Friday, July 11, 2008
More Alexis
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Alexis comes to visit! Sophie too!
We have a new foster dog at our house. Alexis (Alex for short) was in the shelter, she had been surrendered at age 9 to the pound. Her family was moving and did not want to take her along. She was devastated, she had tried to be a good dog, she sat when told, she walked on the leash without pulling, she did not take food from the table. She even fetched tennis balls when ever someone would throw them. But at age 9, she was placed in doggy jail, by her own family! She was confused, scared, and her entire world was gone. Nine years of being a best friend, a buddy and a member of a family, all gone in moments. Instead she found herself on a cold concrete floor surrounded by chain link fence, barking dogs and people that did not have time to give her a tummy rub or a head pat. Golden's love with all of their heart, now that heart was broken. This is the reality of abandoning an older dog.
Below is the first picture of Alexis after her bath. We don't know the circumstances that caused this to happen, but it happens too often. A disposable society does not have room for the totally unqualified love of a dog for his human family. A family buys new drapes and wants a new dog that matches them. Sometimes it is for a good reason, an older couple have to move to a nursing home. A widower has health problems that make it impossible to walk or exercise a younger dog. But too many have no reason, the dog is abandoned just because the family seeks change.
When Alexis arrived from the kennels, the humans took special care in introducing us. To introduce Bella, Alexis and I, my family took all three of us for a walk in the park together, keeping a tight grip on the leashes to make sure we were all right together. After an introduction on neutral ground, we were turned loose in the house, then taken to the back yard. I jumped into the pool to show Alexis the water, she followed me right in and immediately panicked. Her surrender papers said she was an apartment dog, she obviously had never been in deep water before. She scrambled out and then looked back to see what had happened. I thought she was scared of me and for a moment after I came out of the water, we had a brief tiff. Now I know she had never been in water before and following me in blindly scared her.
Since she was already wet, the humans gave her a shampoo to clean her up. In the kennels it is hard to keep clean and she was definitely not clean. She loved the attention of being scrubbed and dried. Then they brushed her as she dried. They got enough fur off of her that they may knit a new dog from the fur. Below is a picture of her in her afternoon nap, sleeping "frog style". Alexis is a little overweight, and she tires out easily. She has not been getting enough exercise. We will change that in a hurry. She does love to run and play, but she has not played with many dogs before, she is slow to understand how to play. She says that she did not get to go play with other dogs and she is unsure how to relate to them. I told her just to relax and we will teach her everything about playing that she needs to know.
We will update her story tomorrow after she has had a chance to settle in and get acquainted. We hope you will help her find a new forever home where she can give all of her heart to a human without her heart being broken.
But wait, that is not all. Piper and Emma have a new foster sister as well. Sophie came to live with them until a forever home can be found for her. She is 18 months old, her owner could not care for her due to his health. He felt terrible about turning her over to us, and she felt terrible about leaving him in a time that he faces a long recovery. At a time like that, the human needs the love of a dog. She understands why she is in a foster home and she is making the best of it by playing non-stop with Piper and Emma. Piper and Sophie are the same age, so they are having fun, fun, fun. I will update her story as well as she seeks her forever home.
If any of you know of a human that needs a dog, let me know. I know two wonderful dogs that need humans.
Mogley G. Retriever
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Lap Dog!
I am now officially a lap dog. No, not a dog that sits on peoples laps, I am a dog that swims laps in the pool! After I completed my swimming lessons I have been practicing every chance I get. In the photo below I am going to rescue a swimmer that is obviously in trouble.
I am going to work on my life saving qualifications. In the photo below I am pulling a swimmer to the shore by grabbing their swim float. I have a hard time throwing a life ring like the real life guards, but I can take a swim float to them.
Being a water dog is a lot of fun. I start the day with a short swim. Then the humans lock the dog door, they want to keep me out side when I am wet. Is that a way to treat a clean dog? At least I will have a nice cool summer, no matter how hot it gets. If any of my golden retriever friends want to stop by and swim, we can have fun.
