seeing it! Thanks,

Steve

Tucker cools off in his very own backyard.
(Now, how did that hose get a hole it in??)

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