The text in brown italics are thoughts and ramblings as I "remember" my baby.  They are in no particular order, but are designed to show you what her personality was like, and how much fun she was.  You can also read A Letter from Beauty, shown above. It was written by a dear friend who wanted me to know just how special she was.

Here she is! The royalty arrived in our home in June, 1987. She was born April 29, 1987, and was my birthday present from my husband the year we were married. She has always been the royalty in the home, who expects everything to go her way. And as you watch, she becomes "Simply Irresistible"

At age 6 weeks, Beauty had already taken over the couch.

Beauty loved to help me teach dog obedience.   She loved pretending she didn't know commands the first time we showed it, so others could see how actually to teach an exercise.  Then, miraculously, she'd know exactly how to do the exercise perfectly.  Nothing was more fun than watching her "perform" during obedience classes.  I remember once having to command her to drink water, (she wouldn't drink in public) because it was warm.  I laughed when a student asked me if she did EVERYTHING on command. best sheets to buy

By 5 months, she had learned to lay on the air conditioning vent for nice cool air. Always a heavy sleeper, she absolutely refused to allow anyone to disturb her.

I remember once, Beauty was helping to teach a young dalmation how to "down" on command.  We would make Beauty "down", over and over for this poor confused little guy.  Finally he started copying her, and learned to down.  Later, their little boy arrived.  Beauty had been taught "lay down to see the baby", and as the boy was only 2 years old, she did just that.  She laid down.  Funny thing was, so did the Dalmation.

This photo was taken in 1994. Here Beauty stands 4 inches taller than standard and was seven years old. Sorry you can't see the tail, but she never quits wagging it long enough to get a good look at it.  For the "Labrador Informed", I'll tell you it was definitely a FLAG tail.  Beauty was NOT a good example of the breed, but to me, she was beautiful.  She made an excellent example of what NOT to breed!

Beauty was a very special dog.  She loved to play with children, and "babies".  To her, a baby was anything smaller than she, whether human, canine, or other.  I think the neatest thing I saw her do, was when we were in Germany. She was ill, with a kidney infection.  In Germany you don't GET vet appointments, you just wait until they can see you.  So we spent many an hour in their waiting room.  One day, a lady brought in a tiny kitten, who had an eye infection.  She kept the kitten in a basket.  Beauty watched that kitten, and finally coaxed it out to come and visit with her.  She'd cock her head to one side, perk her ears, and whine ever so softly.  If the kitten looked at her, she'd wag her tail, and you could just see the smile!  It was so sweet to watch that tiny 2 lb kitten come out of his basket all on his own to  sniff noses with that great big 90lb dog! Wordpress Themes Professional joomla templates What.

On her Last halloween, Beauty got the privilege of wearing a costume for the first time. She was thrilled to death, and loved every second of it.  She adored halloween, it was her favorite holiday, for children would come and pet her.  When it was obvious that the children were not visiting our home (our part of the neighborhood has few children), we went for a walk in our costumes.  She adored every second of the extra attention, and did not want to come home until she was too tired to walk.  She barely made it up the hill to our house on the way home.  Taking off her costume was difficult while she slept, but she didn't budge.  She slept for the next 5 days, but was so very happy. SEO search engine optimization services Consulting Consultant Company S.

Beauty was one of the smartest dogs I ever met.  She learned to track in 2 days (takes 12 weeks according to the book), after I finally pointed my finger to the ground and said "Go Find It".  Funny thing was, you always knew when she learned something knew, and it clicked.  That particular time she looked at me as if to say "Why the heck didn't you say that in the FIRST place?".  Learning was something she loved to do.  Even at the age of 12, she was still learning new stuff.  3 months before she died, Beauty learned to open the kitchen door, which of course left the bread open to theft!  (Her favorite food).   

Beauty suffered from Severe Hip Dysplasia, which was diagnosed by the age of 6 months. Several vets indicated she would not live past the age of 5.

Just because she was smart didn't mean things didn't sometimes get confusing.  When she was younger, I was "momma", and Doug, well, he was sort of there with no name for a long time.  I finally began saying "Daddy's home" when he would come in.  But that was the only time he had a "name".  She was two before I realized she thought "Daddy's home" meant someone was at the door, not that Doug was there.  We finally had to give Doug the name "daddy" so she could get things straight.

If your dog is a Lab, please, check out the Rimadyl home page before putting your dog on the medication. Many labs are suffering Liver problems. We have been very lucky! We had Beauty's blood work accomplished every 6 weeks and she tolerated it very well for quite a while.  This drug is only as safe as YOU make it!

Can't have thoughts on Beauty and not talk about her favorite food.  She was a total Bread - A - Holic!  Her life was not complete without stealing full loaves of bread, or other bread type substances.  Once she snatched a loaf of bread after I turned my back, and even though I caught her in less than 30 seconds, she inhaled the entire loaf of bread!  I yelled at her to stop, and all she did was close her eyes and eat faster.  I tried so hard not to laugh, watching her inhale that loaf of bread!   We had to always hide the loaf bread from her site, or she would do her best to retrieve it and eat every crumb.

Later, not long before she died, Beauty raided the kitchen once again... this time finding a huge pack of bagels!    She ate every one of those bagels.  We worried all nite about her tummy, and she laid there, nearly moaning in pain, but I know... if we had offered, she'd have snatched up another one in a heartbeat!  One thing about Beauty, she LOVED her bread.

Beauty also suffered from Laryngeal Paralysis.  To learn more about the disease that eventually took her life, visit the Laryngeal Paralysis Website.  To be honest, I never thought this disease would be the "decision maker", for she did not seem to suffer much from it.  But that last final night, when she began coughing up a small amount of blood as she gagged, trying so hard to breath, I realized that I could not let her suffer any longer, and that it was obviously worse than I had thought.

This picture was taken of Beauty when she was about 2 1/2 years of age.  The sketch was a gift from the Bellevue Nebraska Dog Obedience Club for teaching classes.  PLEASE, do NOT take this pic!  The artist deserves credit for her work!