Life and Love with Lefty

Last weekend, Daniel and I watched “Marley and Me” and, like most viewers whose hearts aren’t made of stone, cried and cried at the end, then showered our black lab, Lefty, with affection. We pet her soft ears and rubbed her belly and told her what a great dog she is — the three of us piled together on our small love seat.

It’s hard to imagine our life without Lefty.

Two years ago, after Daniel and I moved in together, we discussed adopting a dog, but didn’t pursue it too seriously. But one day I got an e-mail about a family giving away puppies for free, and we decided the time was right. We drove
an hour into the country and found the house down a dirt road. The family already had nicknames for the litter, and the name tag for the pup we chose read “RUNT.”

She was so little and sweet and she fell asleep on me as I held her on the ride home.

Three days later, when I took her to the vet for the first time, she could hardly stand up. We thought she was just tired, but it turned out she was had such a severe case of worms that she wasn’t getting enough blood. Dr. Bonnie told me they would have to perform an emergency blood transfusion. The vet said there was only a 50/50 chance the dog would make it.

I called Daniel crying. We had to leave her there overnight and it was heartbreaking, not knowing.

But the operation was a success. They called us with the good news and when I went to pick her up, she was excited and yelping like a healthy little rascal.

Now you never would have known she was sick. Her black coat is shiny and her body is sleek and, at 45 pounds, she’s smaller than most labs, but the perfect size for us.

We named her Southpaw, a.k.a. Lefty, because Daniel and I are both left-handed.

She’s a guard dog and a jokester. She’s smart and jolly and likes people and other dogs. She’s “Bad, Bad, Lefty Brownstein, baddest dog in the whole darn town” (that’s our song for her.)

This past weekend, she wore her green bandana and ripped the face off her brand new stuffed bunny. She lay around with us watching movies and slept on the bed with us during a lazy weekend morning. She stole plastic eggs off the table while we were gone and ate the chocolate inside (don’t worry, not enough to make her sick). We took her to our favorite bar, where everyone knows her name and they also give her treats.

Lefty makes us happy and we have grown closer because of her. She adores Daniel, her alpha, and he loves her to pieces and I like to watch them together. Every night we have Family Cuddle Time before she goes to sleep next to our bed in her crate.

Many times our conversations revolve around the dog. “How are you?” is the first question, followed by “How’s the dog?,” which is usually followed by a list of all the good and bad things she’s done that day.

She has taught us patience and responsibility. Daniel and I have learned to work as a team to make sure she gets the right food and medicine and we take turns walking her in the morning.

So it seems only natural that we have her at our wedding. She’s a little too goofy (i.e. hyper) to be trusted with any tasks at the ceremony, but since it will be outside, we’ll dress her up with a fancy ribbon and leave her to the care of responsible relatives. Although it would be a doggy dream to be at the reception, we figure that’s going overboard.

We want her there at the start of our marriage because she’s already been there for us through so much, and just like Marley, we want her to be there for all our firsts as our family grows too.

Long live rascals. Long live Lefty.

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