Chapter 1: Puppy Number 8 (excerpt)

“My Father’s Greatest Gift:  Life Lessons from a Black English Labrador Retriever”

My Father’s Greatest Gift

Ah, Doghead here. Let me begin by saying that from my
vantage point, things are really warm and toasty! I kept it that way
as long as I could to be a gentleman and let my brothers and sisters
go before me. And then my turn arrived. All of a sudden, I felt a
large tongue licking me and heard a lot of noises that were new to
me. Then, my eyes were opened and I could see my Mother, Parisian,
with all of my brothers and sisters! Wow, we were out and making
noises that I had never heard before! My Father wasn’t there, but his
name was Broadway Bound and I inherited his dancing abilities as
I’ve been often told!

One by one I had to say good-bye to my brothers and sisters as
they left our home to live with their new families. I wished them well.
I stayed with my Mother and her owner, who happened to be my new
Master’s nephew! They were similar in some ways – they both had
been athletes and they could speak both Slovak and Doghead (more
on that further into my story). My Mother, Paris, was very lucky to
have such a kind and dog-friendly master who seemed to always have
special things for us to learn. I think I especially enjoyed the rides in
the cart behind his tractor. Going for rides in the truck is still one of
my most favorite pastimes!

My most exciting moment was when I met my Master,
whose name is John! John is a handsome, stoic man whose firm,
commanding voice gave way to the most endearing soul I could ever
wish to have – we were best of friends from the start! John’s son has a
very similar compassionate soul – a dog’s heaven on earth, to be sure!…