Wednesday Update on Aspen

There is not a lot to report. The rescue has been busy, but our chauffeur has been busy as well so we have not taken in a new foster to rescue. We expect to have someone new shortly.



We have been talking to the family that gave Aspen her forever home. They are going to be gone for several weeks and they do not want to put her in a kennel. Aspen was with us in September-October of 2009. She is 10 years old and quite active. Her new family did not want her to have to sleep on cold concrete behind chain link for several weeks at a boarding kennel. So they asked if she could come stay with us in an environment that would be familiar to her. The plans for their travel had already been made when they first met Aspen, they wanted to adopt her but were worried about taking her in, then having to leave her for the trip. They had asked if we would Aspen-Sit for a while if they gave her a wonderful home. This way she has her forever home, but she still gets a soft bed and warm home. We will be keeping you up to date as we get closer, but Aspen will get a chance to revisit us. It is so much fun to keep in touch with our alumni.

Bella and I like Aspen, but we do hope there is a firm understanding that Aspen returns home at the end of the travels, you can't trust bi-peds, Aspen almost did not leave last time she was here, she was becoming a fixture at our home.

Mogley G. Retriever

It's over!

Our five day play date is over, our cousins went back home last evening. Bella and I will be napping for several days to recover. Piper and Molly play hard. Below are our last photos as we were given our evening treats, a farewell party without the balloons. I am on the left, Emma in front, Piper behind her, Bella at the back, and Molly to the right.

The bi-peds plan to clean the house, then we will be ready to take in a new foster Golden this weekend. They say they will need to go to the warehouse store to buy enough vacuum cleaner bags to hold all the hair that is now on the floors.

Stay tuned for more news, we hope we have a fun foster friend soon.

Mogley G. Retriever

Tug-O-War Championship

Below, Molly (left) and I are competing in the Tug-O-War" championships. I am about to win the final round and take the world "Tug-O-War" championship!

The International "Tug-o-war" championship was held at our house over the last few days. We have reduced most of our toys to three or four toys by pulling them in half. While the rest of you thought we were just playing, we have been conducting the final rounds of the International grand championship. Bella is usually the winner of all of our contests, but this time, Molly worked extra hard and she made me work to win. In the end, I won, paws down. This weekend we will be holding a special Coronation ceremony in which I will get a crown and a gold medal. Below is a photo from the first elimination round, notice my head shake, it is my secret weapon to win by antagonizing the opponent and knock them off their feet.

Next time we hold the championship we will invite our readers to enter and participate.

Mogley G. Retriever

Five Goldens make a party!

We are gathered together for our morning treat. Emma, Piper and Molly are in front, they always seem to be first in line for dinner or treats. We are having a lot of fun playing together and romping in the snow and shredding toys in our tug-o-war contests. We will probably have all of the toys destroyed by the time our cousins go home next Wednesday.

Last night was very exciting, about 3:30 in the morning we ran outside to bark at several coyotes that were trying to kill a raccoon in the park behind our house. The screaming of the trapped raccoon was enough to wake up the whole neighborhood. We ran out and started barking across the fence, five of us barking distracted the coyotes enough to allow the raccoon to run up a tree. The chauffeur ran out with a big light to see what all the noise was, just in time to see the coyotes get distracted and the raccoon scramble up the tree. He used his big light to scare the coyotes off, the raccoon was afraid to come down from the tree until morning. We did our good deed for the week, we kept another raccoon alive so that we will have something to chase when he gets into our back yard.

Mogley G. Retriever

One week!

When the chauffeur went across town we expected him to bring back a new foster from the rescue. Instead he had bad news for us. There are lots of foster dogs in rescue right now, they need foster homes so they don't have to sleep on concrete and look through chain link. They need foster homes so they can get a head pat and so they can sleep beside the bed like they always have done. But he did not bring back a foster for us.

Then he told us why. Tomorrow morning all three of my cousins are coming to spend a week. Wow, that will be a party. Molly and Piper are young and wild. They love the big back yard, they can run, they can bark without being told to "shush". The squirrels had better watch out now. We can play all day and all night.

If you have room, there is a need for foster homes for rescue dogs. But we will not be adding a new foster till next Wednesday. In the meantime we can play to our hearts content.

Mogley G. Retriever

A Forever Home for Jack

Below, Black Jack enjoys a giant rawhide stick in the warm sun.
Below, I have a rawhide stick as well, but I like mine in the house where it is warm.

Bella does not trust anyone. She has her stick under the table where no one can bother her with it.

This morning it was a bright sunny day, the snow was melting and the grass was peeking though in the sun. We each were given a big rawhide stick to chew on to keep us busy. Life is good!

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Later in the day, we arranged a meeting with a family that was interested in adopting Black Jack. They brought along Daisy, a 9 1/2 year old golden lady to make sure everyone got along. Daisy is very ill, but she enjoyed the company just the same. Everyone ran and played in the back yard to get acquainted.

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Black Jack showed what a wonderful dog he was, he thrilled everyone. We were all thrilled with the family and the wonderful home they had to share with us. Bella offered to go with them if Jack did not want to go.

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Thank you to the rescue for finding a wonderful home for Jack. It makes it so much easier to let go of a foster friend when we know that they will be loved in their new home as much as we loved them. Have a wonderful life, Jack. We hope to see you at some of the Golden Retriever reunions and picnics.

