“Chase, stop it!” A big black nose is nudging my arm and effectively interrupting my attempts at writing a story.
“I want to play! Now!” that nose is trying to tell me. “Can’t you do that later? Let’s go out and play!” the eyes on the face of this big oaf of a black beast seem to beg adoringly.
I might as well; I won’t get much done until I throw the tennis ball for Chase to fetch in our backyard.
It’s been almost two years since we adopted Chase. He was only three months old, when we got him from his previous owners. A teacher at the middle school had owned him, but her daughter was afraid of the puppy, so they wanted to find a new home for him. We already had a dog – a 13 year old chocolate lab - and weren’t really in the market for another one. Since nobody else seemed to be interested in adopting a black lab puppy, I took pity on Chase and he became part of our family. Little did we know what we were getting into.
Chase was adorable as a baby, but we soon realized that he was in need of some discipline. We signed up for obedience training. I went to the first lesson with him while my husband observed. There were about eight other dogs and their owners in “class” with us. Getting to the outdoor location was quite an experience already, because Chase doesn’t like car rides. He howls and barks every minute he spends in the back of a car. Needless to say, I was a bit edgy by the time we arrived for doggie school. Chase seemed pretty good at first; he sat when he was told and stopped walking when prompted. It was very hot and after a while he didn’t feel like participating on command anymore. He sat down, stretched, lay on his back with all four limbs in the air, and wouldn’t listen to anything I demanded. The instructor told me I needed to relax, that the dog knew I was getting upset. Easier said then done! Everyone was looking at us. Chase was the only dog who was doing what he felt like. The instructor took the leash and Chase followed her, obeying like a good little boy. When it was my turn, he started pulling at the leash, trying to eat it, and having a good time dragging me around. This was all my fault; I wasn’t calm enough and the dog knew it. At least that’s what I was told.
I refused to take Chase to the next lesson. I told my husband he would have to take a turn. Well, he didn’t have much luck either. Chase had his own ideas about what he wanted to do. At times he would obey and follow instructions and then all of a sudden he just stopped and wanted to play. The obedience training was much harder on us than it was on him. He was officially the “bad boy” of the bunch. It was somewhat funny, but also testing our patience. We got a dog with a mind of his own! He is two years old now and still only listens when he is asked nicely. He simply doesn’t respond to orders. Only cheerful encouragement will get him to do our bidding. Stubborn would definitely best describe our Chase, if that’s a description one can assign a dog. Anyway, we love him dearly.
We were a bit surprised when he didn’t seem to stop growing though. We had never seen such a big lab before. He is a 110 pound baby who’s so full of energy and enthusiasm that he frequently can’t contain his eagerness and literally starts bouncing up into the air. He lifts off all four legs at the same time and jumps two feet off the ground, when he is excited. He reminds me a bit of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
This dog is also a very talented singer. Whenever the ice cream truck drives buy playing a song, when the local fire alarm goes off, or a police siren can be heard, Chase breaks out in song. He yowls along in high tones; it’s pretty funny. In the morning, when he hears us getting out of bed, he sits at the bottom of the stairs and cries heartbreakingly until we venture downstairs. Chase has his bed on the living room floor and a gate prevents him from coming upstairs to visit us during the night. He is fine with that, until he hears us move around. That’s when the cacophony starts each morning. I guess he loves us and wants to be with us. It’s a good thing we love him too! He has become a family member and we can’t imagine life without him.
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