Let me tell you about my dog whose name was Larry. Larry was about three quarter lab and one quarter chow and didn’t have a hurtfull bone in his body.
My nephew got him at about 3 months old and kept him until he was about 8 months old. He is a teacher and was moving back home to the same town I live in. Unfortunately he could not find a place that would let him have a dog so he asked if I could keep Larry for awhile since I had a fence in back yard. I am single and commute an hour each way back and forth to work, but I was glad to keep the dog since he needed a home and the pound was not an option. Larry and I became closer and closer, lots of nights it was just him and I talking outside on the back porch.

He loved the outside. One night about three years ago I came home and no Larry, he didn’t meet me at the fence like he always did wagging his tail and jumping up to come see me. I went into the back yard and no Larry. I went over to his dog house and there he was barely moving. At first I thought he had just eaten something which made him sick, but I had no idea what it could have been. It was about 6:00 P.M. on a Friday and I immediately called a vet named Tad Jarred that I know and then proceeded to carry Larry to his office, I was sure he was dying as he could hardly move. He checked his kidneys and they were fine so he started an IV and Larry did pick up a little but not much. The vet kept him overnight and said we will check again in the morning. Everything check out fairly fine except Larry was not himself at all. He hung his head down and barely walked. I had a big red beach towel as he usually didn’t like to come in the house and I would lay it down in front of the fireplace and he would lay there without moving hardly at all..when I went to bed I would take the beach towel and lay it by my bed and he would lay there for the night.

I keep hoping with the pills the vet game me he would soon get to feeling better but after 10 days he was just the same. I went back to the vet and told him that there is something terribly wrong with Larry, he cannot hardly move, he has no energy and that is just not him. He said Donny I have done all the tests I can think of except one which was a sickness call Addison’s disease. We took the test and in a week the results came back positive so we started a new treatment which was a shot and a pill everyday. The shot was 175 dollars every four weeks for him to get back to normal. I was stunned at the cost, but so very glad Larry was himself again. We bonded monre and more after that. I built a new home on the golf course in our small town and Larry had only been there once. It was about two mile from my old house. I was trying to move and take care of Larry, but I did not have a fence yet to keep him in, not that he was going anywhere but I was worried about him while I was gone at work. Well to make a long story short I took him out to my nephews house the one that origionally owned him and now he was seven years old and ask if he could keep Larry for a couple of weeks until I could get the fence contractor to install the fence.

I live near a major highway and he lives 11.5 miles from my house acroos one major highway that runs through our town and the Brazos River which is usually about 100 yds wide at the smallest area. Larry loved the back of the pick up so I always took him for rides and this time I took him to my nephews so he would have plenty of room to rome around and be safe for at least 10 days or so. I checked on Larry the first two evenings and he was fine. I didn’t get to go out Monday or Tuesday as I was working and when I went Wed to check on him they said he was gone. He needed his shot it was that time, it was August and he was a black lab and it was terribly hot. I search for four days for him and finally gave up hope that he must have been dead.

I was heartbroken and had lost my best friend. I was getting up that Sunday morning to go to church and when I opened the garage door there sat Larry Dog……He was so tired and worn out I had to carry him into the house. I feed him and water him, gave him his shot and let him rest for probably 12 hours before he ever moved. It had to be one of the most heroic ventures a dog could have taken to find his master. I cannot till this day figure how he knew where the house was and how he crossed the river, went through a town of 15,000 people and a main highway without being killed or what did he eat or where did he get anything to drink. After all this was not a superior healthy dog, but he was ok with his medicine and his pills. Well I lost Larry in March he accidently got hit by a vehicle while I was at work and he never strayed from home.

There was a huge storm and I thin he hust got lost around the house and somehow got to the highway, when I got home and found out the animal shelter had put him down and I got there in time for his last few breaths. Needless to say I think I am a man’s man and even now it is hard for me to write about losing my best pale. I will love that dog until the day I die and no one could have had a better friend. I am thankful for the years we had together and wanted you to know how I feel about my true friend forever Larry the Lab..Thanks..

Donny from TX