Thursday, January 31, 2008

Goldens on Patrol!

The picture was taken as I make my regular rounds patrolling the back yard. I would have posted a better picture but my human won’t let me use the camera. They did not want me using the computer until they learned how carefully I type. They don’t want me to use the camera at all, I did try to use it when no one was looking, it is hard to hold the camera and push the button at the same time.

Humans must be very insecure because they expect me to patrol regularly. What can they be afraid of? I don’t know why humans expect me to run around the back yard and look for intruders, there is never anything worth chasing. Bella takes care of the squirrels, she tries to climb trees to catch them, but I have news for her, she can’t climb high enough to even worry them. Squirrels pose a very low risk to humans anyway, but they are fun to torment. The back yard opens onto a park with several paths, so I have lots of people to bark at, barking lets the human know I am on duty. I sleep beside the bed at night to keep them secure, even though their snoring keeps me awake. What can they be afraid of? It must be cats. They must be afraid that a cat will attack them in the middle of the night. Cats are sneaky and devious. I would not put it past them. Humans think cats purr, it is really a very low growl. The cats are quietly threatening people while sitting on peoples laps, they are evil. That is why I chase them when ever I get the chance, and no humans are watching!

Sleep tight tonight, your Golden Retriever is on guard!

Mogley G. Retriever

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Water Dogs are Muddy Dogs!

Humans can be so dumb at times. We are water dogs. Hello! That means we like the water. Today our human took Bella and I down to the dog area at Cherry Creek Park. Several square miles with swamps, prairie, woods, and lots of other dogs, all running off leash. He said he wanted to work with us on our hand signs and voice commands. We had fun running back and forth, smelling the deer tracks, the raccoon tracks and lots of dog trails. We ran and ran; we were good and hot even though it was a chilly winter day. Then we went to work, following commands just like the good dogs we are. Another Golden Retriever came out of the brush and the swamp, soaking wet and covered in mud. While our humans talked, Bella and I found the swamp. The human told us to stay dry, he called us back, but water calls more loudly than a human does. Bella and I just wanted to cool off, so we jumped into the swamp and had a swim. When he called us back we had to ignore him for several minutes or else we would have had no fun at all. What good is it to get in the water, get wet and muddy, then not be allowed to splash, play and enjoy it? He gave us the “bad dog” routine, lecturing us about running instead of responding when he called us back from the edge of the swamp. I would have grabbed a duck while I was in the swamp, that would have earned me a treat instead of a bath but his yelling scared all the ducks away.

This was our third trip to the park in two days. Yesterday when we went into the swamp our human got all upset, he called us back, then when we came running he told us to stay away from him. He is difficult to understand. We only wanted to share the nice mud with him; we had lots of it on us to share. He looks good with doggy paw prints all over him. He took us home and gave us a bath.

Two baths in two days is probably a new record. We smelled wonderful when we came out of the swamp. He gave us a bath with scented shampoo and we ended up smelling like sissy dogs. The perfume alone would have been enough reason for us to jump into the mud. I hope we wants to work on voice commands again, the park is sure fun!

Mogley

Friday, January 25, 2008

A Golden Story!

Today I am re-posting a wonderful e-mail I received from Evie. Evie’s story is proof that “You can teach an old dog new tricks, you can even teach them to blog”. The perfect dog is not one you buy from a breeder or a pet store, the perfect dog is one that has already been trained by his owners, and now is homeless. A homeless dog that finds the love of a new family offers greater love than you will ever know, they appreciate you and all that you do for them. Read Evie’s story, then call your local rescue and find room in your heart and in your home for the best friend you will ever have!

Dear Mogley,

Hi, I am Evie and would like to share my story with you.

I am an 8 year old Golden Retriever and through no fault of my own I found myself homeless at the end of last summer. Something about my people moving and they couldn't take me with them. I have to tell you I was scared out of my mind. I am not a cute little puppy or even a young dog in my prime. I am a senior, a little heavy and I had this big tumor on my side. Who would ever want me? Well, I have to tell you I lucked out. My owner did a good thing and turned me over to Mary at GRRR.

Mary took me to Dr. Carpenter and I had surgery to remove the lump. Then the next day Mary took me to this lady and said she and her husband would be my foster parents. I didn't know what foster parents were at the time and since I hurt after the surgery and my whole life had been upset, I was even more scared if that was possible. Well, this lady took me to her house and told me not to be scared that I was going to be cared for and watched over while I healed. I just laid on the living room floor for several days. My foster mom and dad talked to me, changed my dressing, gave me pills, fed me and helped me go outside when I needed to. Most of all they petted me and loved on me.

