Hank came to our family in 2006. We do not know how old he was when we took this "wayward traveler" Labrador in. He had been given to us by a friend of one of our sons as he was a "lost Yellow Lab 'puppy' who was going to be huge if he ever grew into his large feet". (He never grew any bigger as we think he was already a mature dog then!) It was love at first sight both ways!

He was a tie as the best dog I ever had with my childhood Yellow Lab, Duchess, but I never told him that.He lived at our ranch until we moved to a different home 8 miles away in 2012. We intended to leave him at the family farm with our other dogs but he did not comply. So many days when our guard was down he would sneak out and try to find us. One day he was found in the Athena, Oregon post office, the next day he was in the city park, and again into the foothills of the Blue Mountains and another day, the Milton-Freewater city park. His collar had a tag with "Hello, my name is Hank Lee and I am lost again. I am harmless and sweet. Please call these numbers and my owners will come get me." He had a wandering way all of his life and a terrible sense of direction when he would sneak away.

He was my "parade dog" at community parades, he was my constant companion in our yard and I never worried about him with any child. He loved everyone, including all our neighbors.

One day he tried to make friends with a new horse on the other side of our pasture, he was kicked and Dr. Proctor determined that it was at the same level as being hit by a car. We worked with him two weeks to get better, but due to his age, he struggled. We lost him on October 9, 2016. The last thing I said to him was "You are the best dog I ever had and I love you so much." I still have not recovered from this sad occasion. He is with me in my heart every day and he is missed by our family, friends and our neighbors. He brought much joy to us all. Deborah Lee