A letter from Camp Fraser, from Jude

Jude sent us a write up about his first few days as a Mountain Dog in Fraser Colorado.   He apologises for his typing as he is not used to the new keyboard and screen yet.   Here is Jude: 

 When they first brought me home, I met Bella and Lily (their son's goldens) who were with us for 2 weeks at "Camp Fraser." They helped me learn the ropes of how far we could roam on the 10 acres, how to walk off leash on the neighborhood dirt roads, and where the ditches that still have water in them can be found. We had some wonderful mouth wrestling tournaments, and took toys out of each other's mouths with no growling (sharing is great)! I also went on a trip to a local pond for a short swim.

On our first morning walk, we all 3 saw a coyote in an open field, ran about 20 feet, stopped and came back. They could hear the coyote yapping back at the house. Other critters that I have met so far include a couple of mountain squirrels (much cuter and nicer than the city variety.) I also saw a group of seemingly lost pronghorn through the front window. We don't how they got to the forrest from their open ground sage-covered habitat, but they were sure fun to see in the area in front of the house.

We received some paperwork from GRRR, indicating that I am about 4yrs and 5 mos. The tattletales went on to say that I enjoy soft toys, shredding them is part of the fun.  I like to shred dog beds if they are not up to my standards. 

Sooo, they say, nothing but balls and Kong Air toys for me.   Yesterday they gave me a real beef bone. I  carried it around for a bit, chewed on the yummy outside and then took it out to the deck.  The humans go curious and may have stumbled on my hiding place, in an area next to a basement window well.  I buried it for safekeeping, just like the dog in the insurance commercial! This morning, when I went out for my potty run, I checked to make sure the bone was still there.    I don't know if I can trust them or not, so I will keep an eye on it.

 Tuesday Bella and Lily returned to Denver, I went along for the ride.  By the time we got back I was  exhausted and a bit confused about not having my cousins here anymore.  Now that I have been here a while, I have started having more facial expressions when they speak to me, letting them know what I want.  There is a hanging screen in front of our French doors and I have no problem going out the split, which then closes again with magnets. It's like a large, soft doggie door.   I like staying on the deck enjoying the fresh mountain air, the wonderful views, even if my peeps are in the house.

I have met most of the neighbors, and 2 of the dogs.    Cody, a neighbor's GRRR dog, and I will be best friends soon. I really like people and especially enjoy playing with their dogs.   I am already considered part of the family, and I am so glad that I agreed to come and live in Fraser. After the 4th they are planning a road trip to visit their son in Omaha.   I will meet the whole family, including their small dog Zoe, this weekend.   I really enjoy riding in the car, and I am going to have fun going on a  9 1/2 hour trip.    Once I train them how to take care of me and let me out once in a while.   Roads may come and roads may go, but potty stops are pretty much everywhere.
That is all for now, thanks to all the GRRR volunteers that worked to give me a nice home with nice people to share it with.  

Jude G. Retriever

A vet visit and Sage

Sage is still with us.   The photo above is his favorite photo.  It shows him in "full play" mode.   He loves to run and play with toys, balls, sticks, whatever he can find.    Sage has a couple more days with us.    He is waiting till this weekend when he will meet with a couple that is flying in from Chicago to see him.   He is just hanging out, enjoying his vacation before he has to go to a new home and go to work making people happy.    He says that it just proves that you can look far and wide, but you will have to go a long ways to find a Golden as nice as Sage.

Meanwhile, I went in to the vet today to get a picture of my heart.    I have sub-aortic stenocis, which they tell me means that I have a special heart.   They made me lie down on a raised bed, then while everyone petted me and made over me, they put some jelly stuff on my tummy and looked at my heart with this stick thing.    I was given lots of treats.   He increased my Atenolol dosage.   He said that I need to take it easy, I can't run and play too hard.   My humans chuckled, they decided long ago that I should enjoy life and run and play as much as I want.   Its my life and I want to enjoy as much as I can for as long as it lasts.     So far, so good!

