Marley

Marley waiting for me
to take him for a walk.

...running ahead of me.

...catching up to me.

..waiting for his treat
after our walk.

Marley is grandma's black lab. When you were last here we had Joy, who was

uncle Tyler's pet lab. When uncle Tyler started school, I became Joy's main

caregiver; feeding, watering and walking her. She soon would follow me

everywhere I went. She would sit beside me when I worked in the shop,

wait for me outside the door when I went inside, and sometimes I would

let her ride with me in the car, where she would sit on the passenger's side

with this look like she knew how to drive too. If someone drove up into

the driveway she would run to me and give a low growl warning me some

one was here. When I was sad she would come up to me and lay her head

in my lap or against me and look at me with eyes of compassion.

A couple years ago Joy became very ill. Grandma took her to the vet,

and we put her on medicine hoping she would get better. For several

months we watched her get weaker and weaker. Some times grandma and

aunt Lise would sit with her out in the garage, where she would lay her

head in our laps and fall asleep. Joy died in our arms at the vet's office.

Aunt Lise and I cried a lot and our hearts ached we missed her so much.

I guess I must have cried a lot because grandpa Willard, aunt Lise, and

uncle Tyler surprised me with another black lab puppy, who uncle

Tyler named Marley, after the singer, Bob Marley.

Marley isn't the gentle Joy. He is big, and when he runs to me when I

call he doesn't stop fast enough and often runs right into me. He pulls

the leash out of my hands sometimes when I tell him we're going for a

walk, instead of sitting patiently like Joy until I attach the leash to his

collar. When I give him his treat he slobbers all over and often has crumbs

all over his face, and then wipes it on me!

BUT, like Joy he is always smiling. He follows me around, almost every

where I go, and when someone drives into the driveway he'll go out into

the rode if we don't watch him. When I am sad he looks at me with his

big eyes as if to say "Snap out of it! let's go for a walk!!!"

I am thankful I have another dog to love and take care of.

What do you like about Ringo?