In the middle of March this year, our beloved yellow lab, Sunny, disappeared from our farm place.  It happened in the night.  She was out with me in the evening helping with chores and when I went to do the same in the morning, she was gone.  As Bill returned home from the night shift and as I was leaving for work I mentioned to him that Sunny was not around.  For two days we drove around the neighborhood in the morning and in the evening, seeking information from any neighbor we could find.  Nobody had seen her.  We’d heard stories of people stealing dogs to sell them to research companies and the like and we began to fear that this had been Sunny's fate.  Then a call came.  Sunny had been spotted with another dog just across the section at the neighbor’s house.

What a relief!  Bill rushed over but by the time he got there the pair was gone.  For the next three days we played a game of cat and mouse.  By this time most of the neighborhood knew about our missing dog and they were on the lookout.  From time to time a call would come saying that they spotted Sunny and the other dog here or there but they were always gone by the time we got there.  This is very out of character for Sunny.  She is so friendly she would walk up to anyone.  It seems that when a dog gets in the running mode they become a different animal, taking on feral characteristics and living on instinct.

This went on for nearly a week and based on the reports of their sightings the dogs covered many miles.  Finally a neighbor was able to get close enough to catch Sunny for us and we brought her safely home.  Then came the next worry.  You see, we hadn't had Sunny spayed yet and I had noticed the day before she ran away that she was "in season". 

Now before you go scolding me for not having my dog spayed let me tell you the rest of the story.  We got Sunny from a friend in the fall, smack dab in the middle of hunting season.  Now you don’t go and spay a huntin’ dog in the middle of the season.  Our plan was to have her spayed early in the spring when she could be comfortable outside and have it done and healed before the flies got too bad.  You see the last female we had spayed didn’t have such a good experience and we wanted to do it better this time around.  Okay, I know, too little too late.

So I did the math and sure enough we were looking to have a litter of puppies sometime after Lily’s birthday.  Time passed and sunny showed all the signs that she was about to have a litter.  Poor girl, she had an udder that dwarfed some of our dairy cows!  I got a nice spot in the garage for her all set up where she could stay in peace and quite, sheltered from the wind and sun.  We kept her there that last week except when we had her outside with us.  That’s what we did on Saturday, May 17^th.  The kids and I were working outside and Sunny was with us.  We took a break to pick up some feed at the elevator and when we got home Sunny was gone again. 

It didn’t take long to find her this time.  She was in the barn, crowded into what used to be the manure gutter and she was having puppies.  She kept having them all day too!

The puppies started out looking like blind gophers but quickly became very cute.  Not to long after they got cute, they got to be stinkers.  They got into everything.  Any toy left out quickly became a chew toy.  I planted some flowers, they ate them.  And you would not believe how much poo nine puppies can make!

So I decided it was time for the puppies to go.  Sunny agreed.  She was tired of them trying to nurse and often chased them away.  We weaned the puppies and got nine different colored collars for them so we could tell them apart.  Big mistake.  As soon as we could tell them apart we started figuring out which ones were our favorites.

So now comes our dilemma.  All the puppies are gone except for the two we like the best, Della and Jake.  We can’t possibly keep two puppies we need to pick just one.  Here’s a little about the two so you can help us decide who to keep.

Della- she was our first pick as a favorite.  For the first two weeks we had the collars on she was the first to come and greet us.  She’s a sweet pup that loves to snuggle.  She’s quieter than the rest and more laid back.  She’s bit of a mama’s girl and took the weaning a little harder than the rest of the litter.  She didn’t gain weight like everybody else but is quickly catching up as she has less competition for the food bowl.  She’s growing into a tall lean dog.  She seems to be smarter than the others.  When I stand in the kennel to lure them in, most of the pups come running.  Not Della though, she won’t be tricked into being locked up. 

Della, not the best picture though

Jake- He warmed up to us a later than Della.  He is now one of the most friendly pups always showing up to greet us.  He quickly moves on to other things if you don’t play with him, probably a little ADHD kicking in there.  Jake is a rambunctious boy and usually the first to get into trouble.  He always gets his share of the food bowl and is well-built because of it.  Jake is the quintessential lab.  Friendly and loyal but maybe just a little on the clumsy side.  He definately has good hunting dog potential.

Okay, it's not Jake but they all look the same anyway!

So now we need your help, which one should we keep?  Any thoughts or comments would be much appreciated!