On a cold, icy December morning in 2002, I saw something black shining against the snow at our mailbox and it was moving. When I went to investigate, I found a black female puppy that looked a lot like a black lab.
Her paws weren't wet, so I knew most likely she didn't wander off. I had a feeling she was set out in our yard by someone hoping to find her a good home. Just to be sure, we called around and asked neighbors if anyone was missing a puppy. We put the word out that we had found a puppy and was looking for her owner. However, no one responded. Knowing that I have a soft heart for dogs and couldn't bear to put her in a shelter, he agreed to let us keep it. I decided to call her Snowflake in honor of the snowy morning we found her.
She grew quickly and is now over 60 pounds. She seems so big and so scary. Her bark seems terrifying and very exuberant, but she is really just a big softy. She just wants to be everyone's friend. She is very gentle with our cats and one of them even lays down beside her. She would just as soon lick you to death as to bite you. She has been such a blessing and has kept all kinds of critters out of the yard, including the human kind. Our out buildings haven't been broken in to in the middle of the night since we have had her. We aren't bothered by critters eating our veggies in our garden. Best of all with our bad coyote problem, she has been the biggest deterrent to keeping them out of our yard. As a matter of fact, she makes sure to alert us any time she spot one in the pasture. She is an excellent watch dog.
For a big dog, she has lived a long time. If she makes it to October, she will be 14 years old. She is getting grey hair. Walking is getting difficult for her, but she still enjoys going on walks with me. She has a fatty tumor on her side, but it doesn't appear to be bothering her. Yes, she is see the vet yearly and the tumor is being monitored closely, but so far it is just a bump on her side and nothing to worry about.
Snowflake is a sweet, sweet dog, but can be something of a wrecking ball with her big thick tail. Since we live so close to the road, she has always stayed on a lead line. For of her favorite activities was escaping from her collar and getting off her line. We don't know how she managed it a lot of times and she amazed us with her escapist artist skills. However, we eventually found a collar she couldn't get out of, yet.
The day is coming when our sweet big black scary dog will leave us, but she has given us a lifetime of memories to cherish!
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| She wants to say hello and give you a big lick. |
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| She is getting old but she is still sweet as ever. |
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