When I felt better after a few days I decided that this foster home thing wasn't so bad. I had a Golden foster brother, Sergeant and 2 Golden foster sisters Sorsha and Sally Sue. They were very kind to me and gave me my space while I wasn't feeling well. One of my foster sisters Sally Sue was even older than me so I felt there was hope. She told me she had been adopted from GRRR when she was my age and that lots of people really appreciate an older Golden that has most of the wiggles out. I was feeling better and better. The stitches came out of my side and my hair started to grow back and I was feeling like myself again. I couldn't believe my good fortune. My coat was getting shiny from the good food. I had a Spa day when my side was healed and was feeling like a million dollars. Sally Sue was showing me the ropes. She showed me how everything worked around here. I learned the dog door and she taught me to ignore the cats. I found out that Mom and Dad have had about 12 foster dogs before me. They share their home with Goldens from GRRR who are waiting for forever homes. Some stayed for a few days and some for a few weeks. I was their longest foster since I needed lots of recuperating time.

Then after about 2 1/2 months mom and dad started to say that I was their first foster failure. What had I done wrong? I always went outside when needed and even learned the doggie door. I didn't bother the cats. I never destroyed a toy, at that point I really didn't even know what toys were or what they were for. Then mom explained to me that being a foster failure wasn't a bad thing, it meant that I would never leave. I was going to be adopted and could stay with them forever. They had fallen love with me and couldn't let me go. I have a home and I am so happy. They said that people may think they are nuts having 4 dogs but that you can never have enough Gold. The other day we went to see Mary again and did some paperwork, whatever that is, but it meant that I am not a foster dog any more. The only sad point is that Sally Sue has passed away. We all miss her a lot. Mom says that here soon we will be getting another foster dog and it will be my responsibility to show them the ropes like Sally showed me.

Mogley feel free to share my story with your readers. It is so important for GRRR to have lots of foster homes so that those of us goldens that are homeless have a place to stay until we find forever homes. A place where we are warm, fed well, have our hurts healed and most importantly of all be loved until we find our forever homes and yes even occasionally a few of us become foster failures. What could be better?

Your friend in Dogdom and a big fan
Evie

To contact GRRR rescue, try this link: http://www.goldenrescue.com/index.html

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Dog Olympics

Several of you have asked me if there is any chance of getting car chasing, tennis ball retrieving or Frisbee catching recognized as an Olympic sport in time for the upcoming Olympic Games in China? One of you pointed out that you had read on the internet that the Chinese really love dogs. I am not sure you understood that quite right. They love dogs, but with sweet and sour sauce.

At first I thought you were being silly. Then Bella pointed out to me that humans have horses in the Olympics. They just sit on top of the horse and let the horse do all of the work and somehow they think that is an athletic event. That is much a sport as the Frisbee toss or the game of fetch with a tennis ball. Humans sit in one place and throw the object to be returned and then wait while the dog does all the work.

There is a chance we can get an Olympic berth since humans seem to enjoy watching others work. They could replace the Discus toss with a Frisbee throw and replace the Javelin throw with a good game of tennis ball fetch. It would be a lot safer, if a Frisbee hit someone it would not hurt as much as a Discus, a tennis ball is much safer than a javelin. They already have lots of used tennis balls at the event. We could combine some of the swimming events with the Frisbee throw and have a whole new series of Retriever Games. There would be a 100 yard freestyle duck retrieve. A 50 yard cat chase. It would be a win- win for dogs and humans. It would make the Olympic Games a lot safer and it would cut down on the stress humans incur in doing physical activity themselves. Based on my observations, cutting back on the activity level demanded of a human is something they welcome. My human has tried to teach me to operate the TV remote so he does not have to set down his beer when he wants to change channels.

I will do more checking and see how we get our sports recognized for the Olympics. Would my Greyhound readers want to replace the 100 yard dash contestants? Our Border Collie readers could dispense with the human rider and make herding horses an Olympic event. Olympic medals will go to the dogs!

