The one-in-a-kind-black lab

So Stu is out in South Dakota, my stomping grounds (we’re currently from Minnesota but I grew up in SD hunting land, East River). He’s at a hunting camp near Huron with my brother-in-law because the hunting environment due to the weather was unusual. I don’t want to get too deep into it but we were not in the market for another animal in the house but he found our celebrity, Byron.

I call him B because I think Byron is a terrible name for a dog but I respect it – sorry to the Byrons out there if I offended anyone. The hunting camp is located on Lake Byron outside of said hunting camp near Huron and the locals wouldn’t let Stu take him out of SoDak unless he had an SD name. Fair enough.

Stu arrived at the camp on a Wednesday, met a guide from Alaska who had temporarily adopted a new friend. The whole camp was full of men and black labs and one small, homeless black lab who loved anyone who would give him a minute of their time. He had just wandered into the camp a few weeks earlier and no one had any information on any of his background. They took him to the local vets, humane shelters, posted flyers, etc. – no luck. No one apparently seemed to know where he came from.

The Alaskan guide had been at the camp for three weeks and couldn’t take our ‘vagrant’ with him when he had to leave and Stu had showed up just in time to take over the vigil. Within the next 24 hours, after watching Stu videos shared via iPhone, I was already ordering dog tags and setting up vet appointments for him – I was in love. What I discovered, however, is that vets can’t treat dogs that already have a chip because it basically proves that they are owned by someone else.

I guess that makes sense? Even after all the efforts to locate his owners?

In the mean while Stu was still in SD with B and I’m trying to figure out B’s background. Huron isn’t that large so I thought – if they brought him to the vet then they’ll know all of his info that I don’t currently have. So I Googled Huron vets and came up with exactly two. It was around 5pm on a Saturday so I wasn’t expecting much for a response but I tried the first number and a gentleman answered the phone and asked how he could help me. I said: “Do you happen to remember within the last few weeks someone from the hunting camp bringing in a black lab stray?” He immediately said “Oh yes! I was just going to call them back today and see if he was still available because I want to adopt him.”

I was so excited and a little bad sad for the vet. Stu was already driving our way and this was a vet – I think it’s pretty rare to win over a vet with a random visit like that after seeing so many animals every day after day. So I responded “Well, he’s already on his way to MN – (had to add that I am also SD blood because that’s kind of a ‘thing’) – and asked if he had a chip. The answer was ‘No’.

Stu shows up with this guy. My B.

The first week he made friends with all of the neighbors, completely freaked me out literally every day by disappearing and making those friends, but they learned his name. And mine. He is totally a nomad. He tends to disappear like Houdini but I was able to connect with a LOT of neighbors to somewhat explain his back story. He makes everyone feel like they are the best person on the planet. And he has charmed every single person that has met him into wanting to take him home.

When I take him to the vet all of the employees are “OMG? Is this the lab from SD, the stray?” They have all obviously been talking about him – you don’t forget B once you meet him 

I don’t know where he came from, what happened to him or what his back story is but he is a definite KEEPER. Love you B – you have found your permanent home and you will be spoiled forever and ever honey.