Waste a wash?

Above, taken last March, five goldens play in the spring run off at the 12 mile park. Mogley, Bella, Emma, Piper and Molly get muddy in preparation for a bath.

I need your help. This weekend the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) is holding a dog wash and bake sale. When we go down to the big park, our chauffeur/cook will not let us play in the river unless it is time for our bath. Most days he says that he does not have time to give us a bath so he will not let us play in the mud.

He is planning on attending the dog wash/bake sale, now all the pack has to do is convince him that it would be a shame to waste a perfectly good bath on a clean dog. After all, doesn't he want his money's worth?

Help me convince him that we need to spend some quality time at the river before going to the dog wash. Send him a comment, tell him we need to get real muddy before we go to the fund raiser.

.

.A clean dog is a waste of a bath!

.

.Mogley G. Retriever

The World Championships

The world championship mouth wrestling matches were scheduled to take place today. Molly, Piper, Abby, Bella and I were ready to hold the final matches to determine the World Champion. Bella and I figured that since we practice every day we would be shoo ins. We have even designed a special golden Chamionship Collar for the winner. Then the unbelievable happened.

Molly, Piper and Emma's daddy came home early. He is a pilot and he was rescheduled on his flights, so he came home and picked up his pack and went to their home. Bella, Abby, Sandy and I are left alone. Four dogs playing is all right, but it doe not have the intensity of all seven playing together.

We have postponed the World Championship Mouth Wrestling Championships for several weeks. This gives us time to ask for additional entry's. If you want to compete and believe you are a champion class mouth wrestler, let us know.

In the meantime we are still looking for a Forever Home for Sandy and Abby. If you want to help two fine Lady's find a home, visit the rescue web site at www.goldenrescue.com and read more about Sandy and Abby.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 5

The Bumpass Hounds will say this should be titled "Part 6", they think I skipped one chapter in the Dog Philosopher. Or maybe "Part 5 1/2".

We are having a lot of fun together. Abby and Sandy are even joining in the chasing and mouth wrestling. Mealtime is a lot more exciting with seven bowls in seven places and seven hungry dogs trying to see what everyone else is getting fed. You never know when one of us gets better food and how will we know if we don't check? The chauffeur/cook thinks we should all sit down in our place to wait for our bowl, but that takes all the fun out of it.

With seven dogs in the house, the resident chauffeur/cook spends a lot of time with his tools cleaning up the yard.

This raises an important philosophical question. Why are humans so obsessed with dog poop? All of my friends at the dog park ask the same question. We watch people pick up dog poop, put it into special plastic bags they carry with them. When we run in the park we always see people walking along with plastic bags full of poop in their hands. They even point out dog poop to other people to pick up. If one person misses a dog poop, another person will make sure they get it. At the big dog park, they even schedule a "clean up day" for everyone to come and pick up dog poop just in case they are running short on their home supply. Humans buy special tools to use to pick up poop, they buy special plastic bags to carry it in, they exchange tips on how best to collect dog poop.

Is it a fixation, a hobby gone berserk or just a character flaw in humans? Are humans potty trained at too young of an age? Is this behaviour normal? I think not! You don't see dogs carrying their own poop around in plastic bags. You don't see dogs obsessing with a little dog poop on the lawn. We need to show the humans the part about how fertilizer helps the grass grow. We need to show humans how to relax and enjoy just walking for the sake of walking.

Mogley G. Retriever

The sound of seven dogs playing?

Above, seven Golden Retrievers, a family reunion and extended play date.

Life is wonderful today. My cousins, Emma, Molly and Piper are here for about 10 days. Their family went on a trip so we get to have an extended play date. What is the sound of seven dogs playing? We don't know what it sounds like, but you can hear it from a mile away! The inventory is me, Mogley, 2 years old, Bella, 3, Sandy, 11, Abby, 6, Emma, 7, Molly and Piper, both 2.

I always enjoy having Molly and Piper here, we play all day long. Emma is not into playing, she is into relaxing, so she gets along very well with Sandy and Abby. Sandy surprised us all by rough housing with us for a while, then running laps around the yard with us. We still do not believe that Sandy is realy 11 years old, we think they made a mistake. Bella is the queen of the house, so she plays a little, then takes up her position as the head of the pack and watches us from her cushion.
Above and Below, we gather for treat time. I have my back to the camera, I am telling the others to sit so we can get our treats.
The downside to having my cousins visit is that they will tear all of my toys up. When it is treat time no one gets a treat unless everyone is sitting. Sometimes it takes several minutes before we can all calm down at once.

Mogley G. Retriever

Rescue Report

Sandy and Abby were getting anxious, they have been here almost a month as foster friends and still they have not been adopted into a forever home. I may have found out why. I opened an e-mail from Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) and boy did they have news. Last week GRRR took in 10 dogs, on top of the 30 or so that are normally in the foster system. GRRR is in need of volunteers who can provide foster homes and forever homes for more Golden friends. With each new dog there is a special and often very sad story, as the economy sinks, the stories get worse.

This fall GRRR had a rescue from the Animal Protection Services. Here is what GRRR wrote this week:
"Remember Brodie, the senior Golden who was given sleeping pills by his owner and then dumped in a field outside of Pueblo? Well the owner who did this horrible stuff was fined $500 today after he plead guilty to misdemeanor animal abuse. It's not a lot, but it's something. He was informed that if anything ever happens like this again he'll be facing felony charges. Brodie, I know you are being spoiled rotten in your new home now, but sleep well, knowing that he was punished for what he did to you, and by some miracle you lived through that, found your way to GRRR and are living a wonderful life now."

Next was a report from GRRR on a special rescue.
"We had two very special girls come into GRRR 3 weeks ago, Tessa and Tori. They were only 6 weeks old when they arrived at GRRR. These small precious little bundles of fur were welcomed into their Foster home to be loved and cared for until they find that special family to love them forever. What makes them so special? They were born blind. One of those ... I'm struggling to find a word that isn't too horrible... backyard breeders… to put it nicely couldn't sell them, so he contacted one of our volunteers who had taken a blind puppy from the last litter he had to sell a year ago. Last year's little blind girl was taken in at 4 weeks to the vet to be euthanized. He said, "They are too little to shoot." Not kidding, that is what this horrible man said when he took her in to have her euthanized. The vet refused because she was not sick and told him he knew someone would love that little puppy. Our volunteer begged him to keep the puppy with the mom and others until she was older. But "No" was his response, he'd already sold the pups and they had been away from mom for some time. I was so mad when I heard this and spent a good part of the night trying to find out if there was a law against selling pups before the age of 8 weeks. But no, there is no such law in South Dakota.

