My first one got stolen from my kennel in my backyard, she was a highly trained pointing lab which means she was great at hunting upland birds as well as waterfowl. I was out pheasant hunting once and some other guys were watching her work and point, pointing labs are very rare, and they were impressed and came and asked me about her. I'm pretty sure they followed me home and stole her as she was missing from her kennel the very next day and even on the slight chance she could get out of her kennel on her own she wouldn't have run away. We checked the shelter regularly for a month to see if she'd turn up although I was pretty sure I knew she wouldn't. She was only 3 years old.

My second one, the yellow, got cancer and died at 4 years old. I got her a few months after the first one was stolen.

My third one, the second chocolate, lived to be 12 years old which is a common life span for a lab. She just died of old age.

I then waited 3 years before getting this one and she is now 4 years old this month.