Good news, Bad news, and Ruby comes home.

The good news is that we had a fantastic party on Sunday.    About 100 Goldens came, some brought their bi-peds with them, and we all had a wild time.   The Golden Retriever Spring Fling and Dog Romp was a total success.   I will post more about the party and everything that took place later.    I wanted to put some photos up but when it came time to download them we discovered we did not have the correct cable for the camera.   So our cousins will drop the right one by and we will get the photos up.   I spent the day running after tennis balls, they finally put a leash on me as they were sure I was going to hurt myself if I did not rest.   Abby ran, fetched, ran, fetched, and ran some more.   Abby entered the Best Sombrero Contest, along with Mary from the rescue, they placed fourth with a borrowed sombrero.   Daisy stayed near the food tent, with equal time in the big tent where she was the object of attention and affection.   Daisy said there was food enough spilled that she got full.   Daisy had more attention in one day than she has had in her whole life.  She would lean on someone and they would pet her, when they slowed their petting, she would go lean on the next person.   Daisy had a wonderful day.   Several people met her that may want to add a Golden Friend to their home.  

The bad news is that Ruby came back this afternoon.   Ruby was our foster from the puppy mill.  She was so scared and timid that the rescue felt it would be best to foster her at a home with several well adjusted Goldens so she could learn about The Golden Way.   When we took her to the vet because of her heavy coughing, we were afraid she had kennel cough.   She was pronounced well, her problem was a sore throat due to her tube in her throat during her spay operation, the new family wanted to take her in, so they picked her up and gave her a new and very loving home.  She spent a week trying to settle in to a new home, but she could not make the transition.  Ruby does not know how to be a dog.   She was so isolated in a breeding cage at the puppy mill that she does not know how to respond to people or dogs.  The 15 year old boy dog that was to help her transition into her new home tried, but he was not up to the job.   He tried to play with her and tore his ACL, so he can't even provide her an example, he is now limping and sore.   The humans tried, they really did, but Ruby has to run with our pack for a while so she can learn how to relax and how to relate to humans and to dogs.    It was interesting to watch her arrive, she picked up her favorite toy on her way through the house and then waited by the open back door for the rest of the pack to go outside before she went.   She took a run upstairs to see if her crate was there, she laid down in it for a while, it is her Secure Place, then she came down to explore the back yard.  She has been following the pack in and out ever since.   When a jogger in the park needed to be barked at, she was right in the middle of the pack, tail high, barking at them through the fence.  She definitely needs to have some experienced Goldens to follow.    She follows Abby around and she wants to play with Daisy when Daisy rolls on her back in the grass.  We are sad that her Forever Home did not work out, but we are glad to have her back with us, we will teach her all she needs to know about being a Golden Retriever.  

No!  She is not up for adoption and will not be until she is a secure, trusting lady.  With four of us to teach her, it should not take long. 

Mogley G. Retriever