Several volunteers pitched in and drove these two girls from North Dakota to Denver. Tessa and Tori went into a loving foster home, and one of them has been adopted out already. The other is doing well with several older house mates to help out. These young ladys have their own "seeing eye dogs" to help them find their way.

If that is not enough, this was the next message:
"A volunteer emailed me on Sunday night about a girl in Gallup NM who needed help. The rescues in NM were full or didn't have resources to care for her. Oh, and by the way, they think she's pregnant. A few emails and a few calls and I am hoping that this girl will find her way to Colorado on Thursday. One volunteer is ready to jump in his car and go get her from Gallup and bring her to Albuquerque. The rest of the trip is still pending, but we are hoping for Thursday. I hope she keeps her legs crossed if she's close to delivering pups. The shelter she is in doesn't vaccinate, so that opens up a big can of worms when it comes to parvo, etc. So she will need to be transported without the company of another dog(s) as a precaution for everyone."

That is only the first few stories on GRRR rescues. I will post more tomorrow on several other rescues. Meanwhile, we need volunteers to provide foster homes and forever homes. If you don't have room in your home, you can donate to our rescue efforts by going to the link on the left of my blog and click on "Donate to Rescue Here!

Remember, no matter where you live, there is a rescue near you that needs help!

The economy is bad for people and for dogs, my chauffeur and chef says that dog food is now almost $40.00 per bag, that is almost $280 in Dog dollars at the current exchange rate.

Mogley G. Retriever

Playing in the park.

Above, four wild Golden Retrievers loose on the open plains. Look out!

The test is to see if the current foster dogs will come when called. If they don't come well we can't go to the big park. Sandy and Abby were given the test and they passed it just fine. So we get to go to the park regularly, four wild Golden Retrievers lose on the world. We can run until we are exhausted, we can run until we are panting and thirsty. Sandy is running better with each trip to the park. When she first arrived with us she could not jump into the SUV and had to be helped in and out of the car. Now she runs and leaps into the car in her excitement to go for a ride. At 11 years, she is doing so well that everyone is surprised when they are told how old she is.

We are all pulling for Sandy and Abby to be adopted into a Forever home soon, but until they find their new home, they are doing wonderful with us. They have been with us for three weeks which is close to a record. Most foster orphans that stay with us spend only a few days to a couple weeks before the rescue organization places them with a new family. We had fosters that spent less than a day before they were adopted, several that stayed less than five days. Sandy thinks it is taking longer because of her age and because we want to adopt Sandy and Abby out as a pair. They have spent their life together and they are very attached. With a large number of new, young and pretty dogs entering the rescue system, two older ladies will be hard to place. People don't realise that having an older dog that has learned how to behave is a huge blessing. No chewing on shoes, no wetting on carpets, no chasing the cat, no barking in the middle of the night. Just two well behaved dogs that love affection and bring a calm demeanour to the home. With Abby (6)you get a bonus, she plays a mean game of fetch, if you have a tennis ball she will bring it to you and drop it, then jump around waiting with anticipation for you to throw it again. We know there is an ideal home out there somewhere, but it takes time. While we wait we can all have fun and enjoy each others company. Below, Sandy and Bella share a bed.



Mogley G. Retriever

Good Friends

After three weeks, Abby and Sandy have become very good friends. Sandy is responding to the vitamins and glucosamine, her joints are loosening up and our 11 year old friend is playing, romping and running like a 5 year old. This has caused some problems. There is only one tennis ball thrower in the house, and four retrievers. Abby is a very skilled retriever, she and I have some strong competition for thrown balls. Sandy tries hard, but she is slow and she can't beat Bella, Abby and I to the ball.

Sandy has taken over my softest bed, the one by the rocking chair where the hand reaches down and pets my head while he watches TV. Now its her head that is often on the cushion, waiting for the hand. Sandy-Abby both chew up my toys, they have no respect for my seniority here. Being a foster brother is not as easy as it sounds.

We are still actively seeking a forever home for Sandy-Abby, it is hard to find a home for an older dog, and to find a home for two at once is proving difficult. The rescue is receiving many new dogs and there are so many young Golden's for two older Lady's to compete with. We will find the perfect home, but in the meantime we have some wonderful friends to play with.

We went to the drive through dog treat dispenser today, everyone received a treat. The chauffeur says that the place is called a bank and he has to give them large money in return for the treats. This is much like the pet store, the chauffeur gives them smaller money and they give him treats to take home. So why doesn't he take the big money to the pet store instead of giving it to the bank? We could have many more treats that way. Humans! They just don't think sometimes.

Mogley G. Retriever

A Day in the Park!

What is the sound of four dogs running? It is panting. Lots of panting. The resident chauffeur took all four of us down to the park to run and exercise. There is a lesson here for my regular readers, if you make enough noise and romp in the house, they will take you out to run and work it off. A quiet dog is a dog that does not get to go play. Abby is joining in play time with Bella and I, with three dogs roughhousing in the house we should get a lot more trips to the dog park.

Sandy and Abby had to drag their leashes for a short time after we arrived at the 9 mile park. Foster dogs always have to drag their leashes till we are sure they will come back when called, it is a very big park if anyone decides to run away. Sandy and Abby passed the test quickly and we all were free to play. Sandy surprised everyone by running with us. At 11 years old, we expected her to be slow and stay close. Instead she ran across the fields and mixed with the rest of the dogs at the park. She did have a hard time getting back up into the SUV when the trip was over, and she spent a long time sleeping when we were home.

We have no prospects to adopt Sandy-Abby and provide them with new forever homes. Sandy-Abby don't care, they have settled in. The resident chauffeur worries about them settling in too well and not wanting to go to a new home. That is what happened to our cousin Molly. Molly simply refused to go when a new family came to adopt her. She had settled in and refused to leave, she had to be adopted where she was.