Mogley

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Dog to dog etiquette

I want to thank all of you for the fan mail. Some dogs are kept isolated by their owners and are never socialized properly which is the reason for this posting. I want to respond to the dog, or more likely a human disguising himself as a dog, that wrote me the nice e-mail. Dogs know that they don't use dog language to communicate where humans can read it, humans must never learn how to "talk dog". I don’t like to criticize, but there was a significant error in the message. You began by saying; “Bow-wow, bow grr, gr, bow.gr.” I have to assume that you are a small dog, and that your owner has not clipped your nails recently which makes it difficult to type, or you really were saying “Hello, how are you, can I sniff your pant leg?”

Only a very small dog will ask to sniff a pant leg, hence the use of “can” rather than “may”, larger dogs sniff another part of the anatomy, and they “can” so no permission is necessary. It is not polite to ask before sniffing. Humans don’t greet each other by saying “Hello, may I shake your hand?” They just walk right up and extend their arm and hand. So should dogs, they have their way of greeting and they should show their enthusiasm to see another dog by sniffing excitedly, just run right up, turn around, stick out your nose and get acquainted.

You went on to say “bowbowwow gr arf, garf, arff.” No, I don’t know how to persuade your owner not to dress you up in those ridiculous costumes at Christmas. But I suggest that you not complain too much, there are a lot of homeless dogs at the shelter and when you have a good home, take care to keep it. Go along with the silliness, as long as there are treats at the end of the day.

I will suggest that your owner take you to the dog park daily, you need to socialize more often with other dogs. You should know that you never put two “gr or grr” in the first sentence when addressing a new dog, only one gr or grr is allowed until the sniffing is complete. If you are friends and this is the second or third time that you have sniffed, then two gr or grr’s would be allowed, but not loud ones. You can only get loud with the gr or grr’s after three meetings.

I also recommend that you work on your human language when you are at the keyboard, but always speak in dog when in the presence of a human, we can’t let humans know how much we understand or they will be assigning us chores. Look what they do to their own children as soon as they learn to speak, they make them clean their rooms, wash their hands and go to the toilet in the white water bowl in that little room. Dogs need to be as good at inter-human communication as they can to understand humans and their many moods. But never let humans know how much you understand his language, or you may find yourself sweeping up the patio.

Mogley

Friday, January 18, 2008

Goldens Win Again

The hits just keep on coming. The AKC released its listing of the most popular dogs in the country and Golden Retrievers came in 4th. Visit their site to see the actual rankings and you can click on your city to see how we fared in your particular location. http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm

Honolulu got it right. Golden Retrievers are ranked number one. I am sure the rest of the country will catch up some day. They probably need lots of balls rescued from the surf which is why Retrievers are cherished, or it could be they just have a better appreciation of beauty. I could see myself running in the surf or lounging under a palm tree with a young lady in a bikini scratching my ears or rubbing my tummy. Oops, I am infringing on my humans dreams; I could get in trouble for that.

Let us recap. The annual Eukanuba Most Beautiful Dog contest voted Golden Retrievers as number one. The AKC ranks us from number one to number four (depending on location) on the national most popular dog listing. The scientists that conducted a study of dog IQ, ranked us number four based on our ability to follow commands, but they forgot to add in our ability to communicate through our typing skills. We will be ranked number one on the IQ scale once they find out that Golden Retrievers can blog.

I want to point out a small problem. With Golden Retrievers being the most beautiful and the most popular, why don’t the humans put a mirror down where we can see it? I hope my human reads this and corrects the situation. Receiving that many accolades makes it hard to be humble. I hope they don’t have a contest to see which dog is the most vain, because in my humble opinion, Golden’s would place dead last.

Foxhounds placed last on the popularity ranking of 157 recognized AKC breeds. I wonder if we should have a telethon to raise money and raise awareness of their plight, helping to raise them up the chart? Where is Jerry Lewis when you need him?

Mogley G. Retriever

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Mirror, mirror on the wall?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?

Eukanuba sponsored a contest to determine the most beautiful dog breed. This was in response to People Magazine and it’s Most Beautiful People issue. With over 2,000 people voting, the results are in and the winners are final. The winners of the contest are, (drum roll please), Golden Retrievers. The picture is of "Beautiful Dogs at Play". If you don’t believe that Goldens won, visit this web site to see for yourself. http://www.beautyofthebreeds.com/botbsurvey.jsp

A few blogs ago I wrote that based on a scientific study, Golden Retrievers were one of the top four smartest breeds of dogs. Now it turns out we are the best looking breed as well. Smart and handsome, what more can we ask?

