The Story of a Lab Named HOPE
Written by LK - with Thanks









 

 

 

 

 

 

Puppies went to pet stores and back yard breeders. Hope went back into her 

cage until her next litter. She didn’t have a name. Cage until her next litter.

She didn’t have a name.

Hope was saved. Labrador rescue pulled her from this hell and gave her a name 
that was to represent her future. Terrified of people, she was given to a foster 
family to try and teach her that there are good people out there. As her new 
family was walking her, she slipped her leash. She ran.

Saturday night, we searched in the snow and cold. Hope hid, afraid what coming 
to a human would mean.

Sunday, Valentine’s Day, we searched. Hope was attacked by 3 coyotes by the 
side of the 403. A good Samaritan stopped and gave her enough time to run 
away. We walked the golf course where she was seen, looking for any trace. We 
brought our dogs, dogs who have had all the chances Hope hasn’t, hoping they 
would draw her out and we could save her. Hope - terrified, hurt and alone - hid.

Monday morning, Hope was killed. Hit by a car. In a way, a blessing. She is far 
from pain now. She won’t die being ripped apart by coyotes or freezing to death. 
She isn’t locked in a cage anymore. She doesn’t have to be afraid.

Who is to blame here? Lab Rescue for pulling her? Her foster family for not 
having a tight enough collar on? No – the answer is simple. The puppy mill who 
abused her for 7 years. And who is to blame for them? People who make a 
choice to buy a puppy from a pet store or back yard breeder. How many times 
have I had someone ask me where to get a dog? My answer is always the same: 
rescue, shelter or a breeder. I can’t tell you the number of times those people 
still make a choice to buy from a backyard breeder or a pet store because it’s 
cheaper. Ignoring the fact that breeders have to charge what we do because of 
the amount of time and finances put into our dogs. Ignoring that rescues 
deserve a second chance at a loving home. Buying from pet stores and backyard 
breeders is the reason that Hope led a life of misery and that her life ended in a 
terrible chase.

Puppy mill owners weren’t out searching for this girl. Pet store owners weren’t 
out looking. Backyard breeders didn’t join in. Instead, it was Lab Rescue and 
Labrador Retriever Breeders out looking. We didn’t produce the problem.  We 
don’t perpetuate the problem. We did try to solve it. And we cried yesterday, 
knowing that we lost one – lovely Hope, who deserved all the things that should 
have come along with her new name, even though she didn’t even have enough 
time to learn it.

Perhaps Hope will have a chance to use her name. If her story stops people from 
buying from pet stores and backyard breeders, then she will have helped to bring 
Hope to those other dogs in the same situations. If you need a new pet, visit 
your local shelter or rescue. If a purebred puppy is in your future, then find a 
reputable breeder. Don’t let Hope’s story continue. Help to write a new chapter.

The team at rescue would like to thank all those people who along with us 
searched endlessly for Hope in the desire to have a materially different ending to 
this story.