R.I.P Bailey November 1999 - February 2010 Click for more on Bailey Tarak our monster Lab     We rescued Tarak from the pound. He had spent more then 4 months there after being given up by the previous owner "due to health reasons". Tarak had been passed by many times due to his size... he's a big boy! The Story     We lost Bailey (see above link) 2 days before a family vacation to Jamaica. The vacation certainly helped us get over the loss by being away from the house for a week. Upon our return we dog sat a friends dog for a week, then started the search for a new pooch to love. We were wanting to return to having a Black Lab, our first dog was a Black Lab (Pebbles) and was thee best dog ever!! We searched and searched the internet looking for a female as that is what Holly preferred. We then came across Tarak at the Lincoln County Humane Society in St.Catharines. He looked big, was referred to as being big, but a wondeful dog who had been stuck in the pound for 4 months due to his size.     With our son Christopher pestering his mom to at least go and see this dog, she finally gave in, all the while saying "we aren't going to take him, so why get his hopes up?" But off we went. When we arrived at the humane society the two staff at the desk asked what they could do for us, Holly states we came to see Tarak. Both staff look at each other then ask if we had seen him before, we told them no, only on the internet. The guy then says, he's, ah, really big... to which we say "cool"... he jumps up to go get him. The remaining girl says he is big you know... a wonderful dog, but quite big. I say the bigger the better!     Out comes the big guy.. yup, he is big! We are put in a "quiet room" to get to know him, all he wants to do is play, and give kisses. After spending sometime with him the boys started asking if we can take him. I did not add to it, because if the momma ain't happy, nobody's happy so I left it to her seeing as Tarak is a male dog, and something Holly wasn't to sure about.     Holly goes out to inform the desk staff we would like to adopt him... while filling out the paperwork the girl at the desk is almost brought to tears she is so happy someone is taking Tarak home. As it turns out, Tarak was an outstanding favorite of the staff and volunteers who cared for him. We were unaware of just how much these people adored Tarak until we took him home a couple days later. You see the Humane Society has a Facebook page, and the posts from the staff and volunteers saying good-by, and remarking how happy they are for him to find a home almost brought us to tears. We started posting some pictures on their facebook page as updates for them, the responce was overwhelming! So, periodically we will post a updated picture of Tarak relaxing, or doing something funny, so they all know how well he is doing and that he is in good great hands in our home.     Tarak has turned out to be a wonderful companion. His is a very big dog who turned 2 at the beginning of May 2010, but is very gentle, loves people and very well behaved and trained. Tarak's only weakness is his hate for other creatures. Our backyard is now wildlife free! He has invoked a No Fly Zone over the yard as well, and any bird no matter how high it is flying will be chased across the yard and barked at. Exercise is not a problem for this guy either, he loves being outside which is a first for us, as our other dogs preffered to be inside, and Tarak will spend the entire day patrolling the yard and chasing birds away that even consider flying overhead. He "chases" a racoon that he saw the first night with us, but hasn't been seen since, about every 15 minutes. He generally lays in the middle of the yard so he has equal response time to all areas. However his aggression is a problem when out on a walk, or going anywhere there are other dogs. He kind of turns into a devil dog and goes ballistic wanting to rip their heads off no matter the size. So, we took him to training at PetsMart for social purposes mostly. Jessica Adams the head trainer there is fantastic!! Tarak is now controllable most times when encountering another dog. Not everytime, but much improved. We take every opportunity we can to get him into a social environment where he can interact with other dogs while being tighly controlled on a leash. We have a long way to go on this, but he is worth the effort!!     For anyone interested, he came with the name Tarak, and Tarak (according to the internet where everything is true of course) means "Protector" in Hindi. All in all, who ever chose to pass this guy up, we thank you... we are enjoying your loss. Tarak is a wonderful loving part of our family, who made himself at home very very quickly. One last thing.... a lot of bed space is used when he sleeps with one of us!

Click to enlarge any picture Tarak in the Pound- doesn't look happy A little happier in his new home!" In his new bed, with his buddy the turtle. He made himself at home very quickly. Tarak in his own private pool. Tarak in his indoor pool???