When Linda G. Hill asked us to use the word “opposites” or write about things that are opposites for this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, I immediately thought about when we brought home two dogs who were litter mates years ago in the late Eighties.

These were both Labrador retriever puppies, about eight weeks old, when we brought them home. They weren’t pure bred Labs, but seemed to be mostly Lab. Little did we know how opposite to one another they would turn out to be.

One, the female, was a chocolate Lab. The male was a yellow Lab. He was sweet, affectionate, and mellow. She was high strung, ditsy, and nervous. He was a homebody who rarely seemed to want to leave the house or wander away from the yard. She was an escape artist and a runner. Any time anyone would open a door she would try to run out of the house and would literally run until she dropped.

He was motivated by food and treats and would respond whenever we shook the biscuit box. She seemed to be relatively uninterested in treats. He always wanted to be around us, close to us, and would either snuggle next to us when my wife and I were on the couch watching TV or would drape his 80 pound body across the two of us. She rarely sat near us and more often than not, would pace back and forth or go lie down in the corner when we watched TV.

Our dogs lived to the ripe old ages (for large breed dogs) of 14 (the male) and 15 (the female). They were opposites, but we loved them both and still miss them terribly.