I'm Sorry--Maybe

Buddy's Battle Scar

Dear Blonde Lab Buddy,

    My parents want me to say I’m sorry I attacked you yesterday. I really lost my head and my dog mom is horrified. She found out today I did bite you in the chest. In case it helps at all, I came out on the worse end of the deal. I have a hole in one of my ears about 1/2 inch long, a bite in my other ear and a puncture over one of my eyebrows. My dog parents really hope I’ve learned my lesson but they’re doubtful.
    I’m not sure what comes over me but when I get around some big male dogs, especially dogs that are not neutered, I just go crazy. My dog parents say it’s not okay to make excuses but maybe I can at least try to explain myself.
    I came to my Colorado home via a lab rescue. A Good Samaritan rescued me from a shelter in rural Oklahoma and, boy, am I thankful. I was due to be be euthanized the next day and that would have been a crying shame because except for my occasional, um, issue, I’m a very handsome and sweet boy—at least that’s what my family says. And I’m always nice to people.
    My dog parents say there’s a tattoo in my ear that seems to be a breeder’s mark so I’m probably a pure bred lab. I REALLY dig their pickup truck and I also LOVE small dogs so my family wonders if I had both of those in my former life. I have to confess to following my nose and wandering away (ask me about my squirrel chasing adventure in the mountains last summer and the worry I caused my current dog family when I got lost and was missing for 24 hours). My Colorado family wonders if maybe I was an escape artist or just too enthusiastic about sniffing in my Oklahoma home too and lost my way and ended up stray and in a shelter.
    Sadly, I can’t talk so I can’t fill in the details. Anyway, I was super skinny and sad when I got here so it seems like I’d been stray for a while. My family wonders if big male dogs freak me out because I had some bad experiences with them in my earlier life.
    Whatever it is, they keep me on a leash and give a wide berth to other dogs until they know I’m okay with them. But my dog mom was talking to a neighbor and there you came, Blonde Buddy, and she didn’t see you. Before she knew what had happened, I jerked the leash out of her hand and was jumping all over you and biting you. I’m not sure if I’m sorry or if I learned anything. I might still find some dogs too scary.
    You’re a strong guy and you really defended yourself! Even though they hate to see me hurt, my dog parents say it serves me right to be a little beat up for picking a fight for no good reason (at least no good reason they could see).
    I have been spending a lot of time looking pitiful and staying down in the basement. I guess I do feel a little sheepish. Or maybe my pride is just wounded.
    Anyway, I’m sorry—I think.  

Sincerely,

Black Lab Buddy