As a life long Golden Retriever I knew we were the smartest. How many other dogs write blogs? Have you read a blog written daily by a Collie? How many Boxers write their life stories? How many Poodles post their activities on the Internet? I know Golden Retrievers are handsome; I get compliments every time we go for a walk. I get attention when I go in the pet food store with Bella, my step sister. People tell us how pretty we are.

Now I can prove we are the total package. Good looks and brains, plus we obey commands. What more can you ask for?

For those underprivileged humans that do not have a Golden Retriever in their home it is not too late. Operators are standing by to take your call and match you up with a deserving, homeless Golden Retriever, or other dog of your choice. And if you call in the next ten minutes, we will include a new best friend for life for no additional charge.

Visit a local rescue kennel, listen to the stories of the individual dogs and see how many very beautiful, well mannered dogs end up homeless through no fault of their own. A child develops allergies and a beloved family friend is suddenly in a chain link run at doggie jail. An elderly couple moves to a care facility and a well trained, well loved, dog is suddenly homeless. A soldier is sent to Iraq and the perfect companion is suddenly a lonely, bewildered dog, shivering in fear in a cage. All of these dogs are in doggy jail through no fault of their own, but to get out they need your help. There is no pardon, no retrial, and no second chance except through you. Someone else has potty trained him, leash trained him and taught him his manners, you only have to open your heart and your home to have the perfect companion, instantly. Adopt a homeless dog, provide a foster home for a dog in transition, and find a new best friend.

Golden Retrievers, bet you can’t love just one!

Mogley

p.s.: Try these links to find a deserving dog close to you:
http://www.grca-nrc.org/ is a listing of national rescues, there is one near you.
http://www.goldenrescue.com/index.html Mogley’s favorite rescue, make a donation on line to a 501(c)3 organization, open your heart if you can't open your home.
http://www.goldenretrieverfreedom.com/ A Golden Source
There are hundreds of special breed rescues on line to help you find a new best friend.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Better Homes and Dogs

Each month Bella and I feature a different decorating tip for our doggy friends in Better Homes and Dogs. This month we feature the Golden Retriever in it’s natural habitat. As you can see, Bella and I have decorated the family room (our den) so that it offers a warm and friendly atmosphere. Christmas is over, Bella and I helped take down the decorations and we flattened them for easy storage. If you look closely you will see that Santa has lost a lot of weight. The white stuffing on the floor coordinates well with the snow outdoors, the empty toy carcasses shows that the residents are well fed and adjusted. The tug toys promote regular exercise and help to keep us in shape for those long walks on warm winter days. The dog bed beside the chair promises many ear scratches and head pats. When it comes to dog friendly decorating advice, "eat your heart out, Martha".

The result is a home that our doggy friends will feel right at home in. While any dog could enjoy the cozy decor, the addition of the duck makes it special for retrievers. We are submitting the photo to National Geographic in case they want to do a feature story on a pack of wild, ferocious Golden Retrievers and need an illustration of a typical den of Golden's in their natural habitat, the wilds of suburbia. The ability of a Golden to adapt to life in a warm heated home is truly one of the great survival stories of our natural world and a true testament to the law of the "survival of the fittest". The difference between wolves and Golden Retrievers is in the environment, you will never find a Golden spending the night in the snow or sleeping in a cave, wolves don't even eat from bowls, how barbaric!

Mogley

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Dog Communication

Since my last blog post I have been thinking about the blog sites that have humans pretending to be dogs and writing fake dog-blogs. At first I could not explain why a human would pretend to be a dog, then it came to me; dogs are perfect, loved, obedient, attentive and man's best friend. Many humans are lonely, unappreciated and looking for a friend, so they pretend to be a dog on the internet hoping someone will love them. The dog impersonators are easy to recognize, they write using baby talk, they think dogs do not have command of the language. Understanding what humans say is easy; the difficulty is in understanding what they mean. Dogs have been man’s best friend for thousands of years by listening carefully and watching closely to what humans are saying. We have also learned how to ignore what humans say, which is how we have survived as mans best friend for thousands of years. Who do you think taught husbands how to ignore their wives and children how to ignore their parents?

Humans think that speech is the only way to communicate. Today a human friend stopped by to visit. I sniffed carefully as I greeted them at the door. It took over an hour for the visitor to explain that they had been to the mall where they bumped into an old friend, visited two stores and shopped for several hours.