Sandy-Abby will make someone a wonderful addition to their home. They are so much alike that we think of them as one dog. They are very calm, quiet, well behaved and loving. If you have a home that is a few pounds short of love, we offer two 65 pound packages of affection.

Mogley G. Retriever

What is in a name?

Above, from left, Sandy, Bella, Mogley and Abby.

Below, we are waiting patiently for dinner. Why does the human make us wait so long? If we ate both meals, one right after the other, we could get it behind us and not have to wait all day for the humans to get around to dishing out the food. That would leave more time for treats all day long.

The resident chauffeur has it all mixed up. He calls Sandy, Abby, and he calls Abby, Sandy. To make it less confusing, he now just calls "Here Goldens" when he wants us to come. Sandy and Abby have been together so long that they think their names are "Sandy-Abby". They don't care what they are called, they just come running.

Sandy-Abby are well settled in. This was not supposed to happen, they came to us from the rescue as foster friends, we were to provide them with a transition home, evaluate them, then send them on to their new forever home. The problem is that they have not yet found a Forever home. At first they kept their bags packed, ready to go at any moment. Now, after three weeks, they have unpacked their bags and settled in. According to statistics, dog rescues are up, dog adoptions are down. Luckily, Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) has many foster homes so that our Golden friends don't have to live behind chain link. The latest issue of our newsletter said we rescued 396 Goldens, and others, last year.

Sandy and Abby are wonderful friends. They are very calm and polite. They don't chew on inappropriate items, they don't bark, and they don't snore at night beside the bed. Sandy is 11 and Abby is 6, this makes it harder to adopt as few people want to take two dogs at a time, and with one older dog there is even more hesitation. They have been together so long and are so attached that it would be a shame to separate them. They are becoming our friends as well. Bella and I start romping and soon Abby, then Sandy will join in the fun. Sandy is older, but she is the more adventurous of the two, she is the first to run to the door when the door bell rings, followed by Abby once Sandy has blazed the way. Abby leaps into the back of the big SUV when it is time for a ride, Sandy has to take it slower and climb in as she does not jump well. They are "Hand Hogs", they crowd in when it is time for attention. When we have fosters staying with us the resident chauffeur makes certain that we get adequate attention. With Sandy and Abby it is tough because they push in and are not shy about claiming their right to be petted or to get ears scratched or a tummy rub.

We will continue to work hard to find these two wonderful friends a new home, in the meantime they are doing fine with us. The humans say that the two visitors are so well behaved that it is like not even having another dog, except that the odds of tripping over a dog has increased greatly. Go to www.goldenrescue.com to read more about us and other homeless dogs. You too can be a foster parent and help an abandoned dog find a new home.

Mogley G. Retriever

Motivational Posters

In these times of financial stress, the resident chauffeur has decided to start a dog training and motivational school. He posted the following picture on the refrigerator and now requires us to look at it every day before we get our treat. He says with four of us here now, he needs some help around the house.



He thinks its pretty funny. I think I will call the Dog Whisperer and have him come whisper something nasty in our chauffeur's ear.

Mogley G. Retriever

Valentine Dog

Being the only male dog in the house with three females is fun most of the time, but on Valentines day I have a lot of presents to buy and a lot of cards to send. Did you know how hard it is to buy proper valentines day cards in the pet shop? They only sell cards for people, not dogs. I looked for a card that would express sentiments in a way that dogs can relate to. I wanted to buy a nice card that said something like "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Your tail wags nice and your butt smells nice too". You know, something that says Happy Valentines day, but with proper dog wishes instead of that messy stuff people write.

A little know fact is that Dogs are getter poets than people. You may never have considered this, but things rhyme better in dog than they do in people. Everything dogs say rhymes with "Bark". That makes romantic poems easy. When a dog writes a poem it always rhymes. For example, take the old classic: "Bark, bark, bark." It has perfect timing and rhythm, with a very sincere message.

Sandy and Abby will mark their first week's anniversary on Sunday. They are such nice room mates. When the rescue asked us to take them we were told that having both of them would be like having only one dog. They were right, except that you can not trip over one dog in two different places at the same time, but you can with Sandy and Abby. Sandy and Abby are very quiet and very well behaved. They have come from a happy home, they were not miss treated or abused. They are Valentine dogs, they are wonderful lovers and great companions.

They are playing with us now, when Bella and I go into "full romp" mode, they join in and instead of sounding like a small herd of elephants, we sound like a large herd of elephants a play. We have about 8 tennis balls in the house, at any given time, four or more are in play. Abby likes soft toys that she can carry around. Sandy likes tennis balls the best, but we all play with all the toys just to have fun.

We have not heard from anyone who wants to give Sandy and Abby a forever home, but we hope they are out there, maybe they tried to call when the humans were out to dinner. If you did, please call back. Sandy and Abby are ready, they keep their travel bag packed with all their things, ready to go home with you when you are ready to adopts a pair of wonderful friends and life companions.

Happy Valentines Day to all of our readers.

Mogley G. Retriever

Nurse Sandy and Nurse Abby

Our two foster sisters are ready to begin looking for their forever home. With the economy dropping, jobs scarce, more people than ever will be needing therapy. Coming to your rescue, like a St. Bernard with a brandy cask in a snow storm, is Sandy and Abby. In the prior post we outlined the diseases and syndromes they have been trained to cure. If your Doctor has ever told you; "Go home, take two Golden Retrievers, and call me in the morning," then you need Sandy and Abby.

Since these two special therapy dogs are being offered for adoption as a team, we want to outline their needs. Here is what they would like you to know about them.

Sandy and Abby have very few demands. They would like a nice dog bed, at 11 years old, Sandy does need some protection from the floor at night. Sandy likes to sleep close to her patients and close to Abby. Abby likes her bed soft and right beside your bed where she can be ready to administer first aid if you should panic in the night. Sandy likes tennis balls, she can be seen with one most of the time, throw it and she will fetch for you, thereby providing both of you exercise. Sandy has a very soft coat, she feels like a Kashmir sweater when you pet her. They are both cat friendly and are willing to share a home with a cat or three if necessary. Both Sandy and Abby would like a fenced yard, please. They can go to the potty when walked on a leash, but it is difficult to get them coordinated. They both like to wander and explore on their own. A fenced yard would keep them happy. It does not have to be a huge yard, just readily available. Squirrels in a tree would be a bonus. They are water dogs, given the chance, the first day at our house both of them were in the Koi pond, even though it was very cold. The rescue says that Sandy is 11 years old, we don't see it, she runs and plays like a younger dog. She has the exuberance and the joy of living that goes with a much younger dog. Sandy will not slow you up on your walks, she will make you hurry to keep up.

