My Hunt for a Lab in Maryland
Okay, so we decided we wanted a dog. The kids were getting older, and we finally had a yard here in Maryland that felt big enough. After talking it over, like, a lot, we settled on a Labrador retriever. Seemed like the classic family dog, friendly, good energy. Everyone we knew who had one seemed happy.
So, the search began. First thing I did was hop online, you know, searching for “labrador retriever maryland”. And wow, what a rabbit hole. Seemed like a million places popped up. Some looked like big professional outfits, others were just simple pages, almost like personal ads. It was hard to tell who was legit and who was just trying to make a quick buck.
We figured, okay, let’s check out some breeders first. Found a few names that kept coming up. Made some calls. Some folks were nice, answered questions. Others, man, they were short, almost rude. Like they were doing me a favor by even talking. And the prices! Sticker shock, for sure. Plus, long waiting lists everywhere. Seemed like everyone in Maryland wanted a Lab puppy at the same time.
Visiting Places
We actually drove out to visit a couple of places. One was way out west, near the mountains. Looked nice in the pictures. When we got there, it felt… off. Lots of dogs, maybe too many? Hard to put a finger on it, just didn’t feel right in my gut. The dogs seemed okay, but the whole operation felt a bit like a factory, you know?
Then we looked into rescues. Really wanted to consider that route. Found a few Lab-specific rescues doing work in Maryland. Good people, clearly cared a lot. But again, hurdles. Lots of applications, home visits, strict requirements. Which is good, they want the dogs to go to good homes, I get it. But it felt like a really long process, and we weren’t sure if we’d even get approved. Plus, finding a younger Lab, which we kinda hoped for, was tough through rescue. Most were older dogs needing homes.
The Turning Point
Honestly, after a few weeks of this, phone calls, emails, driving around, we were getting a bit discouraged. Felt like we were hitting dead ends. Started wondering if maybe a Lab wasn’t in the cards for us right now.
- Talked to a neighbor, just venting really.
- Turns out, his cousin’s dog, a lovely chocolate Lab female, had recently had puppies. Not a big breeder, just a family whose dog had a litter.
- They lived over near the Eastern Shore.
We were hesitant at first. Didn’t want to support accidental litters or anything. But my neighbor vouched for them, said they were responsible folks, took great care of the mom and pups, just weren’t planning on doing it again. So, we decided to just go meet them. Drove over the Bay Bridge one Saturday.
Meeting Our Pup
It was totally different. A family home, kids playing, momma dog wagging her tail. They had just two puppies left, a yellow male and a black male. We sat on their floor, played with the pups for probably an hour. They showed us vet records, told us all about the parents. It just felt… right. Simple, honest.
We ended up choosing the little black male. He was clumsy and kept tripping over his own feet. We brought him home a couple of weeks later. Named him Shadow. It wasn’t the way we initially planned to find our dog, going through all the official breeder lists or rescues in Maryland. It just sort of happened through a personal connection.
Looking back, the whole search was an experience. A bit frustrating, yeah, but you learn things. Learned patience, learned what felt right for our family. And now we’ve got Shadow, tearing around the yard. He’s a handful, pure Lab energy, but he’s part of the family now. Wouldn’t trade that messy search or the muddy paw prints for anything.