I knew all of that after the fourth sniff when they walked in the door, I also knew they had not bought any dog treats at the store, they had given their own dog a pat on the head before they left home, their old friend has not quit smoking yet, they had pop tarts for breakfast and spilled juice on their shirt (it was frozen orange juice). Using dog communication, the whole visit could have been finished in three minutes, or five sniffs, which ever came first. Proof positive that the nose works better than the mouth for communicating.

Mogley

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Wake up and smell the keyboard!

I have been reading Dog Blogs on the Internet. Did you know that most of the Dog Blogs are fake? They are written by humans! That’s right, fake dog blogs outnumber real dog blogs almost 100 to 1. I would like to see a human impersonate a dog at the local dog park, I would sniff him good, then lift my leg. Humans have no shame, impersonating a dog on the Internet! Either very few dogs have access to a keyboard at night when their owners are asleep, or we canines have become soft and lazy. Sure it is hard to type when your claws are not trimmed, but you can always run spell check and grammar check to catch most of the errors. Since dogs don’t need as much sleep as humans, there is plenty of time to write your blog and then proof read it while the humans in the house sleep. I understand some dogs don’t have much to say and don't want to blog, but most of us have plenty to bark about. Keyboards don’t smell good, but don’t turn up your nose at them; you only have to type on them. I was lucky that my human left his computer on the fireplace hearth at night so it is easy for me to write after they go to bed. You may have to "accidentally" knock the keyboard off of the table to get at it, or just climb up in the swivel chair and hope that it does not squeak when you write. Tonight when your resident human is asleep, get acquainted with your computer. If you nudge the mouse (they call that little oval thing a mouse) it will wake the computer up. Once the screen comes on, you can catch up on your reading, create your own blog account and get started telling the world the truth about dogs! Spell check is the F7 key; use it often or readers will think you are one of those fake dog blogs. We all know that dogs are too smart to let errors creep into their work, only humans use that baby talk stuff when they pretend to be dogs.

As a former homeless dog, I believe it is my obligation to reach out to dogs and help them find forever homes and to teach humans why they should take in homeless dogs. Remind your human that all dogs go to heaven, so when a human rescues a dog, someone will be in heaven to put in a good word for him. For some of the humans I have met, their dog will be the only “person” in heaven that will say anything good. If they don’t have a dog there, they are going to be very lonely if they are welcome at all. If you are one of those humans, you may want to rescue several dogs, but remember to treat them very well, they will get in the first word with the man up above. Remember to leave the keyboard where your doggy friends can reach it at night, we need more dogs writing blogs!

Mogley G. Retriever

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Fetching Ducks

When I was just a tiny puppy, my mother told me that I could end up following several paths in life. I could become a spoiled big city dog, living a pampered life in an apartment, never having to work very hard, but never having much excitement either. I could become a helper dog, providing assistance to a handicapped human and traveling extensively. I could become a hunting dog, retrieving dead ducks from the middle of freezing lakes, spending time in the great outdoors with hunters, doing what I was bred to do. Or I could become a suburban dog living with a large outdoor yard, walks in the park, being pampered by my owner and maybe a squirrel or a duck to chase from time to time. I have been given the last and best path to follow. After a very upsetting time when I had no home and I was a scared lonely puppy in a chain link kennel, I was taken in by a rescue group, then placed with a foster family, and now I have been adopted and I have a Forever Home. I capitalize "Forever Home" because to a homeless dog, a Forever Home is very important. I now have a large yard on the edge of a park, lots of room to run, squirrels to chase, frequent walks in the park with my human and my Golden step sister, Bella. I get frequent trips to the dog food store where I get to pick out my own toys, we attend reunions with my fellow Golden Retrievers at the rescue kennels, and I have new experiences almost daily.


Today I was introduced to fetching Ducks. It may not seem like much to a casual observer, but "Mogley is my name, Retrieving is my game". It is only a stuffed duck but it will do for now. I have always been very interested in the ducks I see on our daily walks. The park is full of them and they come very close to the path when we walk. The human said he is using the stuffed duck to teach me how to properly retrieve objects. I have to learn to treat ducks gently. I love making the squeaky things squeak, but he says that I am not supposed to hold a duck that tightly and the squeaky thingy tells him when I bite down too hard. I don't have to go into the frozen lake to fetch them which is a big relief. For now we are just playing fetch in the back yard. The rules to the game of "Fetch the Duck" and the rules to the game of "Fetch the Ball" seem to be very similar. The difference is that the game of "Fetch the Duck" seems to be worth more treats. I am not sure why he wants dead ducks, but I am willing to play his game, as long as he shells out the treats.

