Hectar’s Rescue Dog Story

Hectar’s Story

I was rescued by Lab Rescue in November last year when I was about 12 months old. I was found wandering the streets of a country town in NSW and I was very skinny. My breeder didn’t know who he gave me to and didn’t want me back. Lab Rescue took me in, desexed me and gave me a good feed. 

Within a couple of weeks I met my current family and they fell in love me straight away. I have been with them ever since. 

They say they love that I find happiness in everything.

I get so happy just when my family wakes up in the morning; when they walk around the house (I follow them everywhere); when they ask me if I want to eat (I give one loud bark and jump a good metre in the air while wagging my tail – it’s the only time I jump up); when they come home from work (I find it really hard to sit because I am wagging my tail so much but I have learned to do both at once now, my family say I look really funny); when they sit on the couch to watch tv (I like to lie down and rest my head on their feet, but my tail keeps thumping on the carpet)…

They also tell me they are so impressed at how quickly I learn things. I’ve mastered sit, wait, drop, up, shake hands, roll, weave, high five, high ten, toilet – all without voice commands!

I love my daily runs and swims at the park along the Sydney harbour foreshore. At first I didn’t know how to swim or fetch, but now I am doing both at once – fetching while swimming! I am getting more confident every day. I run like crazy with so many of the friends I have made there. I used to have a girlfriend who was a ridgeback cross called Bahloo, but lately I have grown quite fond of Mojo, a Schnauzer. My best friend is Louie. He is my neighbour and is the same age as me, as mastiff/ridgeback cross. We like to wrestle and share bones. Sometimes I get over excited with little dogs that bark a lot – I think they want to play – but I am learning that they are really scared of how big I am and I am getting better at being calm around them. My family tells me I get lots of compliments on my silky fur and handsome looks. 

I also have loved the trips I take with my family. I’ve been to farms and met horses (I barked and ran around them because I thought they would want to play), I’ve gone camping with my family and I am also really happy just sitting at the cafe with my family.

My family can’t wait to take me to an agility course. They tell me that because I am a field lab, I am leaner and have longer limbs than the traditional lab and that I am good at obstacles. My family loves setting up obstacle courses at home and I love jumping over things for food and praise.

When it’s time to sleep I go to my own bed, groan while I get comfortable and snore like an old man. My family says I have ‘old man jowls’ which they love to play with. I love that my family’s cat (she’s black like me) likes to sleep in the same room as me. It took me a while to work out that she wasn’t a dog and doesn’t like to play games except some clawing game which I find unfair because I don’t have sharp nails, but I love her company and I give her kisses sometimes when she is in a good mood.

My family has told me we are going to have a new member soon – a baby boy they are calling ‘peanut’ at the moment. They say they are very excited for me to meet him and for us to grow up together. They say they have been very impressed with how gentle I am with their friend’s children and babies. Apparently I am very tolerant and have an instinctual understanding that they are fragile. I just love their cuddles.

My family says thank you to Lab Rescue for finding me and letting me stay with them. They love me very much.