This was our L.B. When my daughter and her husband had their first child, my father-in-law impetuously bought them a puppy. He called him Lucky Boy or L.B. for short. He was a crazy, wild little six week old Chow and Golden Lab Mix. My daughter's yard was very large where he could run amok all he wanted. And boy did he want. But he was a sweetie. And if he came up to you, all he wanted to do was teethe and chew on you. He gnawed the bottoms of more than one pair of my Levi's, and was completely incorrigible in that manner. That's when my son-in-law jokingly renamed him Little Bastard, but he was still L.B. for short. He grew into a 95 pound, low-slung golden with a Chow's tongue and a head 3 sizes too big for his body. He was fiercely loyal and protective, but if he knew you, he was friendly and loving. And if you were introduced to him, that's all it took for him to accept you. He was raised with cats and they all got along as well. When my daughter and son-in-law split up, L.B. found his new home with my father-in-law and mother-in-law for a few years until my father-in-law passed and my mother-in-law needed to move into assisted living. At that point, he came to live with me and my family. He was with us for the last six years of his life. He used to terrorize my wife, playfully running around our yard, chasing all manner of imaginary somethings. But as he began to age, he slowed down some. He was a wonderful Lover Boy (still L.B.) and we loved him dearly. As he reached his eleventh year, he was diagnosed with a slowly debilitating form of cancer. Over time, he couldn't take the long walks we had taken every day. The walks became shorter and shorter and eventually, he reached the point where could barely get off the floor. We helped him over the Rainbow Bridge just before his twelfth year. He had lived a number of places, but always with the family that so loved him and that he so loved and protected. We will always love and miss our L.B., whatever the initials stood for.
Burton WeinsteinSIMI VALLEY, CA
