A message from Marlo

I received a message this morning from Marlo, Sassy's step sister. Above is a photo of Marlo.

Hi, I am Marlo. I am a 7 month old female golden retriever. I came to GRRR with my friend Sassy. Sassy went to stay with Mogley the Blog dog and I got to come over to their friends house. I arrived here last night. I had already eaten my dinner before I arrived but they gave me a good snack when the others ate so I wouldn't feel left out. I am just 7 months old so the extra calories sure won't hurt me at this point. There are 3 goldens here and they have all been very nice to me. We went outside in the back yard and my foster dad threw tennis balls for all of us. We each had our own to retrieve! I ran with the big dogs. Don't tell them but I am faster than they are. Evelyn the golden senior here, she came from GRRR too, has been showing me the ropes. I have to admit I was scared last night and she let me snuggle up to her on the carpet during TV time. That sure made me feel better. I am right as rain today. Nothing like a good night's sleep, great breakfast and a photo shoot to make a girl feel better. Below are a couple of pictures from this mornings shoot.

Evelyn told me that I shouldn't unpack my bag completely as she is sure I will be adopted very quickly. She also said that the resident cats are off limits and that is one of the most important rules here. I was wondering what those furry things were. I was sure interested but I haven't so much as touched one of them. I was a little worried about my friend Sassy last night but my foster mom told me that she is in very good hands. That made me feel better for sure. My foster mom said to let everyone know that I am ok on a leash, I know to sit when told, I seem to be housebroken (so far). I don't understand that dog door thing but I have only tried it once with help. I am not a wild child but am still a puppy so I need someone that will take the time to give me a guiding hand and teach me all the things that will make me a great dog. Well, I am tired now and like all little ones I need a nap. I will write more when I can.

Thanks,
Marlo G. Retriever

PS. I wrote with some help from my foster brothers and sister.

World, Meet Sassy!

We have a new foster friend. Sassy arrived from the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) today. Her room mate Marlo was transported with her, but Marlo was dropped by another foster family where she could get more attention. As you can see from the pictures Sassy is tired from her journey so she had to have a nap. Like all good Retrievers, a duck helps her to sleep.

We don't know much about her yet, but we do know that she is a wonderful girl already. She was hardly in the door when she grabbed a toy and offered to play with me. Most foster dogs take a week or more before they are ready to play. The first few days they are still lost and looking for a friend. They Velcro themselves to the nearest human's leg and stay there till they feel more comfortable in the home. Not Sassy! At 4 years of age, she is still a playgirl. She is underfoot as much as she can be. She needs the comfort of a kind word and a lot of petting. Treats help too. Bella and I get to share in the extra attention since we are all working together to make her feel at home.

Her room mate, Marlo is only 7 months old. We dropped Marlo by for Kris to foster, Marlo will be in her forever home very shortly, Kris has a list of people looking for a beautiful younger lady. When we delivered Marlo Kris was on the phone talking to a potential home already.

We will give you more of their story later, now it is time to let Sassy have a nap. We will find out how well trained she is, work with her a little so that we can tell potential homes what she is like. We will watch to see is she is in good health, she has already been to the vet and received her health check. She has a clean bill of health except that we need to clean her ears and she has some coat medications. When she came in to the rescue she had some hot spots on her coat, since both of them had it we suspect it was caused by some of the cheap super market dog foods. Cheap foods often do not have balanced nutrition and can cause coat problems as well as gas problems. Sassy sits very well and she is pretty quiet.

Tomorrow we will begin the search for her forever home. Stay tuned to follow our search and help Sassy find her perfect forever home.

Mogley G. Retriever

Follow Up

Sandy and Abby are in their new homes. We have received daily e-mails reporting on their activities. We expect that once Sandy has settled in she might even be writing her own blog.

Their new parents say that they love them very much. Since both of the humans work, a neighbor comes by several times a day to let the lady's outside. The neighbor has fallen for them too.

They have lots of toys, lots of treats, soft beds to sleep on and a big yard to run in. They get lots of attention and lots of love. We are so happy that they are loved enough that the humans will take the time to update us.

The goal was to take in a pair of homeless lady's and find them new homes.

Mission Accomplished.

Mogley G. Retriever

"Well Done"

Thanks to the Bumpass Hounds, they designed a new award for special bloggers and were kind enough to award it to us. Thanks so much, it is a special award because it comes from fellow rescue workers.

You can read all about the award and about their rescue activities at their web site http://bumpasshounds.blogspot.com/ or click on their link listed to the left.

Thanks Guys.

