Agnes, her story

Hi, my name is Agnes. I am dictating this to Mogley since I did not learn to type in doggy day care. I had to drop the tennis ball while we write. This may take a long time, Mogley types using what they call "The Columbus Typing System". The Columbus Typing System is where you sail forth and land. I notice that Mogley seems to type the most on the key labeled "delete". He uses something called "spell check" and "grammar check" a lot as well. Bella and Mogley have made me welcome and are helping me settle in, they even offered to share their toys with me.

I am so happy to be inside and warm today, I was a stray in a distant town for a long time, I was eventually caught and sent to doggy jail. I was an "on purpose" stray, I did not have my collar or tags so I could not be reunited with my family. My life outdoors had made my coat very long and thick, as well as matted and dirty. The shelter did not know what to do with me, I was dirty and my coat was very matted, they did not know where to even begin. So they began by calling Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies. The transport team tried to help me, but it was too bad for them to do anything until I arrived at the GRRR grooming place. I spent most of a day being worked on before I could go out in public. My coat looks funny now, some places had to be clipped to get ride of mats, so I am long some places and short some places, but my skin feels much better now, thank you. I also smell better in a warm house.

My trip to the vet was very bad news indeed. I was diagnosed with heart worm. Very seldom do they find heart worm in the cold climate of Colorado, but I somehow got it while living outside. Since it was already winter, it meant that heart worms had been there since fall and was quite advanced. My bad coat, my weak hips and my overall run down condition made the heart worm treatment very dangerous. They were very worried about me and how I would respond to the treatment. I came through the heart worm treatment just fine.

Now I am on a lot of pills, and supplements. They have me on a diet of special food, it is supposed to give me energy and help me lose weight. I get my pills along with peanut butter, I don't know why that song says "A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down". They should have used peanut butter and the medicine would be licked up in a hurry.

I had a hard time getting into the SUV for my trip to my foster home, my front feet made it in all right, but my rear legs could not find a place to climb in. It took a little lift from the chauffeur to help me in, but once in I was ready to go. I had a bad time getting up the stairs to bed last night. They were patient with me and helped me, but it was a long set of stairs. Luckily I had taken my pills earlier. that did help. I picked out the choice spot beside the bed to sleep, just where I would be right under foot if someone tried to move in the middle of the night. I did not want to get left behind on my first night in a new home. Coming down the stairs this morning was harder, I had not had my pills yet and my legs were not working well. After breakfast and my pills, they heard some thumping and went to investigate. It was just me, I was trying to get up the stairs on my own, the cook had gone upstairs and I needed to be with her. They tell me that as my supplements and medications settle in, I will be able to do stairs better and my hips will get better.

GRRR is sending over a special vest with a handle on the back. The vest will let people give me a helping hand getting up and down stairs. I bet it gets me more attention as well. It should help me get in the SUV so that I can go everywhere.

I have had several exploratory trips into the back yard last night and today. It is pretty level so it is easy for me to get around and I have been allowed to wander and poke around as much as I please. It is very cold outside, even in the bright sun, so I like going out for a while to explore, then come back in and get warm.

I will work with Mogley to write a posting for the web site, I hope you will all help me find a forever home that will allow me to share my golden years with some golden people. My name, Agnes, was given to me so I could be put in the records, I would love to start out the new year with a new forever home and a new name.

Thank you,

Agnes G. Retriever
(by Mogley G. Retriever)