[JoeRedskin]

I have been meaning to finish my story but have just not gotten around to it. Don’t worry Hog1, no tears in this one.

AMY – A yellow lab, Bronwyn’s half sister, with a disposition much more Trajan like than Abby or Brownwyn. She is like the others in that she is a beautiful dog, with a sweet lab face. A bit chunky - gravity is not her friend. She still loves to play and has a best friend in our newest addition (see below).

When Bronwyn died, Trajan was nine years old. B/c of Trajan’s age, we decided we would need to either (1) get a puppy quickly while Trajan was still mobile and could play; or (2) wait until after Trajan passed away. We decided on the former. Trajan was fairly sedate at this point and our son missed having a furry playmate. We went to our breeder (probably for the last time as she was now in her late 60’s) and were told that Bronwyn’s mom had just has a new litter. We went to see it and one of them toddled right over to Aidan almost immediately. We had our new dog.

When it came to naming her, Aidan wanted to call her Love because she was bringing a lost love back to the family. While appreciative of the sentiment, neither my wife nor I were keen on the name and, instead, sold Aidan on the name Amy as short for the French word for love - “amore”.

Amy, as I said, was much more subdued than Abby and Bronwyn. She was a playful puppy and she and Trajan would play the “I’ll (Trajan) sit here and watch you (Amy) run around me and, if you get to close, I will swat you to the ground and wrestle you” game. She loved Trajan and would curl up next to him. He tolerated her but seemed to appreciated that she was not the constant nuisance to him Bronwyn and Abby were. After Trajan passed away, Amy missed him for a while but did not mope as I have seen some dogs do on the loss of a companion dog. Soon enough, she seemed okay being the only dog in the house.

My son, while caring for her, has not bonded with her in any significant way. For him, she is just a dog. He likes and cares for her, but not she is simply not his friend or playmate in the way Bronnie was.

Amy is five now and, in many ways, has taken over from Trajan as being the “just there dog”. She is unobtrusive but present. While she enjoys playing and going for walks, she is just not the high energy dog that her sister was. She is also a bit chunky and, as I said, gravity is not her friend. A wonderful family dog, we are hopeful that she will be with us a long, long time.

ANGUS – A mixed breed, part lab, part pit bull, part greyhound and mostly stupid. Without a doubt the most athletic dog I have ever had. Equally doubtless is the fact that he is dumber than a post – by a long shot. Sweet and lovable like the village idiot, Angus has taken over the role of “high energy stupid” previously occupied by Abby and Bronwyn.

After Trajan died, I was pretty much ready to be a one dog family for a while. Amy was sweet, well behaved and, with two kids, perfect for our little house and family. My wife, however, soon wanted a second dog. She loved Amy but had always had two dogs and wanted a second “because the house felt empty”. One day while working a farmer’s market in Chestertown, MD, my wife had a rescue dog come and sit with her from the local SPCA booth. My 4 year old daughter fell in love with him. According to my wife, the dog was sedate, calm and gentle as kids climbed all over him. I got a phone call from my little girl – “Daddy, can we pleeeaaaaasssse take him home? I love him so much!”. Not having a heart of stone, I agreed - much as I did not want to.

Stupid just does not convey the level of vacuous existent in this dog. I tell people he only has two brain cells and, most of the time, one of them gets stuck behind his eyeball. Every now and again, he jars it loose by running head first into a wall. He is about the size of a full grown lab but without an ounce of fat – just muscle, skin and bone. He has two speeds: "crazy hyper bouncy dog" and "off". He can go from one to the other in a split second. Generally, this is not a problem. Sometimes, however, I foolishly believe he is in calm mode and I let him curl up in my lap (more on that in a moment). His eyes will be closed, he will be tightly curled up and for all intents and purposes, be dead to the world. Then, somewhere down the block a dog will bark, someone somewhere will knock on a door or a ball will bounce and instantaneously the 70lb dog will launch himself off my lap, travel 4-5 feet in the air and sprint full speed to the front door barking the entire way. Ten minutes later, he shows back up “Duh, it was nothing. Can I come back up??”. In a painful soprano voice, I tell him to go away and he is confused by this.

He has absolutely no sense of personal space and firmly believes he is a lap dog. He is constantly trying to get right next to you and gets a deeply pained look if you if you shoo him away. It’s as if he doesn’t believe you love him if you don’t let him sit his ass on your chest and put his face right next to yours. On New Year’s Eve this past year, he circled the table by crawling into each person’s lap without once touching the floor.

He is also the most athletic dog I have ever had. He has an amazing vertical leap. His broad jump is impressive as well - once he gets running, he can jump from one side of my recliner, clear it without touching me and land on the couch six feet away with ease. Fast does not begin to describe him – he has a beautiful stride at top speed. On top of that, he and Amy play vicious games of wrestling and chase which, to the uninitiated, look like something from Vick’s backyard. Often time she gives a little chase and he runs a full speed lap around the house just ‘cause.

All in all, he is a good dog. He too, like the Abby before him, is growing on me. My daughter adores him while my son tolerates him. To my wife he is Captain Springy Paws b/c of his energy. To me, he is the crazy that every house needs now and again. I guess we’ll keep him for a bit longer.