Mogley and Bella Retriever

Dogs have feelings too!

Now that Sandy and Abby are in their new Forever Home, we can tell a little more about them. They were the product of a broken home. A family went through a divorce, they all hurt and they all had to start a new life. When the husband brought in Sandy and Abby to voluntarily surrender them, tears flowed. Losing Sandy and Abby was bad, the feeling that they were being abandoned was devastating. Both to the family and to the two dogs. Sandy was 11 and one family was all she had ever known. They asked that Sandy and Abby remain together and be adopted as a pair, at least they would still have each other.

It is so much better if the family says goodbye at home and the dogs are surrendered in a friendly atmosphere. Mary recounts surrenders where the crying became so bad that the dogs were frightened of these new people that took them away.

Dogs have feelings too! Our feelings are very real, we sense emotions better than humans do, we understand what is unspoken, we feel what is hidden. Many people forget, their thoughts are on their own loss, they focus on their own feelings. The dogs are torn from their family and go to a new place filled with fear and apprehension, frightened of these new people that tore them away from their happy home. Frightened because of the emotions they feel, frightened from the tears and sorrow they see in their family.

Today when we arrived at the rescue to turn over Sandy and Abby we let them lose to run and greet these new people, two Golden's making friends with two humans, on their own terms, joyfully greeting new people and looking for a new future. Sandy and Abby went as friends going on to a new adventure in life, with no fear and no apprehension. Willingly and joyfully entering a new world and a new life.

Giving up a dog that has been a loved member of your family is never easy, but you can make the best of it, for both yourselves and for your dogs.

Remember this before you drive me down to the city pound and drop me. Remember this before you push me out along some country road. Remember this before you take me to the vet to be put to sleep.

Remember this, Dogs have feelings too!

Mogley G. Retriever

My Rewards!

This morning we drove Sandy and Abby over to meet their new Forever Home. It was a wonderful meeting, Sandy and Abby were delighted with their new family. Their new home is out of town so they have room to run. There is a mountain home that they can go to in the summer and run in the streams, in the winter they can ride on the snowmobiles. The people know all about dogs, they brought treats and toys to prove that they will take good care of their new friends.

Below, I have a brand new toy lamb, it squeaks loud.

They brought Bella and I a bag of toys and treats as a reward for taking care of Sandy and Abby. Bella and I have agreed to share the toys and the treats as we both took care of Sandy and Abby. We were sad to see our friends go, but we know they have a wonderful home and they will have a wonderful new life. We made the people promise to bring Sandy and Abby back to our Golden Retriever of the Rockies Reunion Picnics and our party's. That way we can connect with them again.

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Don't you just love it when a story has a happy ending? This one ends.... Sandy and Abby lived happily ever after.

For GRRR it was a good day already, four dogs adopted before noon, and three more likely for the afternoon. On Friday we had three more come in, and on Sunday we will be taking in four more. GRRR is on track to hit over 400 adoptions in 2009. Thanks to all of the people who help make a dogs life a little better. There were people there to walk and play with the new arrivals until they could be placed in foster homes. They had their photos taken and updated their resumes for the adoption page, everyone wanted to look their best for the on line dog dating service.

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Thanks to our volunteers, you make life better for dogs that are under stress and feeling lonely. When we wag our tails and lick your hand, its because we know you are trying hard to make our lives better. We appreciate all the attention you give us.

Remember that you too can volunteer to help a dog. Drivers can transport, walkers can excercise, foster homes can love and nurture until the perfect Forever Home can be found. There is a rescue near you that needs you.
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Mogley G. Retriever

Farewell Party

Followers of my blog know that the two foster friends that have been staying with us have received an offer of a Forever Home. A nice couple that recently lost their senior Golden were looking for a young dog when they found our blog with Sandy and Abby. They decided that old Golden's do make the best friends. They have asked to meet and adopt Sandy and Abby Saturday morning. Below on the left is Abby and on the right is Sandy, relaxing after a hard day shredding toys.

We decided to have a farewell party and play date for Sandy and Abby. It looks like they will go to their permanent forever home on Saturday, so we wanted to have a special party for them before they leave. We invited our three cousins over to play for the day. Emma, Piper and Molly arrived to make the party complete and to enjoy a play date. Below are all seven Party Dogs, waiting for the resident treat vendor to do his job. Sandy and Abby are on the right.

We are going to enjoy our friends today and wish them a wonderful life tomorrow when they leave us. It has been a pleasure having these two well behaved and quiet ladies in our home. Being a foster brother is wonderful, but it has its downside. We hate saying goodbye to special friends that have become a member of our family. Of course there is a chance they won't get adopted, but it sounds like the deal is done.