In celebration of one more year of life, one year more than what they predicted, I am hosting a party on the 4th of July.   Its a "Get your Golden Wet" party.    The swimming pool will have a dozen Golden's and their owners, all swimming together.   Guests are asked to bring a dry golden to the party, and you can take a wet one home.

Mogley G. Retriever

Welcome Sage, a beautiful gentleman.

Sage is the newest member of our pack.    Five year old Sage came to us as a foster on Tuesday afternoon.   He was looking for a new home, and we had an opening for one more foster.    Jude was happily adopted on Sunday night, and we had a vacancy at the dog house.   Sage will not last long, he will be "Gone in 60 Seconds", just like the movie.     Sage was surrendered to Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) when his family found that their frequent out of state trips were forcing Sage to spend more and more time in a boarding kennel.   Sage has an old ACL injury that makes him slow down from time to time and he will limp slightly when he has run too much.  He runs well, just not too far at one time.    

Sage is so beautiful, the photos don't do him justice.   He is a darker red than it looks in the photos.   He carries himself like royalty.   He has been through obedience training, and he stayed awake during class.    He obeys his commands like a circus performer.    Tell him to "down" and "stay" and he is on the ground looking up at you, waiting for "release".      He is well socialised, he gets along with everyone.   He even tolerates the cats, he has received the special award that Mini Cat gives to especially well behaved Golden's.     He is a wonderful addition to our home   

WE heard rumors that when someone comes to adopt him, he may have already "run away", but they already tried that story one time to many and it did not work.   There is already one couple that is coming in from Chicago to adopt a Golden from GRRR, they are serial adopters, and they want to repeat the magic that their last two dogs brought with them.  Sage is on the short list that they will meet with when they are in town.   Stay tuned, for more meetings with special potential adopter's.    Take a look at all of the photos of Sage, then tell us he will still be here next Monday!

We are falling behind on our blogging posts.   Last weekend on Saturday we had an all day swim party with our very wet cousins, and we have still not posted about that.    We were too busy saying goodbye to Jude, and exploring the new fountain.    Sage is more important, don't you think?   Someone asked how we live with dog doors and a constant stream of wet dogs.    We fail to understand the problem, we may track in water, but it is clean water.   Some hot days, we are locked out till we dry off, but many days we jump in the water and then run in the house before the humans can close the door.  

Mogley G. Retriever

A water play pen

Our cousins, above, Molly and Piper, have a brand new water play pen.    They built a small pond with a waterfall in the back yard so that Molly and Piper could play in the water when ever they wanted.    The digging took a long time, but the results are great.   Now we can run out for a morning wake up, or an evening soak.

Above, Molly is soaking in the shallow part, Jude is coming down the path into the pond.   Jude went out to inspect the pond before she met her new family.    What do you think?

Mogley G. Retriever

A forever home for Jude

Jude is in the car, ready to travel.   This afternoon a couple from Fraser Colorado came to see Jude.   Frazer is way up in the high country, up where summer is just a rumor that they hear about on the news.  Up where it frequently is named the coldest spot in the nation on the national news.   Up where the moose and the bear wander through the yards and where the sky is blue instead of hazy.  Up where snow is white and they don't remember what color grass is, they only see it a few weeks a year.   They had recently lost their Golden Retriever Rescue dog named Pepper.   When they read about Jude in the blog and on the rescue web site, they thought that Jude reminded them of Pepper and maybe they needed to investigate.    They called and put in a hold on Jude, then they drove down, almost 4 hours, had lunch with a father in a rest home, and then came to meet Jude.  

Jude had set high standards for his new home, he was holding out for a special place.  They told Jude that they would offer him 10 acres to run on, lots of rabbits, foxes, deer and an occasional moose or bear, for him to sniff the tracks and trails, but he can't chase them.   They offered him several golden friends that do sleep overs from time to time, and golden friends that lived just down the road that he could play with.    They offered him some water to play in and mud to romp in and a special "doggie mud room" where he can get clean as he comes back inside.  They told him they take long walks in the forest and down the country roads where there were no leash laws.  They said they would throw balls and toys for him to chase and fetch.   They even told him they had plenty of things to chew on, all the sticks he could ever want.  They told him that on long cold winter evenings they often sat and petted goldens while the fire burned. 

