Grizzly

Grizzly- It's rare when an older dog finds a home from a shelter, so we looked twice when we noticed a gorgeous chocolate lab in the stray kennel. He was a big brown dog, with a sculpted roman head, a white muzzle and a waggy, happy tail. His coat was bleached from the sun and he resembled a grizzly bear with a smile. He stood up, but refused to walk. We checked the pads of his feet, only to find them raw and torn from walking a very long way or perhaps, being thrown from a car. Strong, silent types don't complain.

After spending a few minutes with this gentle giant, we found him irrisistable. We simply couldn't leave him behind, so in no time, he was happily homebound. Once there, we named him Grizzly. He patiently wore canvas booties on his torn feet and quietly tolerated puppies pouncing on his floppy ears. Grizzly dunked his chunky head into the water bucket, knocked over lamps with his helicopter tail and loved food. He was a typical Lab. 

After a few weeks, we took Grizzly to visit a potential home. The elegant house had a pool, a wrought iron fence and bordered a wildlife preserve. Wild deer frequented the woods behind the  large yard. It was Lab heaven. Grizzly was adopted into a family with 2 other rescued dogs and fondly renamed Gentle Ben.