Mogley G. Retriver
Ellie has a Home
Ellie has a new home. We don't have many details on the new home, we had to leave town for a few days. We turned Ellie over to another foster family who took her to her new forever home. From what we know, she has a wonderful home and she will be a very happy and lucky puppy. The picture below shows Ellie and I saying good by. We went up to the summer home in Wyoming to pack it up. The human decided to sell it, and when an offer came in he had to run up and pack up the old home. So we spent a few days in the high mountains with the trees and the wild deer. There were lots of stuff to pack and they ended up using several u-haul vans to move everything. The house had been in the family for several generations and it was full of old items. They had old saddles from the ranch, old pictures and furniture. They had old magazines from the 1930's-50's, they had old dresses, lots of hats, old steamer trunks and even veterinarian equipment. More stuff than you can name. Now the question is what to do with it all?
We are home again, but several more trips will be necessary. Riding in the car is fun, but riding for 8-9 hours at a time is not comfortable. We had to stop and rest several times. A few days in the mountains is fun, but we did not get a chance to play very much. Everyone was working too hard packing and cleaning up the old house.
Mogley G. Retriever
Friday, June 27, 2008
Adventures with Ellie, Part 3
We had fun last night, all three of us went to the concert in the park. There were hundreds of people there, some stopped by to pet us as we played together on the grass. We had a good time listening to music and watching the children running on the grass.
The picture above shows that Ellie has no toys to play with and this is why you need to rescue her from her foster home and give her a forever home with lots of toys and love. t is the time that we dread, time to write about Ellie so we can find a forever home for her. Ellie has been a very, very fun playmate and we think she is pretty wonderful. She learns very fast, it took only two minutes to teach her to sit when the humans first started working with her. She found out how to come in through two dog doors in only minutes as well, she is still having trouble getting out the dog doors, but that will improve with practice. She eats politely; at our house everyone has to wait until all are served before anyone can eat, Ellie waits patiently, sitting with her tail beating the floor. When it is treat time, she sits in a row with the rest of us, each getting a treat in turn. The cats like her, she has not shown any interest in antagonizing them, they in turn feel no concern in walking by her in the hallway. She walks well on the leash. She is a little weak on responding to "Ellie, Come", but she does respond. She is learning commands very easily and she will be very easy to train. She responds to treats and to praise equally. Both work well to motivate her.
Her disposition is very relaxed. She is not a rowdy puppy, she is very calm and quiet. She does not have the 6 month old puppy destructive tendencies. She likes being with people and is a good lover of humans. She barks only when necessary, that is when someone is at the door. No barking just for attention. The humans say the best part is that she does not chew vigorously. She has not chewed on anything that was not a dog toy. Even dog toys get careful treatment compared to what Bella and I do to them. Your furniture and keepsakes are not at risk with Ellie.
We think Ellie would be a wonderful addition to a family that wants a young dog they can train, but they are afraid of the typical exuberance and excessive playfulness of most young dogs. Her time in the dog pound seems to have taken the high energy out and replaced it with a calm and relaxed approach to life. She is more of a philosopher than an athlete or warrior. She would be a wonderful addition to any family. We love her and we hope she gets a wonderful home, yours perhaps?
Try going to the GRRR web site and see Ellie's profile. Then fill out and application and give this wonderful puppy and forever home. Go to http://www.goldenrescue.com/, go to Adopt/Available Dogs, then click on available dogs in the first sentence. Read about Ellie and many other homeless dogs that need your help to get out of "Doggy Jail".
Mogley G. Retriever
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Adventures with Ellie, Part 2
Last night we brought home Ellie, our new foster sister. She was rescued from a very bad shelter by the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. The volunteers snatched her away and sent her on a long car ride to Golden Colorado where we picked her up. We get to give her a home until we can find the perfect forever home for her. She is not a pure breed Golden, she has something else in her blood line. Mary thinks it may be Collie, others think it is Shepherd. Whatever it is she has a very cute face, expressive eyes and ears, and a beautiful coat. She is a whitish-tan with golden ears. We have a cat her color, it is called a flame point Himalayan. She is only 5-6 months old and still pretty small. She has a lot of energy and plays quite well. She is a very fun girl and we think she will be a great companion for someone.
