I had a chocolate lab, Bosco when I was younger until when I was 3. He bit my mom when she was pregnant with my sister and he left. My parent's never told me what was going on.

I thought my dad was taking him for a drive, but when my dad came back, Bosco did not.

I miss him, but he was a crazy dog. Didn't go down stairs, would jump up and down in front of our kitchen window...
When I was about 9, we got a yellow lab, Dixie. She's an intersting dog, but I love her. She's 12 now and acts like she's 5.
Then my neighbor had a German Shep pup that she gave to us. Shadow was like 1 or something when we got him. Unfortunately, he had too much energy for my family.. we tried dog trainers up to wazoo, and ultamitly had to find him a new home. My parents put him in foster care until they found someone they liked. He now lives with an older couple and one of their fathers. Shadow made a complete turn around and we couldn't be happier.
On my dad's 50th birthday, we went to a kill shelter and adopted Casey. We think he's a golden retreiver, collie? mix. He was clearly abused in his old home and was kicked out (the people found him running with another dog by the rail road tracks) Since my dad loves trains, we named him Casey, after Casey Jones. Casey is about 8-9 years old.
Then after my neighbor's dog passed away, she fostered a female dog that turned out to be pregnant with 11 puppies! all 11 survived and I of course wanted a puppy. So we let Dixie and Casey chose the pup. They chose Toby. He's a mix of just about everything. He's about 6-7 years old now.
After I moved in with my fiance, we always wanted a dog. We finally got a German bred German Shep in April. He turns 1 year old next month.