Page 21 - Leisure Living Magazine: Spring 2020

Edited by Sherri Roth
It has been said that the color yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Owners of Yellow Labs could not agree more, as everyday is a joyful day when shared with their exuberant, tail-thumping, hearts of gold four-legged yellow besties. Dee Slosser of Catawba Island eloquently pays tribute to her and husband Dave’s Yellow Lab “Zeke” in this edition of Pet Tales.
By Dee Slosser
How would you like to have someone in your life who would not only make you smile, but laugh every day, even if you were having the worst day of your life? My husband and I did not real- ize when we picked up our new puppy on May 24, 2015, how much joy he would bring into our lives and also how many life lessons he would teach us. Zeke is a beautiful English Yellow Lab- rador Retriever with an expressive face and large dark eyes which seem to talk. He is named after famed former O.S.U. running back, Ezekiel Elliot and shares his characteristics of quickness, inten- sity, and tenacity, the difference being that Zeke loves tennis balls, not footballs. He almost always has not one, not two, but three tennis balls in his mouth, and he is always in the mood to play, the rougher, the better.
For Zeke, every day is a great day to be enjoyed
to the fullest; his enthusiasm and exuberance for
life are inspir-
ing and con-
tagious. He
loves to have
fun, which
for him con-
sists of riding
in the golf cart, retrieving sticks and tennis balls, and swim- ming in the Lake.
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His second great love is people. He never met a person or another dog he didn’t like, but he’s sometimes overwhelming when he launches himself into a person’s lap and covers them with dog kisses, which isn’t always appreciated.
If Zeke has a favorite person, however, it is my husband, Dave. If my husband is away for the day at a football game, Zeke pouts and re- treats to my husband’s closet for the entire day. When Dave returns, however, everything is for- given and forgotten in an instant. Life is good again.
One of the funniest things about Zeke is that he has perfected the “art of the steal.” We call him the “Great Houdini” because he makes things disappear. Those things might be anything from towels, shoes, underwear, or even a pair of jeans. Recently, while we were renovating our kitchen, he stole the carpenter’s toolbox. This behavior is in part because he is a Retriever, but also be- cause he is a born clown and a mischief-maker who loves nothing more than a chase. He does bring in our newspaper each day, in exchange for a treat, but unfortunately, he also gets the neighbors’ papers, too.
Zeke has another side to his personality, though. He is probably the most lov- ing, affectionate dog we’ve ever had. Part of that we attribute to his wonderful breeder, Ruth Braun, but also to the fact that Labs are known to be gentle and peo- ple-oriented. They want to be with their family
Continued on page 22
Pet Tales
Life Lessons From A Yellow Labrador
Spring 2020 LeisureLiving | 21