Earl was my second rescue from the Heart of Texas Lab Rescue. He had been at the Rescue for over two years and was something around ten years old when he moved in with us. He immediately became the alpha over our younger female yellow Lab named Trudy (aka Twinkie). But they got along great. Earl didn't play much because of his age, but Trudy's compulsive ball-fetching wore off on Earl and he started to retrieve a large tennis ball. He loved swimming and you couldn't keep him out of the water. When we lived in Round Rock, we'd all go to Walnut Creek Park in north Austin so the dogs could run in the creek and swim in the deeper holes. Earl would get so excited, he'd bounce up and down waiting for the ball to be thrown. He always had a goofy walk, probably because of his arthritis, and it became even goofier when he ran. One of Earl's peculiarities was the way he acted in a vehicle. He absolutely loved to go places and couldn't wait to get in the vehicle. But once in the vehicle, he would pant, drool, whine and pace - maybe because of the excitement of the destination. He eventually overcame much of his vehicle anxiety and began riding much better. Going to the swimming hole 3-4 times a week probably helped. We always suspected Earl was a ranch dog. He was picked up after being hit by a car near College Station. While living in Round Rock, whenever a bus or delivery vehicle drove by out front, he would bark and try and chase after it. One day he even got out and stood in front of the unloading school bus barking at it and wouldn't let it drive off. So we figured he used to live on a ranch and would get all excited when the UPS truck came up the long drive to the farm house. Last year, we bought our own horse ranch east of Austin with a long drive up to the house. Earl was instantly at home. He loved roaming around the house and outbuildings keeping the critters away. A couple times, he even got too close to a pretty black cat with two white stripes. We have about an acre and a half fenced in so he and the other dogs could roam freely. He also liked chasing after the chickens, but I think they knew he could never catch them. When he would nap in the long grass under his favorite crape myrtle tree, the chickens would occasionally nap with him. In December 2007, we rescued a Lab-mix puppy named Sadie from Wisconsin (long story). Earl took an immediate dislike to the new intruder who had no manners and needed to be taught some. She quickly learned her manners and her place with a couple lessons from Earl. She knew that Earl was old and not to play with him like she played with Trudy - very rough with lots of biting and pulling. Well, would wonders never cease? One day we looked out and the 6-month old puppy was playing tag and bitey-face with Earl who looked like he was enjoying the attention and wagging his tail. And the day before his stroke he got to do one of his favorite things. We took all the dogs back to the stock tank so they could go swimming. Unfortunately, Earl's health took a turn for the worse at the end of May 2008 when he had a moderate stroke. We weren't sure he would recover at all, but he did manage to rebound back for about ten days until other medical issues related to the stroke began to set in as well as the effects of the stroke. We suspect that he also suffered kidney damage and became diabetic (he appeared to have ketoacidosis his last couple days). Earl passed away June 4th, 2008 in our arms at 6 PM last night. Some of his ashes will be laid to rest under his favorite crape myrtle tree on his ranch...
