Hey, Jude!

Jude is such a big, lovable, handsome, energetic boy that we have taken an instant liking to him.   He had only been here for a few hours and I offered to play tug-o-war with him.  He is a lot of golden in a big package.   He is a toy hound, he has a toy in his mouth most of the time, and he can get three tennis balls in his mouth at once.   We have not gotten a photo of it, but we watched him pick them up.   He is still young, only three, so he is still a little hard on my favorite toys, but that is the price of being a foster brother.   He is big, so his chewing is pretty vigorous, but he confines himself to dog toys, that keeps the humans happy.   He is dog door trained, he loves going in and out.   He sits for treats when he is told, and he sits for his food bowl at dinner time.  He knows his sit, stay, down and NO.   He has proven himself to be a water dog. In spite of the humans yelling "NO" and trying to keep him out, he waded into the pool within an hour of arriving here.    He tried to get in the Koi pond, but the net was in place, apparently it not only keeps fishing birds out, it also keeps golden retrievers out, temporarily at least.    

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Jude is still cat curious, he likes to check out the cats, he has not chased, but he has followed pretty closely. By tomorrow, he should be done with his curiosity and maybe we can certify him as "cat friendly". He is already at home. He came in the house at 90 miles per hour, checking everything out. In minutes he found the food and water bowls, the dog toy box, the dog door, the swimming pool and the koi pond. Then he started carrying the toys outside, one or two at a time.

Tomorrow my three cousins will be spending the day with us, their home is being used to throw a big party for their foreign exchange student, and all the other exchange students.  So all dogs are spending the day here were we will have a very long and wet party.    Jude will have a real good time when he can go all the way into the pool.  That ought to make for some good photos.

Jude arrived at our house today through a strange set of circumstances.   First our cousins had been fostering Goldie and Elsie.   Goldie and Elsie were a bonded pair of ..., well 1/2 of the pair was a Golden Retriever, and 1/2 of the pair was a German Short Hair Pointers.  Both of them were sweethearts and were very appreciated, by all except the cats.   But after only a few days of foster care with our cousins, they developed kennel cough.   So they had to be taken across town to be placed in isolation.   Meanwhile, Jude was ready to find a new home, but he needed a place to stay until his forever home could be found.   So we traded.   But since everyone is coming here tomorrow anyway, Jude is spending the night.   He may stay here, or he may go stay with our cousins, who knows?  

Jude is a "friends and family dog", when a dog this beautiful and lovable comes along, you start calling friends and family to see if anyone needs a very special dog.   Jude is worth making a phone call for, your friends will thank you for telling them about this wonderful boy.  In the meantime, we bet he won't stay long, he is too good looking and too nice to be in the rescue system for very long.

Above, Jude is trying out the water, I am already wet.
And while we are mentioning great dogs, Goldie and Elsie may be in quarantine for a while, but they are wonderful dogs also, they will be looking for new homes in a week or so. 

Mogley G. Retriever