Adventures of Ellie
Ellie has come to stay with us and be our foster dog until Golden Retriever Rescue finds her a Forever Home. She is only 5 or 6 months old, still quite small, mostly white coat but she has golden ears, and she is soooooooo cute! She is a real human lover and spends a lot of time trying to snuggle up to the humans in the house. Bella and I are letting her get away with it because she has been through a lot and we like her a lot. Here is a picture of us as we are leaving the Rescue Kennels, waving good by to Mary and starting Ellie towards a new life.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
A Foster Sister!
Mary sent us an e-mail asking if we had room at our house for a nice little girl. We e-mailed back that we did. This evening we drove across town and picked up Ellie at the shelter. We are still getting acquainted with her, but so far she is a very nice room mate. She is only 5 months old. She is full of puppy energy and she plays very well. Mary told us she is part collie and part golden. She is very white, with tan ears. I will tell you more after we have time to get acquainted. After two hours its bed time and we will have to go to sleep soon. I just could not contain my excitement about having another foster golden stay with us while we search for the perfect forever home. Tell your friends to get ready to fall in love and adopt this little girl, she is still a puppy, but she is learning her manners, she is very cute and has a loving disposition. Boy will it be easy to find a forever home for her. You will want to put your name on the waiting list.
I will write more tomorrow and have some pictures too!
Mogley G. Retriever
Monday, June 23, 2008
Swimming Lessons
Early Sunday morning I was playing along the edge of the pool. Suddenly I fell in the pool. Instead of swimming to the steps to get out, I tried to climb out the side, finally the human grabbed me and pulled me out. That convinced him that it was time for swimming lessons. He said that I had to learn to swim to the steps where I could walk out.
In just a short time (in dog minutes) my step grand sisters arrived to take part in the lessons as well. Piper and Emma said it sounded like a fun idea to them. The humans wanted us to learn how to swim to the steps so we could walk out of the water. They threw balls and even held treats out to motivate us to get in and out of the water. Piper did not swim well at first, she paddled with her front feet but her rear legs just hung in the water. With Pipers thin hair she looked like a wet otter in the water. Soon we were all swimming and playing in the water. Bella and Emma did not like swimming, they preferred to lay in the sun.Above, Piper and I swim while Emma and Bella give us tips on how to stay dry. It was sure a fun day. Now I know how to go swimming when ever I want to. It is going to be a wonderful summer.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Exciting Week End
It has been such an exciting week end that I will have to write about it in several blogs. Saturday morning Piper and Emma came over, we all jumped into the big car and we drove down to the big dog park. Five miles of open fields, streams and woods. We saw horses and lots and lots of other dogs.
Then we came to the river. It is not as big a river as it was when the snow was melting earlier, but it is still a fun place to run and romp. The humans took a lot of pictures and I wanted to share them with you. It is so much fun to run and play in the shallow water with your friends. Several other dogs came by but they were not water dogs, they just stood on the bank and watched us.
To get to the clean stream we have to go by the dirty, muddy swamp. When we left the swamp we were black dogs. When we arrived home we were still wet, very muddy and messy. We went right to the back yard and we had baths. All four of us were wet again, but clean. In the hot dry air, we dried off very quickly, all of us except Emma. Emma has an extra heavy coat and she stays wet for a long time. We had naps then woke up for some more play. When Emma and Piper finally went home, Emma was still wet. All the rest of us had been dry for hours.
Dogs just want to have fun!
Mogley G. Retriever
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Update on our Foster Friends
We received a message from the nice family that took in Dixie. We are so happy that she has a happy forever home. This is what makes fostering so worth while! Even though it was written by a human, it is still a good letter...
"You can tell Mogley and Bella that "Dixie" is doing magnificently! Yeah, she was a bit confused and skittish the first day at her forever home, but ever since, she's becoming a tighter part of the family with each day. Her first day with our family was pretty busy. After a full day of meeting a lot of people and dogs at GRRR, she got to attend a 12 year old baseball game. "Dixie" was a bit overwhelmed when approached by masses of people hoping to make her acquaintance, but she settled in nicely. Fortunately, there was a dog park at the ball field complex so "Dixie" got to loosen up a bit. Dixie was also happy to know that we've been caring for a Chesapeake/Lab (Layla) mix while her parents are out of town on an extended trip. Layla and Dixie quickly became friends and they've been playing sun up to sun down every day. They play an assortments of games each day from wrestling, to fetch to spirited games of tug-of-war. I've attached a few photos of some recent tugging contests. Dixie does indeed have a lot of energy. But, she's no match for this family with three teenage boys and two active parents, all enthusiastic dog lovers. (More example pictures attached.) Her routine has included daily morning runs, and sometimes two morning runs, playing with the boys and Layla throughout the day and an evening obedience walk. In the mix has been some off leash training at the local dog park. We're pleased to report that Dixie has become very refined in heeling, sitting and staying. Plus, she's now giving her paw upon command. She's a sharp, loving gal, and she's very eager to learn. And with all of the time she gets to spend in the park behind our home, she's meeting a lot of new dog and human friends along the way.
Rest assured that Dixie is getting a lot of love and a lot of exercise. While we know she misses her friends, those friends should be happy to know that Dixie has found herself a very loving and caring forever home. Her personality continues to emerge with each day, and that personality includes the fact that she is a snuggler. We are THRILLED to have her as a part of our family. Thank you for taking such great care of her in preparation for many years of love and affection in our home. We hope to reunite Dixie with all of her friends at the GRRR reunion later this summer.
Playing hard can really wear a girl out!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Boring Life
It has been very boring the last few days. Just Bella and I to play together. The human says we are just laying around, we don't do anything. He says we are just depressed because we lost our friends. He took us to the big park to let us run off leash to see if exercise would help. It did help, we were wild dogs for several hours, then we were lazy again. We miss our friends Dixie and Thelma. We have not heard from them since they went to their new forever homes. We hope they are doing well. We gave them my e-mail address, I hope they check in soon.
We hope another foster dog will be placed with us soon. In the meantime the human takes us everywhere in the car, trying to keep us busy and keep us from getting in trouble. We got to run in the water down at the stream, the river is nice and clear now, the spring run off is over, so we came home clean dogs after playing. The human forgot his camera so we will go again tomorrow to take pictures.
Mogley G. Retriever
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Two Forever Homes
Thelma and Dixie both went home to their new Forever Homes today. I have several pictures of us having a three way tug-o-war before Thelma and Dixie left to go to Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies to meet with their prospective new humans.
These are our last photos of Thelma and Dixie before they left. Both of them have new homes that sound wonderful. We hope they will keep in touch with us, we will miss them a lot but we are very happy they now can move forward to enjoy the rest of their lives.
Good Luck to Thelma and Dixie and thank you to the humans that came forward. Only two families could take them home, but several others came to meet them and wish them well.
Thanks again to all who help find homes for homeless dogs, thank you to those who help run the "no-kill" shelters and rescue groups all over the country.
Now we are waiting for our next foster guests to arrive.
Mogley G. Retriever
Fathers day surprise
Don't tell the human but his puppy's have a surprise for him. He says he does not want any more "stuff" for Fathers day, so they are planning on giving a donation in his name to Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. That is a great gift for all of us homeless dogs. All they have to do is click on the link on the left of my blog.
We all went to the big park for a run yesterday. Dixie had to drag her leash and it was a good thing. She did not come back well, she got so excited with the big park and all the other dogs to run with that she just ran and ran, not away from us, she kept close, but she did not come back well. So he grabbed her leash and made her walk with him. Thelma did wonderful off leash, she kept within just a few feet of the rest of us at all times. Dixie will do better next time, she just has to learn to stay with the pack.
