We got Gennie as an 8 week old pup. As soon as she was big enough to climb in she took over a steamer trunk we had by the front door claiming it as her bed. She would sleep in that trunk for the next 13 of her 14 years. She was exceptionally patient and gentle with people and other animals alike. She seemed to know when it was ok to rough house and when to be gentle. Our kitty used to wash Gennie's face pretty regularly. Gennie hated it but always allowed it. She wasn't much of a bird dog. Whenever we took her camping birds and squirrels would eat her food. She'd look at them and back at us as if to say, "Aren't you going to do something about this?" She was also the unofficial mascot for the Grant Generals football team for the years our son played. She went to their practices and the guys all enjoyed playing with her and carrying her around (even as an adult). The coaches used to joke that she was the only one who could stand to be close to them after a practice or game. She was always the one to instigate play with our other dog (or cat). She was the most food motivated dog I ever encountered and would run through every command she knew in quick succession if she thought it meant receiving a treat. Her temperament and intelligence made training a breeze. As with any Lab she loved water . . . as long as it was her idea to get wet. Hated rain but loved the sprinkler. Hated a warm bath, although she would grudgingly get in the tub on her own if asked, yet thought nothing of jumping in the cold ocean in the middle of January. On walks she would always "ask" before greeting another dog and owner, and would obey but pout if for some reason I had to say. "No." In her later years she used to sit at the edge of the front yard every day and wait for the kids from the preschool up the street to come by. They would line up and each one gave her a hug which she thoroughly enjoyed. Now her toys sit in their basket untouched, no one patrols the perimeter of the yard, the trunk lid is closed, and the kids don't come by to dole out hugs. We are going to miss her so very much. And yet I am grateful for the years we had together.