They could have saved their breath, he did not hear anything after the 10 acres to run on.    He sold out immediately and asked for the paper work so he could paw print it on the line.  He did not even try to negotiate a better deal.  He did not even ask about the thickness of the doggie beds, or the brand of treats they handed out.    He just wanted to sign the papers and go. 

Jude got an extra drink of water, and was ready to travel.  Once Jude jumped into the back of the Subaru Wagon, he was ready to go.  He was planning on riding all the way to the top of the mountains with his head between the seats, getting his ears scratched and head rubbed.    He took along a bag of food, just in case the trip lasted a long time.

In the morning Jude will probably wake up to fresh snow on the ground, snow is forecast, in a wonderful new home.   It may take a day or two to get used to being over 8,000 feet up, it will be hard to catch your breath at first.  Then he will meet the mountains and the forests, then he will explore his new forever home, forever.     When Jude breathes air tomorrow, it will be air that smells of pine forests and snowy peaks, not of auto exhaust.   When he see sky, it will be blue, clear and sparkling, not clouded grey by the dust of a city.  When he smells scents, they will be of wild animals and of natures creations, not the scent of city streets.   When he hears a screech in the distance, it will be an eagle hunting high in the sky, not a siren from a fire engine or a police chase. 

Good luck Jude, you lucky dog, you!   We did ask for visiting privileges, and Jude promised to send us an update on his adventures. 

There is no place like home, especially if your home is on a mountain top in the high Colorado Rockies!

And a special thanks for all the volunteers in Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies, who work hard to find special homes for special goldens.   Jude was special, and he has a very special home.    You did a good job of finding him a home, and homes for the other 360+ goldens that will come through Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies this year.   Thanks everyone!  You all did a great job. 

Mogley G. Retriever

PS.   Next we will post photos of Jude's last adventrue with us, he went our to try our cousins new water fall and pond.    We have not even posted photos of the great sleep over and pool party yet.

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.    

H

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

Spring has Sprung!!

Nala is looking for the keys.   She says that they usually hide them under the carpet.   Maybe they don't hide them there anymore, after that incident last summer.     Nala is almost old enough to drive in either people years or dog years, so you would think it would not have been the big problem they made it to be.    We did not drive far, just down the drive way.    Yes, that is me behind the wheel.    Bella is in the back seat telling me how to drive.    Below is how they make us ride.    Apparently I have to take Drivers Ed or something....

We can tell it is spring.   The swimming pool is open and the convertible top is down until fall.  We are ready to go for a ride.  I have already been in for a swim.  The humans say that the pool is not clean yet, but I don't mind a little green in the pool with me.    It is still water.   All is well in the world.   The Koi pond is full, its my favorite place to drink.  

Our cousins have it made this year.   If you will remember, Piper came over swimming and she would not get out of the pool.   She would swim out to the center of the pool and stay there if anyone even looked like they were going to take her home.    Her teeth would be chattering, she would be sending out little waves from shivering, but she would not get out.  Molly liked swimming a lot as well.   We called them the Swim Sisters. 

Did Piper get a wonderful present or what?    Her family built a waterfall and pond for Piper, Molly and Emma to play in.   No fence around it, so they can stay wet 24 hours a day.   It is deep enough and big enough to swim in.   They have a dog door, so they can go swimming while waiting for the family to arrive home.  Emma is unimpressed, she wanted a thicker dog bed, but Molly and Piper are going to have a wonderful summer.    Can wood floors shrink from too much water on them?    Do Golden Retrievers get mold on them from too much water?   If a Golden Retriever comes in the living room wet and dripping, and no one is home to scold her, is she still wet?

Mogley G. Retriever