About five years ago Joe found a young, skinny, and very skittish Lab pup at the 7-11 near his home in Richmond, VA. I laugh every time I think about how he coaxed that pup into his truck with hot dogs from the store. He kept that pup, along with his yellow Lab/chow mix Taz. The dogs loved each other and loved my brother. Black Dog is a jolly dog, full of life, kisses, and good will.

On February 15, Mom and I, who live in Elmira, NY took my brother into a local medical center for a long awaited hip replacement, in Richmond. The operation went wonderfully and Joe was up on his new hip the next day! I stayed on for another day then went back home to my family and job. The very next day Joe began running a very high fever and couldn't get his breath. They rushed him to the ICU and put him into an induced coma on life support. He had pneumonia that took a sudden and deadly turn to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. I returned to help my mother cope and to encourage my brother to fight it off. We stayed at his home with Taz and Black Dog. One month later my brother died.

My mom, who is 75 years old, brought both dogs home to New York intending on keeping them. My husband fenced the back yard for her right after their return. Almost immediately Mom realized that she cannot cope with both the dogs. Black Dog, most definitely in response to Joe's death, has become very insecure when left in the yard for more than a few minutes. He began chewing on the siding next to the outside door any time she left the house. He is a perfect gentleman inside the house, but is in distress when left outside.

Both my sister and I are animal lovers but are unable to take Black Dog. We have three German shepherds, three cats, fish and a bird to care for now. My sister has two dogs, four cats, fish and a frog at her home. None of us want to see Black Dog go to a shelter. We are desperately seeking a loving home for him.

Black Dog has been neutered. He was not raised with cats but seems to get along well with Mom's cat. We need to catch him up on shots but that will be done shortly. He is friendly to everyone. He is housebroken. He is used to a lot of affection and love. Can you help us find him a wonderful home?

I have been researching rescue groups but most of them operate within a small boundary. The closest we have come is Rochester, NY. I have sent that group a similar request and have yet to hear back. Several other groups in Long Island and Pennsylvania are just too far away.

Please feel free to share Black Dog's story. Maybe someone will take pity on him and welcome him into his or her home.

Have you tried a listing on PetFinder? http://www.petfinder.com/post/classifiedhop.html

It's free for 14 days. I don't know how well it works for private listings, I do know many, many shelters/rescues use it with great results. In fact, my sister who does rescue in TX says at least 75 percent of their calls come from PF listings. That same sister happens to be a Lab person, that's the good news. The bad news is I have no idea what contacts she might have at any particular time. I will forward your note to her.

In the meantime, write up a full description for Black Dog. You'll get an idea by reading others on PF - the more info, good and bad - the better. Also you'll need a picture.

Do a search for Lab rescue, and contact any you haven't already. Be sure to go to each link page, most breed-specific groups are connected all over the country. You might find a few newsletter contacts along the way too. It's "normal" to post special cases to lists.

Now about the chewing ... the only way to stop it is keeping Black Dog out of reach. Get a good, strong tie-out chain, the kind with plastic coating. They usually come with stakes that screw into the ground, or you can hook to a tree. Black Dog will need a harness too. Collars are too easy to slip. I know that sounds silly when you just put up a fence, but as I tell my problem child who is a climber, he cooked his own goose until we can afford a higher fence. Of course I feel like a big meanie not letting Scoopy run when the other two can. However, delinquents though they are in their own way, they do have the good sense not to attempt escapes.

So, good luck! Be persistent, follow all leads, and you could even put up notices at grocery stores, take flyers to vets, or just about any place. Main thing: NEVER say free to a good home. People who pick up animals that way do not have nice plans for them.

After I forwarded Eileen's note to my sister: Also encourage her to do a home visit. They should look for a solidly built fence with no holes, make sure he will be able to stay inside also and not just be stuck in the back yard. He needs companionship or he will tear the place apart out of boredom and might even jump the fence. The new family needs to understand about Labs. 

I'll do what I can on this end. If you're not handy with the computer, I'd be happy to make up a page you could print for flyers. Really no big deal, just need the info and a pic. Once I do the page, it can be used as an example for others to follow. (And so I did.)

Back to Eileen: I am indeed "handy" with a computer. I will go forward with a search for a home and run off some flyers. My biggest fear is not knowing what kind of home he might go to, despite talking to prospective owners. I'll keep you up on my progress.

Back to Martha: If anybody balks at the home visit, that tells you no way.

Do let me know when you have Black Dog placed. Kind of feel like I know him now. And, when I said good and bad, I should have said positive and negative - all he really needs is more attention. Actually that speaks well of your brother. Black Dog is missing Joe.

I'm sure you know Labs are usually great with kids. He just needs one or two to spend that energy on.

Then Eileen told me she was going to contact the "people" columnist at her local newspaper, "I'm sure a human interest story like this would find Black Dog a good home."

One more thing ... this was to a friend, after mentioning a friend who mentioned her new female was in heat: