We went home and had a serious discussion about adopting the dog we had seen.
It is so easy to adopt or buy a puppy or dog on impulse. But like most impulse decisions there can be bad consequences. So Helen and I went home and discussed the pros and cons of adopting such a robust hi-energy half grown dog. We decided we were game for it. So that evening we went out and purchased a dog crate, food, food bowls, leash, collar, grooming brush and chew toys. We also decided what we would name the dog. Our choice was Max. Code for Maximum Energy.

Max's story.
Orphans of the Storm had a pretty good bio on max. He had been born on the day after Christmas, making Max almost exacly six months old. They said he was a registered black lab and had been turned into the animal control of a nearby city by his owner. Why they did not know. Perhaps it was because of the hernia operation Max needed.But whatever the reason Orphans had taken Max from the animal control people three days ago. Before we could take him home he would require an operation for his hernia, and to be neutered. Orphans would pay for both the operation and the neutering. We would sign the papers that they required to be signed and pay the adoption fee.

Why had Max's original owners turned him into animal control?
We will never know that answer. Perhaps the owner didn't want to or couldn't pay for his hernia operation. Perhaps the owner had fallen onto hard times and couldn't afford to provide a good home to Max. Or, perhaps the owner had purchased Max as a cute seven or eight week old roly poly puppy and had no idea what a fountain of energy he would turn into.
We suspect its the later reason. When we got Max home and took him for his first walk he acted more like a seven week old puppy on his first walk in the park rather than a six month old puppy. Everything seemed strange to Max. He heard a plane flying overhead and he stopped to look up at it. Even though he was full of energy he was restrained. He cowed at strange noises and people and dogs.

We soon discovered Max also was terrified of the basement.
Food, no amount of gentle coxing could persuade Max to go to the basement. He wasn't afraid of stairs because he had no fear of the stairs leading to he second floor of our home. It became clear to us that Max must have been kept in a basement for most or all of his life. That was why he acted so strange on those early walks we took him on and why he wouldn't go down stairs.

Max was a victim of a well intentioned but naive dog owner.
Fortunately, Max was not hand shy or exhibit other behavorial evidence he had been hit or physically abused by his first owner. He was house broken and knew sit and a few other rudimentary commands. We don't think his first owner(s) were ill intentioned. They were just guilty of what many first time dog owners are guilty of... ignorance. They were ignorant of the committment and requirements it would take to care for a dog. They were likely unaware of the specific requirements a breed such as a lab requires. The result was a dog who like many other dogs ended up in an animal control kennel, where he may have been put down. Fortunately, he was adoptable and the animal control people contacted Orphans of the Storm and within days he was in a new home. However many