Two older dogs are such wonderful companions. The two of them are mature, they are past their chewing stage, your slippers are safe on the floor. They don't jump up or get pushy when you have visitors. They will bark to notify you when your visitors arrive, but it is only in case you did not hear the door bell. They keep one another company if you need to leave them alone for long periods of time, no separation anxiety, no sulking or chewing on couches when left alone.

Sandy and Abby are just wonderful companions, they will move into your home, into your heart, and be an inseparable part of your family in hours. If you can promise to love honour and groom these two wonderful ladies, they will promise to make your life a little better every day. Love times two!

Mogley G. Retriever

Assistance Dogs, Sandy and Abby

Sandy and Abby, our new foster sisters are very special dogs. We knew they were being offered for adoption together because they have lived together and they are closely bonded. Now we have learned that they are special therapy dogs, trained in a new type of therapy, trained to help humans in a totally new way. They should be very easy to place in a new forever home, they offer a very special opportunity for some human in need.

Offering these two wonderful girls to be adopted together is like buying one winning lottery ticket and discovering that a second winning lottery ticket was stuck to the first one.

Sandy and Abby are special intervention dogs, trained to treat a new addiction syndrome that we have recently identified. If you are addicted to Golden Retrievers, Sandy and Abby are specially trained to help you. If you have a two dog a day addiction, they will come to your home, live with you and treat your addiction. If you have only a one-dog-a-day addiction, they will help you recover twice as fast.

You may suffer from Golden Retriever Addiction Syndrome or the more serious affliction known as Golden Retriever Deprivement Syndrome if you meet any of the following:

• Do you find that most medical treatments leave you still craving more Golden Retrievers?
• Do you attend long, expensive, therapy sessions with no progress?
• Do you hate those heavy medications that most Doctors prescribe to treat Golden Retriever Addiction?
• Does your back hurt from laying on the hard couch in the psychologist's office?
• Do you want to buy dog toys instead of paying your money to Doctors?
• Do you have to go to the door and bark at visitors yourself?
• Do you throw tennis balls and then have to chase them yourself?
• Do you have a closet full of old Frisbees that you never play with?
• Do you find yourself walking around the block pulling an empty leash?
• Do you need a reason to go for a run in the dog park?
• Do you borrow friends dogs to go jogging with?
• Do you feel guilty when you ask for a "doggie bag" at the restaurant?
• Do you bring a steak bone home from a fancy restaurant meal and bury it in the back yard yourself?
• Do you turn to "comfort food" like cake and ice cream because you don't get comfort from a warm dog?
• Do you find yourself looking for love in all the wrong places because you think you are too old for "puppy love"?
• Do you have one dog and one cold foot? Most of us have two feet which is why two dogs are essential for good health and warm feet.
• Do you find yourself petting a dog with only one hand and you wonder what to do with the other hand?
• Do you need to be greeted at the door by two special friends?
• Are you disappointed when you vacuum your house and you only use one vacuum bag?
• Do you automatically use a lint roller on all black clothes only to find it was not necessary?
• Do you drool at puppies in the pet shop window at the mall?
• Do you have a hole in your heart that is too big to be filled by just one Golden Retriever?

Then you may suffer from Golden Retriever Addiction Syndrome or its more serious version, Golden Retriever Deprivement Syndrome. For treatment we prescribe Sandy and Abby. Sandy and Abby will to come to your home and do a long term intervention. They are available for adoption if you qualify. Go to http://www.goldenrescue.com/ and read about Sandy and Abby. Help them find their perfect forever home.

Mogley G. Retriever

Sandy and Abby

It was very boring around here for a while. Bella and I discovered that if we are pests the chauffeur will drive us to the big dog park in hopes that we will run our energy away. The picture above shows Bella and I spending another exciting day sleeping in the morning sun on the couch.

Suddenly it became an exciting day. I heard our personal chauffeur talking to Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) on the phone. That can only mean one thing; New Fosters! Then he took the car (without Bella and I) and left. When he came back he had two new friends for us to play with. We are foster parents again, we get to help two more dogs find their forever homes. What a wonderful day. Below, Sandy on the left and Abby on the right.

Below Sandy is checking out her new yard and looking to see if there are any squirrels in sight.
Below is Abby, looking for her buddy.

Sandy (11) and Abby (6) are life long friends. They are very nice, calm, mature Golden Retrievers. They are questionable because they made friends with the cats right way, any dog that does not chase a strange cat is a little suspect. They apparently have lived with a dog door before, they went in an out in the first few minutes they were here.

We all sat to get treats together, that is how we are properly introduced. Dogs that get treats together are friends together. Or at least that is what the our chauffeur thinks. It is as good of a reason to get treats as any reason. Maybe if we act like we are strangers they will introduce us again?

We spent some time outside running before it gets dark, they are still a little shy about playing with Bella and I, but they want to play so it won't be long before we are all romping together. They run together and if one goes out, the other goes out, just like two long time friends. They have been together so long that the rescue would like to place them together.

We are still getting acquainted so I will write more later. In the meantime, their partial stories are posted on the Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies web site.

Mogley G. Retriever

GroundHog Day

According to the world wide web, Colorado does not have any ground hogs. Groundhogs, or marmots are pretty much Eastern animals. We have prairie dogs, we have rock chucks up in the mountains, we have all kinds of animals, but not ground hogs. That ruins my plans for the day.

Bella and I wanted to go scare the groundhogs back into their dens so we could have an early spring. Now it looks like the decision as to whether or not to have an early spring rests entirely in the hands of our Easter brothers and sisters. We send this message to all of our blogging dog friends back East; go out today and scare a groundhog back into his den before he can see his shadow. We don't want six more weeks of winter.

