Pic of the Day

To the left is one of our Yellow Labrador Retrievers, Toby, aka Tubbalicious, aka Bubba, aka The Dumpster. What he is called often depends on his behaviour and my resulting mood.

Toby and his brother, Cubby, below, will be turning 8 on May 11th. Both, unfortunately, have canine diabetes, and Cubby has lost his sight, but it would be difficult for anyone to guess as he compensates with his now well-developed senses of hearing and smell. Toby also has diabetes, but it was detected and controlled right away. Luckily, he doesn’t have vision problems, but both boys are on insulin - one injection in the morning, one injection in the evening.

Cubby, before he lost his sight, was every bit the Retriever. His sense of smell has heightened the last two years and he can smell a crumb from 50 yards. He is the dominant of the two, despite his sight loss and his brother being the larger dog.

While Cub will retrieve for hours - there he is dripping wet at right with his tennis ball.  Toby tires of the game easily, attention deficit, I think.  Bubba would much rather swim, and many times at the cottage we can’t get him out of the water.

Cubby is the smarter of the two, and I think he had all the makings of the perfect field dog, as he showed a strong instinct for retrieving at a few weeks old. I often wonder if my neighbour’s (late) dog, Clancy, a spectacular Retriever himself, had a say in this as Cubby used to follow him in the garden chasing a ball, or, if one wasn’t to be found, an old running shoe.

Both love the snow, especially Toby, who, just last week was willingly buried in the stuff by Ellen. He would be happy as a lap dog, but with a weight of over 100 lbs, it’s a bit difficult. He is, without doubt a mommy’s boy, and shadows me everywhere.

This picture to the left is of the two of them a couple of years ago at our lake.