If you are wondering what to give your father for Father's day, give a gift to the local shelter or rescue, he will love it and some homeless dog will love it too.
Mogley G. Retriever
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Rainy Day Dogs
It has been raining for the last two days. Four energetic dogs playing in the house is making the humans a little nervous. They keep yelling at us to go outside. We go outside then they yell at us when we come in wet. Why can't humans make up their minds? Finally they take us for a ride to try and calm us down. The big park was too muddy, the human would not let us out to run in the mud, that would have been fun. All we have to show for a rainy day is these pictures of us in the car. Thelma tried to peek out but she could not find space in the window very often. Thelma is on the left, I am in the middle, Bella is on the right.
Below, Bella has shoved Thelma out of the window, Bella is on the left, I am in the center, Dixie is on the right. My human says that the hardest thing in the world to do is to pet one dog. He has a point, when he tries to pet one of us, the other three push in to get their share. He has to pet all of us or we get into a fight.
Saturday is going to be an active day. We have several people that want to meet Thelma and Dixie, maybe one of them will be an ideal Forever Home. If nothing else, we will get to spend a day at the Golden Retriever Rescue center playing with other dogs.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Fun in the sun
Thelma and Dixie engage in an early morning fight, both are ready to fight to the death, teeth bared, claws sharp. Just when they were ready to inflict mortal wounds on each other they heard their breakfast bowls being filled. Who can fight on an empty stomach? Thelma has come so far in the three weeks she has been here. Thelma and her sister Louise were picked up in New Mexico, running loose. They had a long car ride to Denver, they arrived at Golden Retriever Rescue with diarrhea, kennel cough, tired and very scared, they had lost much of the trust in humans that makes the dog/human relationship so special. She got into trouble in her first home by chewing shoes. When she arrived at our place she even chewed up a cushion because she was scared and nervous. Then she learned that even if she was bad she still had a home, the human would not hurt her, they would not move her. She stopped her nervous chewing as she relaxed and learned that life can be very good if you have a nice home. Today the human was laying on the floor watching TV, I was laying at his head, Bella was warming his feet and Thelma was laying down his side, his one hand was scratching her tummy and she was making cooing sounds of happiness. He is threatening to rename her "Velcro" because he can not get her away from his side. She has come so far, she has changed so much. We hope that whoever gives her a forever home understands how hard she has worked to be accepted and how much she craves love and attention. Here is Thelma in the tall grass, pretending to be a wild a dog.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Two Fosters' need homes!
With four young dogs in the house, we are having a ball. In fact we are having six tennis balls worth of fun. We have some pictures of us at play, running, wrestling and fighting. We now have two foster friends that we need homes for. Last night we learned that one foster home has 19 foster Goldens, people are surrendering dogs faster than we can find homes for them. See the pictures and then read more on the "dog explosion". Below is our newest foster friend, Dixie, she is looking over her shoulder, hoping to see a forever home she can go to.Below two of us wrestle with Thelma, front left is Dixie, on the right is Bella. I am taking the picture, I hope the human does not find out I stole his camera.
Dixie is with us because she proved to be a hand full at her home. She is well mannered, but she is extra high energy and when that energy is couped up, she finds things to get into. Many people do not realise the high energy level of a young Golden Retriever. We take a lot of exercise to keep us from inappropriate behaviour such as chewing, barking, etc. Our house has multiple dogs to keep one another occupied, after playing together we don't have the energy to do anything wrong. If you don't have the energy to exercise a dog, consider an older golden, they are quite happy to go for a short walk and then lay at your feet. They are house trained, they have learned their commands and are ready to help you enjoy life. You can help an older, golden dog have golden years. There are many well trained and well behaved older dogs available. Below Thelma and Dixie are in a fight to determine the world champion dog wrestler!
