Scarlet

Randy and I have had a special experience of raising a wonderful black Lab named Hunter's Scarlet and the Black, better known as Scarlet. She is an offspring of Nicole's Bailey, a well-bred yellow Lab. As a pup her auntie Amber disciplined her and nicked her on the forehead, thus creating a scar. We were unable to sell her because she was flawed with this scar and we nick-named her "Scar". We decided she would be the pup for us to keep, and she turned out to be a very smart, spirited dog. Too pretty to be called Scar, we decided to name her Scarlet. She is really Randy's dog - she loved Randy as her master, but she loved me as her best friend, and I loved her. She had her rituals with Randy as far as feeding and going out for her last evening "out". She knew that Saturday mornings meant the possibility of a walk or trip to the dog park. Somehow she just knew. She had a bad case of separation anxiety - thought anything in a baggie was food or anything in Tuperware was hers to tear open. This was really frustrating for us and never did get cured. She was just a people dog and couldn't stand being alone. She was my pal in the garden and my foot warmer under the desk while I was on the computer. She loved cuddling with us on the bed, even though she was not allowed up.... she would slowly creep up trying to be inconspicuous... how can a 75 pound critter be inconspicuous? She recently developed a tumor on the back of her hind leg. When we noticed it growing larger and larger by the day, we took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with Mast Cell Tumors. It had gone into her lymph system, and the prognosis was bleak. On Friday, September 21, 2007, we said good-bye to our sweet friend. As hard as it was, we knew it was necessary, as we didn't want to have her experience one minute more pain. I feel sad that I didn't take her on more walks or let her lick my face more often or throw the stick a few more times. But I think she was pretty happy and knew we loved her.