She's here.....

Cassie came into our lives late September 2012.  She was a small, skinny bundle of endless energy and mischief. Of course, most Labrador Retrievers are...but they grow out of it.  We should know because we also have Cody, an 8 year old yellow Lab. And he eventually grew out of his mischievous years...after he ate a couch and drank a keg of beer. But I digress.... Cassie may break the record for mischievousness.  On the other hand, she may be one of the smartest dogs I've ever known. Maybe I should start at the beginning....

Our friends/neighbors got his mom a chocolate Lab puppy as a birthday present. Since her birthday was 2 weeks away, they had to keep her at their house. Can you see where this is going?  After one week they were all in love. And she so fit their family....this beautiful chocolate Lab was sweet, calm, quiet, well behaved....almost docile....not your normal Lab personality, but oh so sweet and loving! So, they decided to keep her and get his mom another puppy. So Sadie became a member of their family.

They found a beautiful, shiny black Lab puppy, one month younger than Sadie, for his mom. Since mom's birthday was still several days away, they had to keep this one at their house, too.  You've heard the term "different as night and day"? Well that so fits the difference between these two dogs! Where Sadie was quiet and docile, this black Lab puppy was loud and obstinate! Where Sadie was easy-going, this black Lab puppy was fast and furious! Sadie was the "day" and this black Lab puppy was the "night." Complete opposites and turning my friend's home upside down. We kept the black Lab puppy one night and knew right away that his mom would have her hands full with this one.

My friend's mom's birthday came and they gave her the black Lab puppy. She was so happy! About 2 weeks later, my friend called to ask me, "If mom can't handle the puppy, would you take her?" Well, of course, I said yes. Apparently, this puppy was waking mom up every few hours wanting to play so mom was getting no sleep. At 3 months old, she was jumping on a kitchen chair and then jumping up on the kitchen counter to eat whatever was within reach. She would NOT come when called. Mom was exhausted.

It wasn't long before I got a phone call from my friend asking me once again if I still might want the black Lab puppy if mom decided she just couldn't handle her. My answer was still yes. The next day my friend called to say he was bringing me a puppy. Mom reluctantly admitted she could not handle this bundle of wild energy. This dog needed discipline and a lot of attention!

Enter Cassie into our lives....a so shiny black she looks blue, wild thing, but beautiful black Lab puppy. And our house has not been the same since! She has brought laughter and joy and entertainment to us and to Cody (remember, he's our yellow Lab). At the time Cassie became a part of our family, we already had 2 dogs, Cody, and Candy, a Chow/Golden mix. Candy was 11 years old and not in good health. We lost her to cancer 2 months after Cassie came into our lives. In retrospect, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. She helped us through our grief. But I'll get to that story later.

For now, suffice it to say our house was full....Candy, 11 years old;  Cody, 8 years old; and now Cassie, a 4 month old bundle of wild energy set on disrupting the natural order of things in the Sumrall household! And what an impression she made!  Let me just end with this...Cassie was NEVER intimidated by Cody and Candy...."2 big dogs in this house? No problem! I'll just take over!" That's what I imagine she thought when she came to live with us...and so will you when you read the stories I call Cassie-isms!