by Steffan Fazzari

Created on: October 31, 2009

The best dog I ever had was my Yellow Labrador named Traver. Having owned 3 dogs before Traver, I can vouch that my Lab was the greatest, most loving, kindest dog I've ever owned. His big brown eyes would make you feel better if you were ever sad and he always seemed to know your emotions.

I got Traver at a shelter six years ago. He was still a puppy at the time, but still weighed a whopping twenty-five pounds! He was shaking at the time and I went to pick him up. As soon as I did, he stopped shaking right away! My mother told me that this was no time for a dog. I was distraught as I could feel the connection between this dog and me. Nevertheless, we left the shelter without Traver (the shelter name he was given was "Barkley") I begged my mom over and over and we finally came to an agreement when we were about 15 minutes from the shelter. We went back and learned that there was a lady there who had already filled out the papers for Traver. I was even more distraught now than ever. The lady who had filled out the papers saw how distraught I was and offered Traver to us if we promised to give him a good home! I happily promised and my mom and dad signed all the papers and Traver was ours!

There was a three day waiting period before I could bring my new Yellow Labrador home which was worth the wait. We brought Traver home and fed him some of the food that our previous dogs had loved. He ate it up so quickly we joked about him being a vacuum! This dog was no ordinary dog. He had been wandering the street of a large city since his birth and he had no proper training of any kind. This dog didn't make the slightest mess or even need to be potty trained! I loved this dog too much to let him sleep outside so I convinced my mom to let him sleep on my bed with me. Having a seventy-five pound dog sleep with you is an experience something that can't easily be explained! I had never loved a dog as much as I loved Traver.

After a few months, we took Traver to the veterinarian and learned some terrible news. Traver suffered from "hip dysplasia," which is a very common hip problem with larger dogs. It was a hereditary problem. The veterinarian said he was in a lot of pain and may have to be put down very soon. He was only one year old at this time and it just seemed too fast to lose this amazing dog. The vet said that surgery was possible. When it came time for the surgery the vet said that the dysplasia was too far along and surgery was not possible and we should put him down. After some tests to see if he was in pain the vet said that everything came up negative. He couldn't understand it but said that he was in no pain at all. We kept Traver for another 4 years until it was finally time to let him go. I never knew what letting go of something that you loved so much felt like until that experience.

I haven't had any other dogs since Traver. I don't know if it will ever be possible to replace him and all the memories we shared. One day I will get another dog, but I can promise you that it will be a Labrador!

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