Mogley

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Broken Resolutions

It is already January 6th and I have not broken a single one of my resolutions but the resident human has broken several of his. My human thinks I missed several resolutions I should have made but didn't. He still yells at me for the same old things.

He thinks I should have resolved not to lick the dishes in the dishwasher. My pre-wash attachment is much more efficient and environmentally friendly than his pre-wash attachment. One of his resolutions was to be more environmentally friendly in 2008. But he yells at me for saving him energy by cleaning dishes. I also recycled the leftover food that was on the plates. Everyone knows a dog's tongue is more environmentally friendly than a dishwasher full of hot soapy water. I think he broke his resolution to be more environmentally friendly.

He took out the vacuum cleaner and destroyed the environmentally friendly home that I had created. He picked up all of the stuffing I had removed from the toys and put the remains of the toys in the toy box. I was only making the toys more useful, when I first received the toys they were overweight, they squeaked and made noise. After I finished, they were quiet, very flat and the living room looked much better with a white fluffy carpet. Then he started up the vacuum cleaner and destroyed it all. His resolution to be more tolerant of others went up in smoke, or up the vacuum cleaner as it were.

I resolved not to pull on the leash when we went for our walks. He resolved to be friendlier in the new year. When strangers passed on the walk, I greeted them by jumping up on them and showing them I loved them. He went into the "bad dog"routine again, yanking on my leash and telling me "no". He broke his resolution by not being friendly on our walk, he thinks I broke my resolution when I pulled on the leash. You be the judge.

Humans, they are so unpredictable. But after thousands of years we dogs still love them anyway. We are man's best friends, but I wish they would not test our limits so often.

Mogley

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Happy New Year!

Humans make New Years Resolutions, it seems like a silly thing to do, they should be perfect like us dogs all year long. I get five or six “good dogs” per day which should make me close to being perfect already. How many "good human" praises do you think they get a day? To humor them I promised to make resolutions. I resolve to be a better dog in the coming year.

  • I will not tear toys to bits only minutes after they come from the store, I will wait several hours before I destroy them.
  • I will not run into the park when the front door opens.
  • I will not pull on the leash just because a squirrel runs across our path.
  • I will not pull on the leash just because there are good smelling things along the path.
  • I will not chase the cats, when humans are watching.
  • I will not uproot the house plants when I get bored.
  • I will not lick plates and bowls that are left unattended.
  • I will not lie down in the kitchen when someone is cooking.
  • I will not leap up on visitors when I greet them at the door.
  • I will not jump into the UPS truck when they deliver.
  • I will not sniff on the counter when no one is looking.

Ok, I may not keep all of the resolutions, but I am sure I can keep one or two for a week or so. I bet I beat the humans, they won't keep any of them past New Years Day.

Mogley

Merry Christmas

I had two very Merry Christmas mornings. On Christmas morning we were late getting up, after all it had been a long hard night of work for a Reindog pulling Santa’s sleigh all over. When got up we found two fresh bones for our Christmas breakfast. Then we went to Jenny’s house to visit Emma, Molly and Piper, my golden cousins. With five Goldens and many relatives, it was a busy house. I counted 14 hands to pat heads and rub tummies. Bella and I each had two new rubber squeaky toys and two stuffed toys. Emma, Molly and Piper got new toys, but they don’t share as well as I do. We had fun getting in the way and stealing toys from one another.

Two days later when Brian returned home from his flights we had a second Christmas. Bella and I received new collars, they are very good looking collars, Bella’s collar is hot pink, mine is dark green. The human says that two fingers under a collar are not enough, there should be room for a whole hand, instead of fitting a tighter collar they train me to be a better dog, yea, sure. There was wrapping paper everywhere and presents scattered all over, soon the only thing left to open was an envelope, it was the very best present of all, it was an adoption certificate. Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies was going to let me stay with my foster parents, now I have a Forever Home!

I am very happy to finally know that I will stay here forever. We prepared an adoption certificate so that I could adopt them as my human family and they could adopt me as their dog. When we finished placing our hand and paw prints to the certificate there was not a dry eye in the place. To celebrate I tore the stuffing out of both of my Christmas toys, when I was done the floor looked like a snow storm had moved indoors. Now that I have a Forever Home, I will devote my life to helping other homeless dogs find foster homes on their way to finding their Forever Homes.

Mogley G. Retriever