Bella and I are trying to talk the car driver into taking us over to the big park and let us look for groundhogs. Maybe one got lost and strayed out into the big park.

We have been begging him to take us out to the running area where all the prairie dogs are, but they won't let us go there. Something about us getting fleas and disease from the prairie dogs. He claims that the prairie dogs have fleas and the fleas carry bubonic plague and rabies. We can't understand why they call them prairie dogs anyway. They don't look like dogs, they can't blog and they can't fetch. Last time we were allowed to run in a prairie dog town we tried to dig one out of its burrow and we got all muddy. When we tried to chase them, one would pop up on one side of us, we would run towards them and they would disappear into their burrows just as one came back up where we were before. I think we lost five pounds that day. I think the real reason the car driver will not take us to the prairie dog town is that we scared him a lot when we would not come back, we were so busy chasing these little scurrying rodents that we ignored him a long time when he called us back. Honest, we will obey better next time.

Happy Groundhog day to all of you. Do your good deed for the day and scare a groundhog before he can see his shadow and bring us more cold and snow.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 4

It has been boring lately. Instead of the sunny winter days we are supposed to have here in sunny Colorado, it has been snow and cold. People don't realize that the snow falls in the mountains, the sun shines on the plains. But when it does turn cold, it is boring. We can not run in the fields or splash in the streams when icicles form on our feet. Luckily our cousins were bored as well so they came by for a play date. We played inside and outside in the snow and cold. That helped for one day.

We do not have a new foster friend to help on to a new life, our human still has trouble seeing and we can not have a new visitor till he sees better. He says that any day now we will have a new foster friend to coach and to help find a forever home. This brings us to our philosophy of the day.

With one eye covered by a bandage, the human still sees more than he can understand. Dogs have much better eyesight, we can see squirrels and birds miles away while humans have to stumble over them before they know they are there. If Bella and I were not barking at the fox in the park, the humans would not have a clue it was there and in danger of trespassing in our back yard. We see much more than humans do, and we understand it all. Humans see very little and seem to spend their lives confused by it all. Dogs see much more, and we understand everything we see.

A dogs sense of smell is thousands of times better than is the humans, the human nose is much bigger and they spend a lot of time blowing it, all for naught, they smell bad, they smell badly, but they can't smell anything. Dogs smell so much more, scents are like writing on a page, smells tell the story of who went where. When the human comes home, I can tell if he visited a home with a dog and I can tell if he played with the other dog. I can tell where he stopped for lunch and what he put on his hamburger, I hate onions and pickles, but he eats them anyway. The scents on a post or in the air are a story waiting to be read by my nose. Outside of the pet store I stopped to read the latest nose news on the post, I had not even read the headlines with my nose before he was tugging on the leash. The human sniffs loudly and announces that he smells wood smoke in the air. Well, Hello! It is wood smoke from a fire that used newspapers to start with, based on the smell it was a Sunday newspaper, they have more color ink in them and smell different. Then they used two sticks of pine, probably western lodgpole from around Dillon. But all the human smells is a wood fire. They miss so much.

They have two eyes and a huge nose, but they still can't see what we see or smell what we smell. That is why it is so important for all dogs to provide leadership to humans. Tell them when we see something interesting,, tell them when we smell something newsworthy. Clearly Dogs have a clearer view of the world, we understand more of what we see and smell. This is why we have the DDW (Dogs Dominating the World) project. We will overcome!

Mogley G. Retriever

For Dogs Only!

ATTENTION: Blogging dogs, do not allow your humans to read this post. This blog is for Dog's eyes only!

Report on the DDW (Dogs Dominating the World) plan: Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? The plan to take over the world is progressing very nicely. Today we will review our progress in taking over the media.

We set out to dominate the Internet, through blogging and through information sites. We have succeeded. We have more than twice as many search engine items for "Dogs who blog", as you get when you search "Humans who blog". Tens of Millions of web sites are devoted to our care and feeding.

Then we set out to dominate print media. We were successful with Marley and Me, and Ceasar Milans books. Search Dog Books and you will find over 113,000,000 items. Far too many books are on training, humans do not yet realize that we are training them, not the other way around. We need more "How to Train Your Human" books on the market. Some dogs are obviously not yet in control of their homes. There are still dogs that allow a human to walk in front when they go for a walk.

Next we set out to dominate the entertainment and movie business. We started years ago with Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin, White Fang and Old Yellow. Then we had Benji and Toto, The Saggy Dog, Turner and Hootch, followed by 101 Dalmatians, The Incredible Journey, the Lady and the Tramp, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. The last several weeks the best grossing movies were Marley and Hotel for Dogs. We still see re-runs of Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Snow Dogs. Yes, we have established our domination of the Movies.

Next our goal was to take over TV with our programs on Animal Planet and national Geographic. Scooby-Doo and Wonder Dog opened the doors for The Dog Whisperer and Animal Rescue. Dog Tales is a new series, along with K-9 Cops on TV. The Westminster Dog Show is not yet in its place opposite the Super Bowl where it should be. We have made great progress in taking over the TV waves, but there is still progress to be made.

Step five of our plan is to plant one of our spies in the White House, we are proceeding with that plan and we expect to have our operative in place shortly. There are two candidates to become First Dog, and both of them are members of our secret canine society. We will soon have a secret operative inside the White House. Meanwhile, one of our most skilled operatives has retired and returned to Texas. Do not forget to thank Barney, the Bush family's Scottish Terrier, for his service to the Canine Cause. The "Barney Cam" was a wonderful way for us to receive detailed information on the inner workings of the White House.

Step Six is to take over radio, we still have some work to do on that part of our plan, any help we can get would be appreciated. At lease I did not hear the barking dogs Christmas Carols this year, that was progress. We apparently chased the Chipmunks off of the air this year as well.

Step seven was for us to run a candidate for the US Senate and US House. There are fourteen dogs that were successful in getting elected. In fact when we complete our inventory, dogs may have control of the US Senate. Obviously because of the secret nature of our plan, we can not name the dogs that were elected, disguised as humans, but you can probably identify them yourself.

We have just received a report on our plan to make humans more dependent on dogs. Our Canine Assistance Dog unit is making good progress in taking the lead in helping humans with disabilities. They report that soon they may have millions of people under their control and guidance.