Thelma is proving to be a low maintenance, moderate energy friend. She plays well but not as long and hard as the rest of us. She would work well with a quieter household. She went to meet a prospective forever home last night, but we don't know what they will determine. Thelma said she liked the person and she liked the idea of being on a ranch. We hope they come back for her. Below we find Dixie after she has worn out from playing, she found a cool shady spot in the dirt to rest and watch the other three dogs run. Keep tuned for more chapters in the on-going soap opera, "As the Doggies Play". If you know someone that is looking for a Golden Friend, contact GRRR (there is a link on the left). They have over 35 Golden Dogs that are looking for homes. Many of them are not on the web site yet as they are still being evaluated. Contact our staff and ask them to find you the perfect match. They know the dogs, if you will tell them your needs, they will find you the perfect dog! Just relax and leave the retrieving to us.
Mogely G. Retriever
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Happy Days
It has been a very busy week. Our new foster golden retriever has arrived, she is only about 16 months old, and a wonderful friend. Now we have two homeless dogs that we have to find homes for. There are four of us now, we are really having fun. My human has been busy so we have not taken any pictures. Watch tomorrow and we will show you four fun dogs. Thelma still has not been given a forever home. We are wondering what happened. She is such a nice friend. She tries so hard to do what she is told, she wants to please so bad. When the human speaks she listens intently, then tries to do whatever she was asked. She had not been trained before and she is learning so fast. She thinks she is a lap dog, she wants to snuggle with every human she sees. We hope someone will step forward soon.
Keep watching, we will have some excitement to report soon.
Mogley G. Retriever
Friday, May 30, 2008
Dancing with Horses!
This morning the resident human drove us down to the big dog park. Thelma had to drag her leash, its a thing that the human does to make sure she comes when called, if not he has a chance of catching her. Thelma behaved so well that next time we go she can run without her leash. We had not been out for a run since Thelma arrived, we sure did enjoy it. We have a picture of Thelma meeting her first horse and several pictures of us running in the grass.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Five Best Friends!
It has been several days since I wrote for my blog, it has been busy with all of my friends having a sleep over. We took a few pictures so you can see what fun it is to have so many friends playing together. Thelma is learning how to be a family member. She has learned to chew only on chew toys, she has several favorite ones, she has also learned the difference in the couches and chairs. There is only one couch and one chair that dogs are allowed to lay on. Every day she obeys her commands better and she is showing how smart she is by learning quickly. Playing is the best, we can have rough and tumble times in the yard where several of us are chasing at the same time. The photos above only show four dogs, Emma does not like the rough and tumble play, she finds a safe place and watches from the sidelines. Below we are sitting like good dogs, waiting for our treat. Our human says we look like a nest full of hungry baby birds, with out the nest.
Thelma still has not found a new home. Apparently there is no demand for beautiful, well behaved, silky coated black dogs. We keep hoping that a new family comes forward. While we are waiting, Thelma is becoming a member of our family, she is fitting in so well that the humans are even talking about how happy they are that she is still here. We love her more every day, and she is becoming happier and more outgoing. She came to us as a scared, homeless, foster dog from the rescue, now she has her own food bowl, her own toys, and her own bed.
Keep reading, I will tell you what happens.
Mogley G. Retriever
Friday, May 23, 2008
5 Good Dogs
My human has his doubts about there being 5 good dogs in the house, but we took a vote, it was 20 paws against 2 hands that we were all good dogs. In the photo you see me, Mogley, up front, behind me is Thelma, the honorary Golden Retriever, Emma, Piper and Bella on the front right. Emma and Piper came to visit for a few days, their humans are off to something called a wedding, so we get to have fun for four days.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
P.S.
P. S.: When I wrote about my friend Thelma in yesterday’s blog I forgot to include a couple of items. Thelma has earned the “Good Cat Companion Seal of Approval”, at least from two of the three cats. Mini Cat is withholding her approval, she is still angry about getting goosed and pushed into the pool by Thelma and me. Thelma has passed leash training 101, she is walking very well without pulling. She asked me to remind you that she does not do cages, crates, tie-out chains or dog runs. Since I mentioned that she sleeps beside the bed she wanted me to assure you she does not snore. She is waiting to hear from you, she wants to find her forever home and start the rest of her life.
Mogley G. Retriever