Were we really thinking about a third dog for the family? Yes we were. We had discussed a chocolate lab for years, but with two yellow labs at home, we had to think about it long and hard. Eight years ago I was fooling around on the Internet looking at rescue labs and came across a beautiful brown lab with a weird name. Her photo was beautiful and we mulled it over for a few days before we decided that yes, we were going to take a hard look at her.
We arranged a meeting with her foster parents one evening at the Pet-smart parking lot. Her foster parents were as I like to say, "dorks". The guy kept making the "woof" sound every few minutes. I was never sure why, and neither was the beautiful dog he had with him. We played with her for a while then arranged to have her brought to our house for a try-out with our other dogs. It seems it is easier to adopt a child in Texas than a dog. The foster parents showed up and Mocha played well with our two yellows.
All went well, we completed the adoption and Mocha was now our third lab, only a year younger than Maddie and Mille. Within a day or two all heck broke lose as this new dog came into our home and about killed one of our other dogs. It seems she was scared to death, having been in so many bad situations and different foster homes over her young life. Instead of integrating into our family, she became so aggressive with the other dogs that fights broke out almost daily. Blood was flowing and that was not good.
After a few weeks of this, I decided the dog had to go back. This did not go over well with Julie and tears came as she thought about having to send this dog back. We mulled it over and decided we had to make it worked. We called in a local trainer to help. A local company, Paws abilities, came to the rescue and taught us some things about integrating new dogs into the mix and it made all the difference. After implementing the recommended changes, Mocha's behavior came into line well and all was right in the canine world.
Today Mocha is the baby of the family and one of the best dogs we have had. She is part athlete, part beast and part darling. She has such a sweet face and loves to sleep with us and has so for many years. Mocha is by far the best athlete we have in the family and can fetch a ball with reckless abandon. So much so that she has blown her knee out and had to have surgery last year.
Mocha is sensitive, kind, fun and a lover of people. Everyone loves her and wants to take her home. After almost giving her back, she has become our baby and the dog you love to be with. A beautiful face with a personality to match.
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