Good Work fellows! The Dogs Dominating the World (DDW) society is progressing nicely. Just be sure your humans don't read this, we don't want them to be warned.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 3, continued

To help humans understand how important dogs are to the national economy and to the national well being, I would like to point out a few tips that have come from fellow blogging dogs.

The Bumpass Hounds (TBH) have reminded us that if you take a dog with you to McDonald's, cut your sandwich in 1/2 and give 1/2 to the dog, you will decrease your cholesterol intake by 50%. Take a walk with the dog and you will reduce it further. Proof that dogs are good for your health, especially good at reducing your cholesterol levels and your blood pressure levels.

TBH pointed out that dogs are the perfect psychiatrists. Simply lie down with your dog, tell him all of your problems, tell him about your hopes and dreams. He will tell no one, he will give you encouragement, he will give you comfort, he will give you a friendly wag and a lick on the face. All for the price of a few kibbles or a stuffed dog toy. This will save you so much money that you might have spent on psychiatrist bills, that you can now afford a new dress or a new Frisbee to throw in the back yard.

If you are not convinced that dogs are important to our civilization, consider this. Where do you think humans learned how to recycle? From dogs, of course. If it were not for dogs, the country would be overrun by used tennis balls. Everyday millions of people play tennis, they rarely use a new tennis ball for long, then they replace it. What do you think happens to all of those mountains of used tennis balls? Dogs dispose of them. Dogs keep the highways and parks from being littered with millions of used tennis balls. Did you splurge on a steak dinner? Guess who is ready and willing to recycle that slightly used "T" bone? Dogs taught humans how to recycle. Dogs are so good at recycling, they even recycle cat vomit. Let nothing go to waste is our motto.

All this time you probably thought that dogs were not deep thinkers and philosophers. Stay tuned for more wisdom from the ages, handed down from dog to dog and disclosed to you by blogging dogs!

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 3

The need for leadership is so important today. Dogs can provide that leadership if humans will just listen. Dogs not only know everything that is important, they are ready to teach humans.

Dogs provide leadership. You don't think dogs provide leadership? Just give us a leash and head us out the door, we will lead you. If you are blind, take our collar and we will lead you.

Dogs teach honesty. Do you have peanut butter on your face? Your dog will tell you, even if your husband or wife won't. Have you ever heard a dog lie? It is not in our nature. That is why dogs can not run for public office. Hold out a dog toy and ask your dog if he wants it? He can't lie, he will wag yes.

Dogs teach loyalty. For thousands of years dogs have been loyal to man kind, even when mankind locked them up in kennels and isolated them in the back yard, dogs are still loyal. Dogs still wagged their tail and greeted each human as a long lost friend. Well, except for one or two that we have growled at, but that was under bad circumstances.

Dogs teach obedience. Did you ever hold out a treat to your dog and tell him "Take the treat, boy?" Of course he obeyed. I even have an obedience diploma on my wall.

Dogs teach sensitivity. Do you dress with two different color socks? Your dog will politely ignore it, while your significant other will likely make fun of you.Late to work by 1/2 hour? Your boss will scream at you and you will be upset all day. If you are late to take your best friend for a walk and you will still be greeted by a wag and a bark, we hold no grudges. Dogs are so sensitive, we can tell when you are sick, we can tell when you need a head on your lap or a wagging tail to cheer you up.

Dogs have a lot to teach humans, just keep reading our dog blogs and find out.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 2

If you search "Dogs who blog" on the Internet, you will get 67,000,000 items. If you search "Humans who blog" you will get 26,400,000 items. Dogs lead by more than a 2 to 1 majority. Clearly when it comes to blogging wisdom, Dogs Rule! Now it is time for dogs to lead.

With a presidential inauguration only hours away, one of the most searched terms on the Internet is what type of dog should be "First Dog" in the White House. Clearly the American voter wants to put a dog in the White House. In spite of all of this evidence, few people take dogs seriously. Humans forget how critical dogs are to the health of our country. If it were not for dogs, millions more people would be overweight. If every home had a dog there would be millions more people taking a daily walk, millions of pounds lost, millions less heart attacks and diabetes. The savings on our health care system would be huge. Healthy people work harder, make more money so the economy would be stronger. People do not understand that the whole economic mess is caused by too many dogs in dog pounds, too few dogs in homes where they could be making people exercise and work harder.

A healthy home is a Doggie home. We should talk to the American Medical Association about writing prescriptions for "Take one dog for a walk every four hours until condition (weight) improves." The new all American diet would be "The Dog Diet; Take one roast beef sandwich, cut in 1/2. Feed 1/2 to dog, eat 1/2 yourself, then take dog for a walk." This would be the ideal national health plan! It would be cheap, it would not increase taxes or the national budget.

Dogs Rule!

Mogley G. Retriever

The Philosopher Dog, Part 1

I found over 60,000,000 items when I typed "Dogs Who Blog" into a search engine. By now even the most skeptical cat will have to admit that dogs have established they can blog with the best.

It is time for dogs to move on to the next level. We need dogs commenting on world events, we need dogs writing editorial columns in daily papers. We need dogs running for public office, dogs reforming Washington. Dogs to help humans cope with these troubled times. When the going gets tough, humans turn to dogs for leadership. Dogs have long been the answer to the question "Who Loves you Baby"?

We need dog philosophers. Yes, it is fun talking about day to day activities, but now it is time to move on to the next level. Dogs need to address the pressing questions of our time. Questions such as: If a dog barks at the back fence and no one hears, is he still a "bad dog"? "If a tail wags in the darkness and no one sees, is he still a happy dog?"

The new motto should be "Dogs do it on four paws!"

Humans have so much to learn from dogs. Economists say the savings rate is too low, dogs have been burying bones in the back yard for thousands of years, showing humans how to save. But the lesson is lost on them without more direct intervention. Humans will not lean over to pick up a penny anymore, but dogs will fetch anything, proving we have a greater dedication to thrift than do humans.

To all of my dog blogging friends, it's time to stage an intervention. Lets move on from just blogging to becoming leaders in moving man kind and dog kind forward.

Mogley G. Retriever

All the news!

