Sarge's Germany Travels vol. 4

Read part 1, 2, and 3.

The next morning I woke up in the large house in a small quaint room that Jeremiah had been sleeping in. After getting up, I followed my nose downstairs into an old kitchen where the family was eating breakfast. As I strolled in, the two little dogs rushed over to me and started yapping and running around me. Those crazy Yorkshire Terriers! They told me that their names were Woofgang and Gretta and that they ruled this house. Naturally I followed Woofgang and Gretta to a spot under the table and waited (of course without begging) for food. After a while I scored a piece of salami from the older lady of the house. Then I realized where I actually was. My Labrador senses could detect that this was not your average slice of salami. This was German salami! That explained why everything including the human language was different! After the meal Woofgang and Gretta showed me around the extensive house. They showed me ways to sneak outside and the best places to sleep. Where to find the occasional mouse and how to annoy the neighborhood cat. The entire time I kept wondering. What did the two older people have to do with our family and why were we here?

Sarge's Germany Travels vol. 3

Read part 1, or part 2

   After I was carried out of the plane and on to the small truck at the airport, I realized what had happened. The reason for the weather and the language being different was that I was not in America anymore. I was in another country! The small truck took me across the platform to a conveyor belt. A man lifted up my cage and carried me over to the belt. Where will they take me now? But a few minutes later I was reunited with my family.
   Two older people greeted us at the turning mechanism where you pick up your suitcases. The family picked up theirs. The whole family and the older people walked over to the bright blue car that the strangers owned. Dad put me in the back of the driving machine. The car was moving for a while. When it stopped Dad lifted me and my cage out of the car. I was definitively not at home. Then I saw a huge house that was as tall as 17 Labradors (32 feet) or 43 Chihuahuas (for you tiny dogs). The house looked very old. I bet my great, great, great, great, great, grand-dog was not even around when it was built.
   I was carried inside and to my surprise two little Yorkshire Terriers greeted me hyper actively. My keen Labrador senses could already tell that these dogs were going to be a handful of trouble.

Sarge's Germany Travels Vol. 2

Note: To read vol. 1 click here
   As soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I realized I was caught in a dreadful place. With me there were a dozen other dogs (which is not that bad) and tons of appalling, excruciatingly annoying cats (which is really bad)! Everywhere there were cats. I already knew this was going to be a long flight.

   A couple hours into the flight I was about ready to go crazy. I was inside a cramped cage in an enormous machine, with dozens of crying cats and a couple of whiny canines.
   While trying to take a quick snooze, I heard rattling in the cage next to me. I looked over and saw a little chihuahua in a tiny cage trying to obtain the bone that had slipped through the bars. Feeling very courteous I managed to stick my tail through the gaps in my cage and to nudge the bone back to the tiny dog. He thanked me and then told me that his name was Antonio. We started talking about how annoying the cats were and the best kind of dog food. Antonio was telling me about the tastiest parts of a cow, when THUMP! The huge machine had slowed down and then suddenly stopped. After a few minutes the large door opened to two men that were speaking a strange language. They started unloading the cages with the dogs and cats from the plane. Antonio and I were the last ones to be brought out of the plane. As I was being carried to the conveyor belt I was expecting a warm bright sun, but outside it was cold and rainy. My mind was boggled. How could it be that I had boarded a plane just hours earlier when everything had been warm and bright and now it was suddenly cold and rainy?

Sarge's Germany Travels vol. 1

   It all started on July 9th, when Mom came home with a big, hard, shiny, box. Not knowing what it was, I walked into it. Then Slam! The cage was shut. Since I am such a muscular, and strong dog, I had barely enough room to move around. Dad picked up the box with me inside and took me to the huge driving machine. I was left in the back of the machine with a few suitcases. That was when I realized what was happening. I was going to the vet. We drove for approximately 20 minutes to a huge, strange building. When the machine, stopped Dad carried me into the building. Inside there were crowds of people everywhere with their suitcases. The whole family went to a man behind a weird machine that looks up stuff. Then came the saddest part. Dad gave the cage with me inside to the man. He put me on to a conveyor belt that started moving and then my family was gone.
   After a while the belt with me on it came outside. There was a long, white, vehicle with two huge wings on the side. This definitely was not the vet. This was a flying machine complex. Two men carried me on to a small car that took me to the flying machine. Another man put me on a conveyor belt that went up on to the huge grim moving monster and that was the last I saw of the bright sun.

The Friend

A little poem Jeremiah wrote about Labradors.

My Friend

Mate to young and old

Never leaves you in the cold.

Loyal, compassionate, friendly

Worth more than a Bentley.

Navigating through life’s crashes

Raising Phoenix from the ashes

Always there like Orion,

Strong as a lion,

Gentle as a lamb.

Sometimes goofy and funny

Always looking to chase a bunny,

Cheers you up in days of sorrow

Never worrying about tomorrow.

He’ll love you to the end,

That’s why a Labrador is my friend.

From Nell to Avon To Sarge

   The modern breed of Labrador Retrievers originated from the island of Newfoundland, Canada. The founding breed, the St. John's Water Dog, was first bred in the 16th century. The breed was a random mix of Portuguese, English, and Irish working dogs. They were important for fisherman by helping to pull in nets and retrieving ropes. This is the reason why Labradors love water so much. The St. John's Water Dog had white paws, muzzle, and chest which are common in lab mixes and are responsible for the few stray hairs in pure breeds. Because of their loyalty and hard-working personality Labradors were valuable assets to fisherman.

  Nell, a St. John's water Dog-1856

 A number of St. John's dogs were brought over to England where they became known for their sporting and waterfowl hunting. The Earl of Malmesbury who bred dogs for hunting on his estate was instrumental in the breeding of the Labrador. His first St. John's dog Buccleuch Avon was the foundation dog of the modern Labrador. While he was going past the docks he saw a St. John's and immediately made arrangements with traders to export them over to England. The skills of the first Labradors that he devoted his entire kennel to the breeding of Labradors.

Buccleuch Avon the founding Labrador 1885

Ming and Baxter Save the Day!

   Yesterday I was lying by a window facing the backyard when all of a sudden I saw something. A squirrel! Then another and another. They kept on coming until there were at least twenty in the backyard. All the squirrels were gathering on the ground. Since I am an expert in filthy rodents, my accurate assessment was that they were probably nuts. I darted as fast as possible to the backdoor. As soon as my fit body was outside the door I charged full speed at the squirrels. Knowing that squirrels are so dumb, I knew that they would be cowards and run away. But they did not. Suddenly all the squirrels turned on me and attacked ME! They all started to gnaw and slobber on me. Helplessly I yelped the distress bark and waited while being "eaten alive." In less than a minute Baxter and Ming were both there, thrashing the despicable rodents around and saving me. If it had not been for Ming and Baxter, I would have been "in the dog house!"