On November 11, Lark writes:
Jack & Merrillee rescued a two-year-old chocolate lab on 4 July whom we named JD.
Merrillee picked him out! They are best buddies.
She is just becoming taller than he, although it could be
because she has such a mass of long waves of shiny black hair.
She weighs 55 pounds; JD (Jack's Dog) is 60 pounds of solid muscle.
They seem to be soulmates as well as racing-around buddies.
Each sleeps in his/her own canvas large crate in our hall of toys.
Grandchild Henry adores them and they love him
because he plays fetch with them.
One afternoon they were up on our living room couch gazing
at the water fowl in the lake and Henry joined right between them asking,
"Granma, what are the dogs looking at?"
This conversation turned out to be quite a learning fun time.
14 November:
We should have named JD, MD (Merrillee's Dog)
because she actually selected him from the Livingston County Animal shelter.
He is very well trained and is a natural runner and
swimmer-after-the-geese-&-ducks,
so having our entire yard electronic-fenced has been a blessing
as Merrillee has become quite the swimmer, too.
They have enjoyed our pontoon rides.
We take them to the island on Thompson Lake where they
run in the water shoulder-to-shoulder and play fetch.
Merrillee is absolutely delightful, mischievous and the alpha dog.
JD actually comes and barks to tell us when she is
digging another hole or eating up something.
She has destroyed most toys and shreds all fabric.
Sour apple spray has been our helper.
She too likes the barn & horses.
Up at our cabin kitty-corner from our 'tree house'
is a horse farm which she likes to sneak off to.
We have to be on high alert as she loves everyone with such enthusiasm.
They sleep in their canvas crates at night;
they are sleeping around on our floors and their pillows by 8 every night.
They are not crated during the day.
Jack had stopped accepting consulting projects to help me
through my medical needs last year and
was able to be Merrillee's constant companion.
Yes, there are times when we put them in their outside kennel area for a few hours.
It has an inside-the-garage room with an outdoors 10'x10' slab
which is fenced in with chain link so they can enjoy the out-of-doors
without ramrodding around the yard.
We board them at Brady Kennels in Fowlerville when we go out of town.
They like to wrestle in one particular spot in the side yard,
then race around the house like on a track;
therefore, we have dirt grooves worn in that area.
Merrillee likes to lick the dew off the leaves of the shrubs in the morning
as they walk me to my car as I go off to work.
I receive lots of jumping kisses & hugs upon my return,
which means the world to me.
I really recovered beautifully because of Jack & Merrillee and now JD.
They are a handful and Jack, a gentle disciplined man,
is fit to be tied some days with all her antics.
But we love her/them so.
They are also gentle and so playful with our grandchildren.
Lately we have noticed them being less frantic when the children are around.
The pups like to jump into little Henry's tent.
When I call them out, Henry exclaims,
"No, Granma, it's all right; I love to wrestle with them."
He is four years old.
Merrillee has remained black thus far with huge wavy curls
and cherry red hairs on her nose and below her ears.
There are white hairs sprinkled through her black shiny coat and white chest.
No tan or carmel thus far.
As you can see I could go on and on.
Lynn adds:
Here are photos of Merrilee, taken on 8 December 2013.
They have chosen not to groom her like an Airedale,
but her long locks were beautiful & shiny.
I do think, however, that if she were to be groomed like an Airedale,
she would look exactly like a black Airedale.
Merrilee & her new best buddy, JD
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