Bella and I got to run in the big 12 mile dog park today. Ozzie went along, Ozzie is a recent adoption by a friend and is still getting over his stay in Doggie Jail. Ozzie is a mystery dog, we don't know what kind he is, but he is a wonderful friend. He plays well, he walks and runs with us well, and he is lots of fun. He does not like water very much, but he did get muddy up to his knees. Ozzie's owner had a DNA test done on him to try and identify him, Ozzie looks like a terrier/old English sheepdog cross. The DNA test said he was something that was silly. It turns out that DNA testing on dogs may be a little hit or miss until they get a larger data base. Currently they only have a few dog breeds in the data bank so they have to reply with one of the answers they have. We know what he is, he is a good dog!

Meanwhile Bella and I made a mad dash to the river. It has been warm in our area, almost 60 today, and it will be warmer for the next several days. The river was running free of ice, we had huge fun running and splashing in the shallows. We even ran into several other Golden Retriever Rescue dogs who were enjoying the warm weather. Our owner reminds us that everything has a price. The price we had to pay was baths. By the time we were home we were covered with little balls of dried mud. Now we are clean and ready to start all over. I wonder if we can do it again tomorrow?

The trip to the dog park was to compensate us for not getting a foster friend today. The Doctor said our human has to take it easy for a few more days. This will give me time to write more blogs, perhaps I can add a few more pages to my dog/human dictionary.

We received a very nice comment on our blog from our friends The Bumpass Hounds. Sophie, their current foster, sent word that she has already found her forever home, she does not know why they continue to look for a new home for her, she is ready to sign the paperwork and stay. We will watch and see if she gets her way. If you like reading about dogs, be sure you visit http://bumpasshounds.blogspot.com/

Mogley G. Retriever

A boring day

Yesterday was a boring day, except for a couple of things. We learned that we have another foster dog coming from Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR) as soon as we can make arrangements to pick it up. Our human is not driving until Friday evening, he is grounded by his doctor. We will let you know who we get to have as a foster friend. GRRR is not only about Golden Retrievers, our volunteers can not say no to other dogs that are in need of rescue. We have a number of "Honorary Golden Retrievers" in the system. We have so many new dogs in the rescue system, we need all the help we can get to find homes for new abandoned dogs. Stay tuned.

Above is a picture of how Bella spent her day. There is a couch and a chair in the glass entryway where the sun shines on cold mornings. It is the only furniture that we are allowed on. Bella always hogs the best spot to lay in the morning sun.

Here is a picture of how I spent my day. The local exercise pool was throwing out its broken pool floats. They want to see broken, I will show them broken!

Mogley G. Retriever

Dog Cruelty

We had another e-mail from Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies (GRRR). We have a big influx in new dogs, several under very bad circumstances. The call is out for foster homes to help these dogs until they can find their forever homes.

One puppy in particular was described by the animal control officer that took him away from his home as "being used as a football". This puppy was only 6 months old and probably did not respond fast enough to commands, was not trained or schooled in them, so his owner took out his frustration on him by kicking him.

We have a puppy to place in that home.
I dare you to kick this puppy!


Mogley G. Retriever

Happy Birthday Party

Above, Bella and I are joined by our three cousins to play and celebrate my birthday in a snowy backyard!

Since I am an adopted member of the family, I don't know my exact birthday. The humans decided that I should have a birthday party to celebrate, they know my birthday was in January, but what day? We decided to celebrate on the 14th, because that was the day everyone could come attend my party.

I am now officially 2 years old which is about 21 years in human years. I did not get a beer but I did get to play with my cousins and I received many new toys. If one dog year is about 10.5 human years, as one expert suggests, then it would make sense that dogs should get to celebrate 10 birthdays a year. I wonder how I can sell that plan?

Above, I pick out my favorite new toys from the toy basket.

We had snack time on the back porch. It was a little snowy but warm enough to play outside. We had some very good treats, and we all had lots of toys to play with. Below from left, Bella, Piper in front, Myself (Mogley to the rear), Emma and Molly. We were waiting for them to bring out the treats so we could begin the party.

After my cousins left, I was faced with a huge pile of toys. It was difficult to make up my mind which toy I wanted to play with next. Because the foster visitors have torn all of my toys to shreds, I received many new toys. It will be a week before we get another foster friend, our human had to take some time off from being a foster parent.

It will be weeks before we can de-stuff all of those toys, but Bella and I are up to the task. I have to go now, I have to tear up some toys.

Mogley G. Retriever

Help your rescue!

There are so many things you can do to help the rescue's besides volunteering and sending money. Today we would like to bring "Good Search" to your attention. When I need to find how much smarter us Golden's are than other breeds, I always use Good Search instead of that Google thing. I get the same results, but each search I do earns money for our rescue. When they leave me alone, I search a lot and I earn a lot for Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies.

It's so easy even a Poodle could do it! Just go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ , then find Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies in the window, "Who do you search for?" or enroll your rescue organization if they are not on the list. There is even a place to see how much your organization has earned. Each time the Good Search window pops up on your computer after you tell it what charity you want to search for, it defaults to your settings. It is soooo easy to set up.

With Good Search as your home page, every time you search you will earn money for your favorite group. This is a way you can "Surf and Save" at the same time. Now you can surf the Internet without guilt, after all, you are surfing for a good cause.

There is a "Good Shop" option as well. Evey time you purchase something on "Good Shop" your charity gets a donation. Everyone that cares about dogs, cats, or any animals, should be searching with Good Search. It just makes sense, or is it cents? Help your favorite rescue, or type in "Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies" in the "Who do you search for" and help us help homeless dogs.

Mogley G. Retriever

Snicker's Forever Home

After 3,000 years of the Dog/Human relationship, how much trust has really been established? Bella and I wondered how much we should believe the stories our human tells us? Over the past several years we have had over 20 foster dogs in our home, all of them have left for a wonderful forever home, according to our human. But we have only been allowed to go along on a few of the trips to deliver our foster brothers and sisters to their new homes. When it came time for Snickers to go meet his new forever home, Bella and I demanded to go along. We wanted to be sure he was not dropping off our friends at the local dog pound where they would be imprisoned behind glass windows and chain link fences. Trust but Verify is our motto!

