Bailey: A Portrait of Woman's Best Friend

For my 23rd birthday Matt presented me with a birthday card and a "coupon" for "one free chocolate lab puppy of my choice (pricing restrictions do apply)," hand written on an index card.  It was February and I would not be living in a place where I could have a dog until July.  Of course I began searching for puppies before I had moved and I came across an add in the local newspaper advertising black and chocolate lab puppies for sale.  I called the owner of the puppies and went out to see them that evening.  It was a litter of 10 puppies: 7 black, 3 chocolate, and they were only 3 weeks old.  I selected the larger (and brighter-eyed) of the 2 chocolate females and left a deposit so that she would be held for me.

Over the next couple of weeks I prepared for a new puppy by buying food, bowls, treats, toys, etc.  I visited with our puppy, that I had decided to name Bailey, twice before we were able to take her home.  We picked Bailey up early one Friday afternoon.  She was just 6 weeks old and slept in my lap the entire car ride home.  She was leery of her new home environment and wouldn't move for a long time when we placed her on the floor at our apartment, she just sat there looking scared and unsure.  Our first night with Bailey was a long one!  She whined and whimpered the entire night, and finally went to sleep just before 5AM.  Matt had graciously taken her out to the living room shortly after 1AM so that I could get some sleep as I had to be up to do thesis field work at 5:15AM.  As he had sacrificed his sleep so that I could get a little shut-eye, I returned the favor by taking Bailey along with me for my field work so that Matt could get some sleep too.

We had a lot of issues with Bailey after we first got her: ear mites, ringworm, round worms, whip worms, and hook worms.  The ear mite problem was quickly remedies by the vets office, but the ringworm and intestinal worms took some time to clear up.  For the first several weeks that we had Bailey we had to bathe her every other day with a special medicated, anti-fungal shampoo to treat the ringworm, we also applies an antiseptic spray 3 times a day.  We had Bailey de-wormed many times, and it took 5-6 months to completely eradicate the intestinal worms.  I had asked all of the right questions of the previous owner, and had gotten all of the right answers, unfortunately after all of her problems I got the feeling that they weren't the accurate answers.  Aside from the health problems Bailey had also received her first shots too early, and the woman couldn't tell us what vet they had used, and instead of providing me with paperwork from Bailey's prior vet visits she only gave us the labels from the bottles of vaccine that Bailey had been given.

Fast forward 4 years... Bailey has matured and is no longer the uncontrollable bundle of energy that most labs seem to be for a longer period of time than most dog breeds.  Well, she can still be a bundle of energy, but for the most part it's during more appropriate times (like when she's outside playing), though she still get a little wild and a little too excitable when people come to visit.  She is also quite vocal when Matt gets home or when someone comes to the door.  Bailey has been wonderful with Addisyn, though I miss all the one-on-one time I used to have with her - I'm sure she misses it too.  Bailey was always with me when I was painting Addisyn's nursery, or when I was reading to Addisyn throughout the end of my pregnancy.

I am looking forward to cooler weather in the next couple of months so that Bailey, Addisyn and I are able to take more walks together.  I am especially looking forward to November when we will make another trip to my hometown of Waynesboro, VA.  I anticipate doing some hiking with Addisyn and Bailey in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  I could not have asked for a better dog!  Bailey was there when I got engaged, we took her swimming at the river the day before our wedding, and she has always been a constant source of companionship for me which I especially appreciate when Matt is away from home.  I look forward to many more wonderful years with her and look forward to Addisyn growing up with her too!