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Mogley G. Retriever

R.I.P Stuffie

Below, Bella enjoys a relaxing moment on the big pillow Stuffie. This was before I got bored with the snow and cold outside and I decided to play with the Stuffie. The Stuffie was 15 days old and that is a long time for a big toy in a home with three Goldens.

Below, What can I say? It was a snowy and cold day, I could not play outside, so I stayed inside and played with my Stuffie. It had squeaky things in every arm, leg, head and body. Six squeaky things to take out. They don't make stuffed toys like they used to when I was a puppy!

Below, The end of a long day, we are ready to hold a wake for our dear departed stuffie.

Don't blame me for all of the mess on the floor. It took all three of us to do the task you see above. Black Jack looks funny with clumps of white stuffing on his black coat. Tomorrow is going to be a cold day also and we are running out of toys. What will we do for fun on another cold, snowy day? The resident bi-ped is threatening to get out his welding equipment, some large steel bars, and make some toys that we can't destroy.

One of our friends suggested that we save the stuffing till spring, then put it out for the birds to use to build nests. If they will give us more toys, we can help more birds! How is that for a plan? That is good recycling, proving we are good environmental citizens.

Mogley G. Retriever

Golden Retrievers to the Rescue

First it was Golden ReinDogs that deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls, in spite of the fact that Reindeer get all the credit. Then news articles appear giving cats credit for reducing blood pressure. How quickly you forget that the real heros are Golden Retrievers!

The headline reads "18 month Golden Retriever named Angel saves an 11 year old boy". According to the news reports, link to story, when Austin went outside to bring in some wood, Angel went along. When the mountain lion came at them, Angel attacked, allowing Austin to go inside for help. The lion and Angel were still in combat when they shot and killed the lion. Angel received numerous stitches but is recovering well.

In a similar story, link to news story, a Golden named Stanley attacked a Mountain Lion near Lyons, Colorado and saved two hikers. Stanley chased the lion up a tree which allowed the family to escape from the lion.

That is why you should always take a Golden retriever hiking with you. So what have those Reindeer done for you lately?

Meanwhile, Black Jack was taken on a home visit on Sunday. He said the home was great, but they have a puppy that visits often and he is afraid at his age he can no longer keep up with the puppy. Black Jack did turn in a good home inspection report and says that whoever they select will be a very lucky Golden indeed.

That is all the news today.

Mogley G. Retriever

New Years Day

Above, Bella (left) and I are in the car, ready to go to the dog park.

Above, Bella (right) and I are waiting for the resident bi-ped to get going to the dog park.

Black Jack is behind us, it is hard to see him in the shadows. New Years day we went for a run in the big dog park, it was a warm day, just right for a run. 12 mile dog park has everything, woods, prairie, streams and lots of stuff to sniff and chase. Bella, Black Jack and I ran until we were tired. There were very few other dogs there, they must have partied too hard the night before. Once we come back from the hills and just walk along the trail with the chauffeur, he knows it is time to go home. Black Jack had to drag his leash most of the time, it was his first outing to an off-leash park and we wanted to make sure he stayed close. He did well, next time he will get to run without his leash. We came back tired and had a long nap.

Below, I am showing off my huge stuffed toy I got for Christmas. It has squeakers in every arm and leg. It is still intact after five days because I won't let Black Jack have it. Once he gets a toy, it is all over for that toy.

I hope everyone has a happy New Year.

Mogley G. Retriever

new Years Resolutions

In the interest of always striving to be a better dog, I have set forth some New Years Resolutions. As a service to the NCBIC (Non-Commissioned Bi-ped in Charge), I have prepared a few resolutions for them also.

1. I, Mogley G. Retriever hereby resolve to retrieve every day, providing the paper boy gets here like he is supposed to.
2. I resolve to bark more loudly at the front door, often the resident bi-peds do not realise that visitors are at the door. They tell me to "shush" but "shush" did not scare the burglars away.
3. I resolve to remind my bi-peds to give more tummy rubs. In fact, on the Dog Calendar the year 2010 is "The Year of Tummy Rubs and Treats". Why do they follow the Chinese calendar when the Dog calendar is available?
4. I resolve to take more trips to the dog park. Just because the NCBIC traded off the car that had the parks pass in the window, they did not have to wait till the New Year to buy a new pass to the big dog park. It is for the NCBIC's benefit, they need more exercise and I am just the dog to keep them fit.
5. I resolve to catch a squirrel in 2010. My cousin Molly thinks she is so fast, she has caught two squirrels, one each year for the past two years. She cheats, she waits till I chase them towards the trees, she just waits under the trees.
6. I resolve to make my head available for more pats and petting. It is for the NCBIC's benefit, they need to relax and get rid of stress. How better to ease their stress than by petting a Golden Retriever? Tense? Too much work? Bills got you down? Dr. Mogley is "IN". Only one bone per hour. Beat that price with your current health plan!
7. I resolve to keep my teeth clean and my breath sweet by eating more rawhide chew bones. All it takes is a little cooperation from the NCBICs.
8. Black Jack resolves to find a perfect Forever Home. He says he has several inquiry's and he will be meeting with them to see if they meet his high standards.

Have a Happy New Year!

Mogley G. Retriever, Bella and Black Jack!