I pit the son of a bitch who dumps not totally black labrador puppies in the rural neighborhood this time of year. The kids to the West tried to get Mrs. Plant, dog maven, to take two. She apologized and said she couldn’t. We found them in our barn this evening. I don’t know if their father told them to abandon the puppies they found here, or just to get rid of them. They are in a crate crying and whining. It’s going to be a long night. She has four dogs at the moment, and I gave into the stray I rescued last year. Mrs. Plant is trying to place them with the aid of her list; they will probably go to animal control. All puppies are cute and I hope they get placed.
Irresponsible bastards.
That’s friggin’ ridiculous. I can only agree that the people who dumped them in your barn are indeed irresponsible bastards.
Personally, I would really love to have a dog (and labs are downright fun, even though they are not always the sharpest tools in the shed). Been wanting one for quite some time, but my situation just wouldn’t be fair to a pooch at the moment. But, if I could afford it, and if my schedule wasn’t so crazy, and if I lived near you, I would absolutely volunteer to take one of them in…
I can’t add anything that any intelligent and sensitive human being wouldn’t think about this callous disregard for animals.
spayandneuterspayandneuterspayandneuterspayandneuterspayandneuterspayandneuter
I think the neighborhood kids put them in the barn. The bastards who dumped them in the neighborhood are bastards; the kids were trying to do Right and thwarted by their father who wouldn’t let them keep them, who has had some animal cruelty charges, something to do with a goat as I understand it. 
That sounds about right, from your OP. The kids probably picked your barn because they knew you would care enough to try and get the pups into a good situation. That’s a good reflection on you, and probably a good reflection on the kids as well. But it does mean that their dad and also the original dumpers are all jackasses. Sorry that you got stuck with this…
Yeah, I live too far away also, and besides I haven’t read the OP, I swear…
Whaddaya mean, not the sharpest tools in the shed? My lab is easily in the middle of the pack, brains-wise!
I will readily admit that my only backing for that statement is personal experience. But, I have met a lot of dogs. My own encounters with labs have left me feeling that they are utterly awesome in the energy, friendliness, and overall heart departments… but not so much in the intelligence department.
But also, your dog’s owner reads the Straight Dope, which probably means he is smarter than the average dog owner. That stuff rubs off, you know…
A vet I used to work with, who also had a lab, liked to say that they didn’t get sent their brains until they were at least 2 to 3 years of age. And some labs never got their brains because the package got lost in the mail.
Well, it doesn’t take a lot of brains to be a dog anyway. I’ll take a lab’s heart & soul over the brains of most humans I know. 
’Plant, good on you for taking care of them, and good on the kids for putting them in your barn.
Is there a labrador rescue group in your area? Most breed-specific rescue groups will take in the “not-totally” pups in addition to the purebreds.
My next door neighbor’s son has a yellow/golden lab. His current obsession is finding someone to throw something for him to chase. On several occasions, he has shown up on my porch with two or three toys in his mouth; he carefully places each toy on the ground, then he sits and stares until I select a toy to throw.
And the dog dumper is a major jackass.
Yes, Mrs. Plant has emailed them.
I cannot understand why people don’t just take animals to the pound/animal shelter.
Sure a lot of the animals will be euthanized. But that’s still better odds than the animals that have been tossed out to survive on their own. And less painful.
(mutter mutter)
The local Lab rescue folks in Arkansas are going to take them. That is particularly good news since the Humane Society is full up from puppy mills, and the local shelter is a kill shelter if they can’t place them.
We have to care for them until Monday or Tuesday.
And you just made my day.
Excuse me, Mrs. Phoenix. Can Jeep come out and play?
I wish you were my neighbor, I could so keep a squad of lab pups for a few weeks. Just not permanently.
I’m not complaining, mind you. It’s just that Mrs. Plant is bragging about how they are taking to potty training and stuff… :rolleyes:
Believe me, it doesn’t just happen in rural areas. My Doberman-shepherd mix was an abandoned puppy, and a runt to boot. Some assholes in my friend’s suburban neighborhood apparently felt that their pure-bred Dobie bitch had been ruined by the roaming shepherd that jumped the fence and fucked the shit out of her ( 
), so when they moved, they left her and her new litter of puppies in the old, empty house. My friends heard the crying and went to check it out. The mother had crawled under the house to die (I have no idea what the hell went wrong birthing the pups) and a little of 5 puppies were left. :mad:
I took Taj, a cute puppy but probably the runt. The vet didn’t give us much hope, as she had no teeth yet and we had to feed her baby cereal mixed with milk at first. Runts typically have health problems, but Taj grew to be a fine mutt! She lived a healthy, happy life, until she had a sudden heart attack at age 12 and fell head-first into a hole she had been digging in my mom’s rose garden (yep, dug her own grave, she did- hilarious when I look back on it).
I have never regretted taking her.
I found an abandoned ~2-yr-old black lab. She had been spayed, but had no collar (or chip.) She seemed to have some abuse in her background, too. She’s afraid of brushes, and belts. She’s not the smartest dog ever, but Lucy is loving and sweet, and smart enough for the Rebo household! She can shake hands, and shake “left,” sit, stay, up and gives the best kisses ever. I love my Lucy Belle!
That’s great news!!
He’s such a sweet dog. I grew up with a golden retriever who much preferred a game of “chase” instead of “fetch” – it’s a bit odd for me to repeatedly throw something and have the dog bring it back every time.
Seconded. I would take all of them if I lived closer and would find homes. I have five labs, what’s four more?