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The goal of the rescue is to take homeless dogs in, evaluate them and help find forever homes for them. They call it a "Foster Failure" when the rescue home will not give up their foster when the time comes. Molly was a foster failure of a different kind, when it came time to hand her over, she refused, she would not go with the new people, she fought to stay with her family until they gave up trying to pull her out the door. We know if we don't give up the fosters we are given, then we don't have room for the next homeless dog who may have to stay in the chain link kennel. The wonderful people that take in our homeless friends and give them a forever home, make it all worthwhile.

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Mogley G. Retriever

Forever Home

We just received word that this coming Saturday morning we have an appointment to take Sandy and Abby to meet a prospective adopter. They have read all of our blogs about Sandy and Abby and they have talked with the rescue about them.

Sandy and Abby are very excited, they have their bags packed already. Abby packed her favorite toy, she will unpack in in just a few hours when she decides it is play time or when she just wants to run around the house with it in her mouth. Sandy likes tennis balls, but she does not have a favorite one, her favorite one is whichever one is thrown for her.

Sandy wants to remind her prospective family that she would like a very thick dog bed, she likes to lie without her bones poking the ground. There will have to be one bed near the human's bed, another one in the family room so she can have a comfortable afternoon nap. Sandy takes about seven naps a day. She says she is not lazy or tired, she just needs to be prepared to go to sleep at night and she is afraid she will get out of practice.

Sandy and Abby like having access to a dog door, but they also are let out first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, plus several times during the day, just so they keep on schedule. They are used to getting a glucosamine treat twice a day, and they get a peanut butter treat twice a day when I get my pills. A finger of peanut butter to lick also helps that morning "dog breath" that we sometimes wake up with. Abby likes to chew on something, a stuffed toy, a big rag toy or a rope toy will keep her busy.

We are all excited that Sandy and Abby will have a forever home, but we Will be sad to see them leave. They have become treasured members of the family and they will be missed a lot. Sandy had a song written about her, "There are only three things worth a solitary dime, Old dogs and Children, and watermelon wine". They were thinking of Sandy and Abby when they talked about the joy of old dogs, they are wonderful, well behaved ladies.

Mogley G. Retriever

Swimming with the fishes.

Things did not go as planned. We planned on getting to run and play in the mud, then go to the GRRR dog wash and bake sale. It did not work out as planned. Humans, they can be so difficult at times.

First it was cold Saturday morning and the chauffeur decided it was too cold to go run in the frozen river. Then he worried about having four wet, muddy, happy dogs in the car, he said he had just cleaned it and he did not want us getting it muddy. Then we noticed that the dog wash was sold out, there was no time available for us late comers.

We did get to go to the bake sale. They sold human and dog treats there, so all was not lost. Sandy and Abby were able to sniff hello to the lady that transported and kept them for several days when they first entered rescue. There were many other rescue dogs to get acquainted with.

Sandy felt bad that she did not get to run in the water. She jumped into the koi pond today, she came out dripping and smelling great. The humans did not like her giving herself her own bath, they gave her one and now she smells like lilac water or such.

We have been promised a run in the river soon if the weather stays warm. Now we know that Sandy can swim and she is a water dog as well.

Mogley G. Retriever

News you need to view

Two recent items have been posted on Thoughts Fur Paws. The latest is about puppy mills, it can be seen at: http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/uncategorized/petland-faces-class-action-lawsuit/

A second item they have recently posted on Thoughts Fur Paws concerns poisons. Since summer is coming, I want to make sure my humans keep bad things out of our reach like they are supposed to. Read it at : http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/dogs/poisonous-household-items-for-pets/

Make sure your people read this and keep you safe. It's their job! Thanks for the news guys. Keep up the good work.

Mogley G. Retriever

Waste a wash?

Above, taken last March, five goldens play in the spring run off at the 12 mile park. Mogley, Bella, Emma, Piper and Molly get muddy in preparation for a bath.

I need your help. This weekend the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) is holding a dog wash and bake sale. When we go down to the big park, our chauffeur/cook will not let us play in the river unless it is time for our bath. Most days he says that he does not have time to give us a bath so he will not let us play in the mud.

He is planning on attending the dog wash/bake sale, now all the pack has to do is convince him that it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good bath on a clean dog. After all, doesn't he want his money's worth?

Help me convince him that we need to spend some quality time at the river before going to the dog wash. Send him a comment, tell him we need to get real muddy before we go to the fund raiser.

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.A clean dog is a waste of a bath!

