In loving memory of Gaius (2012 – 2024)

He had a mast cell tumor growing on his side, with his growing age it was ultimately untreatable, eventually the cell walls ruptured. But we were told it was due to his breeding! He was against club standard, his home hobby breeders were trying to breed red-coated Labrador. So he was very very inbred and we hadn’t known that at the time we were given him cheap, no papers, a Facebook deal, it was us or he was going to a shelter. Because he was black coated in little of only three, two reds and him, not the color they wanted, so he wasn’t seen as valuable to them, but we had him his whole life. He was valuable to us.

When we took him to the beach he used to push rocks with his front paws to the water, rinse them off, pick them up, drop them back off in the sand meters away and do it all over again, tail wagging constantly.

Took him for a walk the summer of 2023 and he managed to find white paint to roll in, looked like a badger, pain in the butt to wash him too. I tried, but my grandad ended up hosing us both down in the yard while I held him still. I was so annoyed! But Gaius was so pleased with himself lmao.

✎ What did they smell like? He was a lab and the water resistant oils in his cost always smelt sour 😂 I still have his collar and it reeks! We cleaned it so many times and it still stinks.