Hi!  My name is Huey.  I'm a Black Lab, even though lots of people say I look more like a horse because I'm so big.  First of all, I'd like to say that 124 lbs. is not that heavy.  Second of all, I'd challenge anyone to find a horse with a face as cute as mine!  I do like food, any kind of food that animals or humans eat or let fall to the ground.  My mom thought she was being clever once by putting the cat food on top of a dresser so I couldn't get it.  It took her a few weeks to discover that the cats weren't eating a lot more than usual, it was just that I'm so smart that I figured a way to climb on the bed, put my front paws on the dresser and gobble to my heart's content.  All in all, I'm living the good life, especially compared to what I've one through in the past.  Here's my story (get your tissues ready):
    It all started in the Washington, D.C. area, where my brother Earl and I belonged to a very nice man all the way until we were a year old.  I liked living with this man, and having my brother around all the time.  But then, all of a sudden, he couldn't take care of us anymore and we found ourselves with this group of people called Labrador Retriever Rescue.  Earl and I are both big boys mind you, and since the LRR people were certain they wouldn't be able to find a home that wanted to adopt two 100 lb. dogs, they separated us to help us get used to being apart.  Even though the LRR people were very nice, it was strange being away from Earl.  I was a little lonely, but the LRR folks seemed to really like me.  They even let me kiss them all the time and didn't get mad when I got over-exuberant and acidently knocked them down.  They seemed to understand I wasn't being rough, I just wasn't quite sure what to do with all the energy I had.  Even though I weighed 100 lbs., remember I was just a pup.  I heard through the grapevine that Earl got adopted before me, but I just knew that my special family would be coming to get me soon.
    And they did.  Pretty soon, a couple who seemed really nice took me home to live with them.  I finally had my forever home.  And boy, was it good for a while.  Then, almost a year later, I noticed my mom starting to change.  Her tummy kept getting bigger and bigger.  And all the while, her time to pay attention to me seemed to get less and less.  She sort of seemed scared of me, which really confused me because I wouldn't hurt anyone, especially the people who rescued me!  I heard talk of a new baby coming soon, and I was really excited because that meant I'd have a brother or sister to play with.  But then one day while I was getting a bath I knew something was wrong.  My mom was crying asn seemed so sad.  My dad had a look like he was sorry for something but I didn't know what.  After my bath, we got in the car for a ride, and soon I began to smell familiar smells.  And then I realized we were going back to visit my LRR buddies!  It would be good to see all those nice people again.  They'd be proud at how mature I'd become in the past year.  And, boy, it was good to see them.  But soon after saying my hellos, my mom and dad walked out the door without me.  "Wait! Where are you going?  Don't leave me!  You're my forever people!"  They obviously didn't understand my doggie language or they never would have left me behind.  I was so confused and so sad.  It seemed that everywhere I went, the people kept giving me away.  I started to think that one year was the limit for having a family.  Maybe you just get to be with someone for a year and then you have to go on to someone new.  I wondered if the same thing was happening to Earl.
    Well, now I really didn't know what to expect.  I guessed that the same thing would happen.  Families would come look at me to decide if they wanted me for a year.  I didn't think I'd be able to put as much energy into loving a new family, because I now knew the disappointment that comes after that year.  Then this new family did decide they wanted me.  When they came to visit the foster home where I was staying, they brought this crazy little brown dog named Max who was a year old.  Ahh, I remembered being a year old, all that energy, all that false sense of security that his family would be keeping him forever.  He had a lot to learn, I could see that.  I'd be just the one to teach him.  I thought to myself, "Oh, please pick me.  Pleast take me home with you.  I'll be good, I promise.  I'll make a good big brother to Max.  Oh, please, please, please"  Then I remembered that my other family didn't listen when I asked them to not leave me, why would this family listen when I asked them to take me home with them?  Then, the most amazing thing happened.  They put a leash on me and put me in their car.  I was going home with them!  Finally, a family woh understood my doggie language!  I found myself getting excited and hoping that this would be my forever family, even though I told myself that under no uncertain terms would I allow myself to become attached.
    Here I am two years later, still with my forever family, Mitchell, Alesha, and Max Schmale (and a small pride of cats who mostly ignore me).  My mom is a social worker, so she's always talking in this weird language about my having abandonment issues and special trust-building needs.  All I know is that my first couple of years in this life were tough and I wasn't sure anyone would want me forever.  I spent my first year as a Schmale expecting to be sent back at any time, but then after that oe-year anniversary passed, I began to believe that I would be staying forever.  So I don't know what all that Psycho-babble is my mom keeps using, but in doggie language it means they love me, they love me, the love me!  They keep telling me that they are my forever people, and you know what, I finally believe them.
    My mom and dad say that I'm a good boy.  They are always blaming Max for the chewed up shoes.  I'm not going to tell them any differently.  That's one of the good parts to having a younger brother.  The other good thing is that there is always someone around to play with, even though sometimes I wish he'd calm down and leave me alone.  He has more energy than any dog I've ever known!  I'm more of a laid back fellow.  Sometimes I like to run around like a puppy (especially if it's chasing a stick or a ball or best of all, a frisbee), but mostly I'm content to lay on the couch next to my dad watching t.v.  I try to sit in my mom's lap, but I weigh more than she does so that doesn't work too well.  My all time favorite activity is swimming.  We have a stream in our backyard, so I have a blast jumping in whenever I can (even sometimes when I'm not supposed to, like right before bedtime).  My mom and dad have these friends, Dan and Connie, whose son Rexy has a whole big pond all to himself, so sometimes we go swimming there.  Max is a big scaredy-cat, though, and won't go in over his head.  I, on the other hand, swim all the way to the middle, and back again, and all the way to the middle, and back again, and all the way........
    I guess the moral of my story is this....I wish everyone would think really hard before they get a dog, because I'm a perfect example of a good boy who had to go through a lot just because his people didn't think ahead to how having a dog affects their lives.  All turned out well in the end, since now I have a family who says they wouldn't give me up for any reason ever, but not all dogs are as lucky as I am.  Lots end up in shelters or on the streets for the same exact reason that I ended up back at LRR.  I became an inconvenience.  So, think about whether a dog fits into your life, not just now or a year from now, but ten or more years from now.  I have the grey muzzle to prove theat how you treat us affects us deeply.  Though my forever family loves me deeply, they cannot erase what my past people did to me.