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.Mogley G. Retriever

The World Championships

The world championship mouth wrestling matches were scheduled to take place today. Molly, Piper, Abby, Bella and I were ready to hold the final matches to determine the World Champion. Bella and I figured that since we practice every day we would be shoo ins. We have even designed a special golden Chamionship Collar for the winner. Then the unbelievable happened.

Molly, Piper and Emma's daddy came home early. He is a pilot and he was rescheduled on his flights, so he came home and picked up his pack and went to their home. Bella, Abby, Sandy and I are left alone. Four dogs playing is all right, but it doe not have the intensity of all seven playing together.

We have postponed the World Championship Mouth Wrestling Championships for several weeks. This gives us time to ask for additional entry's. If you want to compete and believe you are a champion class mouth wrestler, let us know.

In the meantime we are still looking for a Forever Home for Sandy and Abby. If you want to help two fine Lady's find a home, visit the rescue web site at www.goldenrescue.com and read more about Sandy and Abby.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 5

The Bumpass Hounds will say this should be titled "Part 6", they think I skipped one chapter in the Dog Philosopher. Or maybe "Part 5 1/2".

We are having a lot of fun together. Abby and Sandy are even joining in the chasing and mouth wrestling. Mealtime is a lot more exciting with seven bowls in seven places and seven hungry dogs trying to see what everyone else is getting fed. You never know when one of us gets better food and how will we know if we don't check? The chauffeur/cook thinks we should all sit down in our place to wait for our bowl, but that takes all the fun out of it.

With seven dogs in the house, the resident chauffeur/cook spends a lot of time with his tools cleaning up the yard.

This raises an important philosophical question. Why are humans so obsessed with dog poop? All of my friends at the dog park ask the same question. We watch people pick up dog poop, put it into special plastic bags they carry with them. When we run in the park we always see people walking along with plastic bags full of poop in their hands. They even point out dog poop to other people to pick up. If one person misses a dog poop, another person will make sure they get it. At the big dog park, they even schedule a "clean up day" for everyone to come and pick up dog poop just in case they are running short on their home supply. Humans buy special tools to use to pick up poop, they buy special plastic bags to carry it in, they exchange tips on how best to collect dog poop.

Is it a fixation, a hobby gone berserk or just a character flaw in humans? Are humans potty trained at too young of an age? Is this behaviour normal? I think not! You don't see dogs carrying their own poop around in plastic bags. You don't see dogs obsessing with a little dog poop on the lawn. We need to show the humans the part about how fertilizer helps the grass grow. We need to show humans how to relax and enjoy just walking for the sake of walking.

Mogley G. Retriever

The sound of seven dogs playing?

Above, seven Golden Retrievers, a family reunion and extended play date.

Life is wonderful today. My cousins, Emma, Molly and Piper are here for about 10 days. Their family went on a trip so we get to have an extended play date. What is the sound of seven dogs playing? We don't know what it sounds like, but you can hear it from a mile away! The inventory is me, Mogley, 2 years old, Bella, 3, Sandy, 11, Abby, 6, Emma, 7, Molly and Piper, both 2.

I always enjoy having Molly and Piper here, we play all day long. Emma is not into playing, she is into relaxing, so she gets along very well with Sandy and Abby. Sandy surprised us all by rough housing with us for a while, then running laps around the yard with us. We still do not believe that Sandy is realy 11 years old, we think they made a mistake. Bella is the queen of the house, so she plays a little, then takes up her position as the head of the pack and watches us from her cushion.
Above and Below, we gather for treat time. I have my back to the camera, I am telling the others to sit so we can get our treats.
The downside to having my cousins visit is that they will tear all of my toys up. When it is treat time no one gets a treat unless everyone is sitting. Sometimes it takes several minutes before we can all calm down at once.

Mogley G. Retriever

Rescue Report

Sandy and Abby were getting anxious, they have been here almost a month as foster friends and still they have not been adopted into a forever home. I may have found out why. I opened an e-mail from Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) and boy did they have news. Last week GRRR took in 10 dogs, on top of the 30 or so that are normally in the foster system. GRRR is in need of volunteers who can provide foster homes and forever homes for more Golden friends. With each new dog there is a special and often very sad story, as the economy sinks, the stories get worse.

This fall GRRR had a rescue from the Animal Protection Services. Here is what GRRR wrote this week:
"Remember Brodie, the senior Golden who was given sleeping pills by his owner and then dumped in a field outside of Pueblo? Well the owner who did this horrible stuff was fined $500 today after he plead guilty to misdemeanor animal abuse. It's not a lot, but it's something. He was informed that if anything ever happens like this again he'll be facing felony charges. Brodie, I know you are being spoiled rotten in your new home now, but sleep well, knowing that he was punished for what he did to you, and by some miracle you lived through that, found your way to GRRR and are living a wonderful life now."

