I was a divorced Mom,living with my parents and working when my

son,Aaron was small.When he was 5,I remarried.We moved across town,

into a beautiful house on a large lake in Newport,Vermont.It was

November.My new husband,Randy,wanted to be the best Dad,so he

decided Aaron needed a dog.We checked the want ads in the paper and

found a litter of lab/longhaired retrievers for free.We went to the

house and a fat,black,furry little butterball attached himself to

Aaron.Needless to say,he went home with us.After much discussion,we

named him Bauckus.Well,from day one,everywhere Aaron went,Bauckus

followed.One day,only 3 weeks later,I was baking cookies for

Christmas and Aaron and Bauckus were outside playing.I kept an eye

on them through the kitchen window.When the cookies were done,I

removed them from the oven,then looked out the window and didn't see

them.I went to the door to call them in.You can imagine my shock and

panic when I received no answer.I ran outside shouting and

looking.No puppy and no Aaron.I ran inside and called the police

(they didn't have 911 back then)They would send someone right away.I

then called my husband at work.He and my father were construction

workers.He rushed home.The police were on their way,they had a

tracking dog enroute and unknowingly to me,they were afraid he had

fallen through the thin ice on the lake.When the policeman arrived

at my house,to my surprise and relief,there was Aaron with Bauckus

sitting on his lap in the back seat.He had decided to visit his

grandmother across town(about a mile) and he and Bauckus took off.My

mother's neighbor,who drove a taxi,heard the APB over his radio just

as he was going home to lunch.As he turned onto my Mom's

street,there was Aaron and Bauckus,big as you please,trooping up the

street heading to my Mom's.He picked them up and took them to the

police station,who in turn,brought them home.I just want to remind

you,this little puppy was 8 weeks old when we got him and it was 3

weeks later when this happened.He was less than 2 months old and

stayed by Aaron's side for almost a mile.He never changed,when Aaron

was home,that's where you could find Bauckus.He lived to be 16

before he passed away.Aaron still misses him.If he had been a small

dog,he never would have walked that far.So when you are thinking of

a dog for your child,please remember Bauckus.Big dogs make wonderful

pets,too. I hope you liked this story,JuneLydia