Day...

Image by Denis Collette...!!! via Flickr

My rabbits were gone. We released them in the forest preserve across the river from my parents' house. I was only consoled by the fact that I was going to get my own dog.

My mom and I drove to Wisconsin one weekend to see a litter and we picked a black female Labrador Retriever. She was the runt of the litter. I named her Magic but she immediately followed me everywhere and my mom convinced me to change her name to Shadow. It suited her; Shadow was always a step behind me.

Shadow was a great dog. She was intelligent, loyal and eager to please. She was house trained in a couple days, and knew the basic commands: sit, stay, down and heal at 9 weeks old. As she matured, she honed her skills. I would walk her in the forest preserve off leash and she would stay at my left side until I gave her the command, "free." Then she would run ahead, sniffing and exploring. She would get about 20 feet or so ahead of me and then as if on an invisible lead, she wouldn't venture any further. Instead, she'd turn around and look over her shoulder. After a couple minutes, she'd come back to me. She always returned to my side in a perfect heal until I let her go again with a joyous, "Free!"