Next was a report from GRRR on a special rescue.
"We had two very special girls come into GRRR 3 weeks ago, Tessa and Tori. They were only 6 weeks old when they arrived at GRRR. These small precious little bundles of fur were welcomed into their Foster home to be loved and cared for until they find that special family to love them forever. What makes them so special? They were born blind. One of those ... I'm struggling to find a word that isn't too horrible... backyard breeders… to put it nicely couldn't sell them, so he contacted one of our volunteers who had taken a blind puppy from the last litter he had to sell a year ago. Last year's little blind girl was taken in at 4 weeks to the vet to be euthanized. He said, "They are too little to shoot." Not kidding, that is what this horrible man said when he took her in to have her euthanized. The vet refused because she was not sick and told him he knew someone would love that little puppy. Our volunteer begged him to keep the puppy with the mom and others until she was older. But "No" was his response, he'd already sold the pups and they had been away from mom for some time. I was so mad when I heard this and spent a good part of the night trying to find out if there was a law against selling pups before the age of 8 weeks. But no, there is no such law in South Dakota.

Several volunteers pitched in and drove these two girls from North Dakota to Denver. Tessa and Tori went into a loving foster home, and one of them has been adopted out already. The other is doing well with several older house mates to help out. These young ladys have their own "seeing eye dogs" to help them find their way.

If that is not enough, this was the next message:
"A volunteer emailed me on Sunday night about a girl in Gallup NM who needed help. The rescues in NM were full or didn't have resources to care for her. Oh, and by the way, they think she's pregnant. A few emails and a few calls and I am hoping that this girl will find her way to Colorado on Thursday. One volunteer is ready to jump in his car and go get her from Gallup and bring her to Albuquerque. The rest of the trip is still pending, but we are hoping for Thursday. I hope she keeps her legs crossed if she's close to delivering pups. The shelter she is in doesn't vaccinate, so that opens up a big can of worms when it comes to parvo, etc. So she will need to be transported without the company of another dog(s) as a precaution for everyone."

That is only the first few stories on GRRR rescues. I will post more tomorrow on several other rescues. Meanwhile, we need volunteers to provide foster homes and forever homes. If you don't have room in your home, you can donate to our rescue efforts by going to the link on the left of my blog and click on "Donate to Rescue Here!

Remember, no matter where you live, there is a rescue near you that needs help!

The economy is bad for people and for dogs, my chauffeur and chef says that dog food is now almost $40.00 per bag, that is almost $280 in Dog dollars at the current exchange rate.

Mogley G. Retriever

Playing in the park.

Above, four wild Golden Retrievers loose on the open plains. Look out!

The test is to see if the current foster dogs will come when called. If they don't come well we can't go to the big park. Sandy and Abby were given the test and they passed it just fine. So we get to go to the park regularly, four wild Golden Retrievers lose on the world. We can run until we are exhausted, we can run until we are panting and thirsty. Sandy is running better with each trip to the park. When she first arrived with us she could not jump into the SUV and had to be helped in and out of the car. Now she runs and leaps into the car in her excitement to go for a ride. At 11 years, she is doing so well that everyone is surprised when they are told how old she is.

We are all pulling for Sandy and Abby to be adopted into a Forever home soon, but until they find their new home, they are doing wonderful with us. They have been with us for three weeks which is close to a record. Most foster orphans that stay with us spend only a few days to a couple weeks before the rescue organization places them with a new family. We had fosters that spent less than a day before they were adopted, several that stayed less than five days. Sandy thinks it is taking longer because of her age and because we want to adopt Sandy and Abby out as a pair. They have spent their life together and they are very attached. With a large number of new, young and pretty dogs entering the rescue system, two older ladies will be hard to place. People don't realise that having an older dog that has learned how to behave is a huge blessing. No chewing on shoes, no wetting on carpets, no chasing the cat, no barking in the middle of the night. Just two well behaved dogs that love affection and bring a calm demeanour to the home. With Abby (6)you get a bonus, she plays a mean game of fetch, if you have a tennis ball she will bring it to you and drop it, then jump around waiting with anticipation for you to throw it again. We know there is an ideal home out there somewhere, but it takes time. While we wait we can all have fun and enjoy each others company. Below, Sandy and Bella share a bed.



Mogley G. Retriever