Today we were taken along with Snickers to meet his new home in Parker, Colorado. Bella and I could have gladly stayed with Snickers in his new home. Snickers has a new home on a huge park, the back yard overlooks a stream with trees and all kinds of wildlife. Deer come up to the back door, coyotes run up and down the path just beyond the fence. The living room windows come all the way down to the floor, Snickers can lie on a dog bed and watch the joggers and the wildlife in the park beyond his fenced back yard.

There are two other dogs, Rosie, an older black Lab, and Brian, a little yapper. Brian is fun to run with, he is fast and playful. There are three humans, that makes a total of 6 hands to pet a Golden. There were two dog beds in front of the big windows so everyone can be comfortable while they watch outside. There were dozens of toys and tennis balls. Snickers will be allowed to sleep in the bedroom with his new family.

Snickers' new owner says they will be active in Golden Retriever Rescue. They plan on attending our meetings, picnics, and our reunions. It is so much fun to see our friends again at the many events. Now we need to convince our human to take us along all the time, after all, how can he judge whether a home is good for a dog? He needs us to provide a dogs eye view when we evaluate prospective new forever homes for our friends.

Have a wonderful life, Snickers, you deserve it!

Mogley G. Retriever

Retrieving 101

Can I help it if I am an overachiever? Can I help it if I do everything better than others? Humans apparently don't like or appreciate dogs with a high IQ. Humans don't like dogs with manners.

When I was a little puppy, enrolled in Retrieving 101 at Dog U, they told us never to go to greet a human without your prize, a prize is the object to be retrieved. It is really very simply. I am a Golden Retriever, we retrieve, it's our job. So why do humans have a hard time with this concept? Did they skip this course at Human U? I never walk around without a prize in my mouth, and remembering my course work at Dog U, I never greet a guest without a prize to hand over. I received an "A+" in retrieving! Every morning I go out the front door, run down the driveway and pick up the morning paper, then bring it in, hand it over to the human as a morning gift, for him to read. He loves my fetching.

My human became very upset today when I greeted a guest at the door by giving him a gift. Since there were no stuffed ducks handy, no paper on the driveway, no tennis balls by the door, I picked up one of the potted plants and gave it to our guest. He seemed to be real happy to have it. he did not even mind that all the stuffing fell out of the pot. But my resident human sure was mad. He even brought out that evil sounding machine and took it all over the floor. If you ask me (which humans seldom do), my greeting at the door with a gift was a lot better greeting than the human greeting a guest with a vacuum cleaner. Using an evil machine to greet guests it is a wonder anyone stops by to visit.

Humans, you can't please them but our job is to try. So we dogs labor on, doing the best we can with their limited ability to reason like we do.

We have an appointment to take Snickers to meet a prospective Forever Home at 3:00 today. The humans are going to brush him and make him look good. He is practicing his loudest and meanest grrrr, he heard that they have coyotes there and part of his job is to scare them off. He wants to make a good first impression. Their home is on a huge park, lots of space to run, lots of wild things to sniff. There is even a lake in the park so we can play when summer comes. It is sounding better and better, Snickers is getting excited.

Mogley G. Retriever

The Dog Toy Fairy

When we came home today a large basket of dog toys was sitting on our front step. When we wondered where they had come from, our human told us "The Dog Toy Fairy left them for you". We each grabbed a mouth full of toys as we ran into the house and then we ran around the house like nuts.

Later the human told us the truth. Our friend, Henna, passed away several months ago. Her human dropped by with a huge basket full of toys. they were almost new, Henna was very protective of her toys and took good care of them. The human told us we had to write a thank you card before we could play with them. Too late, we have the squeakers out of two of them already. Below is a photo taken two hours after the Dog Toy Fairy made his delivery. The Dog Toy Fairy does not offer a decent warranty either. Snickers is sitting on the left.

Above, Snickers relaxes after a long day shredding toys. Good job, Snickers! We just hope your future Forever Home does not see this.

Before you panic, the human thought it was funny to dump our toy box on the floor in front of us. What you see above is the work of many foster dogs, only a small part of it is our fault today. Still, it was a lot of fun tearing them up. I get the last laugh, he has to clean it up.

We overheard a telephone call with a human that wants to adopt Snickers. Tomorrow Snickers will go meet their female Labrador and see if they get along. The family recently lost an older Golden and the Labrador is lost without a friend. We hope it works well for Snickers, they certainly sound like good people. They have a dog bed for Snickers, and lots of chew toys. They promised that Snickers can sleep in the bedroom with them. We will update you as soon as we can tomorrow. Snickers, we will give you a good brushing so you look your best tomorrow.

Mogley G. Retriever

Snickers, again

Snickers is still here. We had hoped to find him a Forever Home for Christmas, but we did not. Snickers does not think it is that big of a deal, he is quite happy here. He is warm and comfey in the cold spell we have been having. He is quite happy he is not at his old home where he would be outside in this below zero weather. Where else would he get steak for breakfast? We shared a steak that had freezeer burn this morning, how do we make the freezer burn more?

Snickers is busy making our toys into scraps. Snickers is the perfect dog except that he chews up all of my toys. I have to admit that I help, when we get into a three way tugo-war, nothing lasts long.

Here is Snickers "Match.dog.com" posting:

Good looking, single male dog seeks home.

Object: Mutual affection.
Good supply of chewable toys and a soft dog bed required.

Four year old male Golden Retriever seeks forever home. Snickers offers all that you could ask for in a companion. His Dark red coat stands out on a leash during daily walks. Impeccable leash manners make hikes and walks a dream. Likes long walks in parks, strolls along the river or runs in the mountains. Behaves well off leash which allows expanded possibilities on outings. Snickers is well house trained, will cause no embarrassment to a new home or its carpet. Snickers is very affectionate, he hopes you will return the favor. Head pats, tummy rubs, chin and ear scratches are welcome. Snickers is not demanding, he just asks for a human companion who will be there during the good times and the bad. He is not a "treat hound" who only loves his humans when they give him treats, he is a person dog, he only wants love and affection. An encouraging word and a pet or two will make your cold house into a warm home.

Now that the holidays are over, it is time to look forward to the cold days ahead. A warm, golden friend will make the snow and cold seem warm and inviting.

Please help our friend find his forever home.

Mogley G. Retriever.