introductions

zzzzzzzz....

...well, i was comfortably napping, but since there is no peace when my peeps have the camera, i guess i will introduce my photogenic self. i am phil, the yellow lab. the above photo is me in my most natural state. notice my cushy dog bed - a very cool place indeed!

i am even kind enough to share it with my canine sister L. she is quite shy about expressing herself, so i am not sure when or if i will get her to post here, but she occasionally poses for photos...

L. was around before me (an older woman!) & she is quite sure that she is the alpha female in this house. (i'm sure my human mom thinks differently!) eh, i just let her go...whatever...i get more peace that way, but really - i could clobber her if i wanted to.

frankly i would rather chase a ball...or take a nap...or eat everything! L. is not all that bad - she is a terrific helper in my stalking of the birds & squirrels that frequent our deck - we are quite the canine pest control team!

my life started out in a most complex way...i was born on THE 9/11 to a family of very professional duck hunters. it was all business there. not my style, at all. i basically became a hired gun for some hunter-type. he didn't want to play one iota. it was all training, all the time. heck, he even sent me to some college-for-duck-dogs type place. i had more frequent flyer miles (literally!) than my current peeps. i was miserable! everyone thought i was sick, or possibly, gasp(!), slow. but really, i'm just a fun family guy. the hunter wanted me to fetch a duck; i wanted to roll in the grass. i'm not meant to climb the corporate ladder of duckdom. eventually, the hunter had had enough of my antics.

so after becoming a duckhunting school dropout, i found myself at one of those megapetwarehouse chains, up for adoption. it was mass chaos, i tell ya. every kind of bark & growl you could imagine. people everywhere. i was an oasis of calm in a sea of wacko dogs, sitting regally at the hunter's feet...waiting for? how would i know? oh, but soon i did! in walked a human mom-type with with her boy & girl - how very cool. they came straight to me (Whew!) & spoke to the hunter.

next thing i know i am on a short road trip, following the mom & her brood. at the end of the ride i was introduced to the dad & the other boy & girl - & L.

they loved me, gushed all over me. heck, they didn't even say a word when i dropped a bomb in their dining room! L. did a lot of sniffing you-know-where. she brought out her tugging rope. and she confidently displayed her dominance, just to be safe. and the location - water everywhere! very cool indeed!

i was so glad the hunter left me with these peeps. now my life is full of just what i wanted...good food (if it falls on the floor, it's mine), cushy spots to sleep,doggy snacks, chasing balls, & fun in the water!they even overlook my strangest habits - like licking the air when they use pan sprayor hiding in the bathtub when i'm afraid!oh, i still get a healthy dose of humiliation every morning when they perch a biscuit on my nose and make me sit still before i eat it, but occasionally the mom will just give me a freebie without all the fanfare.

yeah, i'm a happy guy! and i hope my stories make you happy too...see you around here again soon. thanks for stopping by! ...now go out there & chase a ball!!