Gardens For Goldens

Look Up

May 17, 2020 by Ogee

My preference for a packed garden has led to some thuggery. I spent the day cutting back prized but overgrown California fuschias, cerinthe major (honeywort), and even California poppies to allow the verbascum, sea holly, and blazing star see the light of day. It’s a happy garden that grows so vigorously that it needs to be edited in May! Sometimes, gardeners get tunnel vision; all we see are the weeds and work. The same with rescue; the sad stories and […]

Categories: Dog Fostering, Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Pets, Puppies, Rescue • Tags: Dog Fostering, dog rescue, Foster puppies, gardening, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Look Up

Among the Flowers

May 3, 2020 by Ogee

A virus lurked among the flowers. Not of the pandemic kind. Or even the botanical kind. But of the completely preventable kind that ravages young puppies. They arrived from a breeder that had been hospitalized. Seven puppies of selling age: Heather, Iris, Lilac, Pansy, Poppy, Tulip and Rose. And two mama dogs. Clover and Dahlia. Beautiful, fragile flowers. How fragile, we would quickly discover. At four or five years of age (no one actually tracked her age), Dahlia’s body was […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Puppies, Rescue, Responsible breeders • Tags: dog rescue, Parvovirus, Puppies

Just Set Him Loose

April 12, 2020 by Ogee

Just set him loose. That’s what a local shelter told a woman who was trying to surrender a stray, six-month puppy after failing to find tags, a microchip, or its home after posting for over a week. In the time of COVID-19, if a dog is dangerous, obviously sick, or injured, the shelter will accept – and euthanize it. If it is healthy and safe, and the person is unable to keep it, they (unbelievably) advise setting it loose. In […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Puppies, Rescue • Tags: dog rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Shelters COVID-19

Perspective

April 5, 2020 by Ogee

A carrier pigeon arrived in the garden in late February. It spent the better part of the day just watching. It was not carrying a written message on its banded leg, but perhaps it foretold what was about to unfold. The ducks and geese mock us now. Public use areas have been closed due to COVID during the remainder of hunting season. The birds have found plenty of places to feast and fly – unmolested. We envy their togetherness. The […]

Categories: Dog Fostering, Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Humanity, Nature • Tags: COVID VIrus, Solitude

Let the Strong Survive?

March 29, 2020 by Ogee

Yes. I heard him correctly. A cavalier statement until your child, spouse, or parent fall ill. And yourself? Will you promise not to reach out for help if you need it yourself? Is your attitude limited to the current situation – or does it carry over to cancer, heart disease, childbirth, and more? I am concerned for a world where this kind of thought takes hold. These are times that test our humanity. And I am grateful to be surrounded […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Humanity, Rescue • Tags: COVID VIrus, Humanity

In My Dream

March 15, 2020 by Ogee

In my dream, I hear the sounds of thunder. Growling, gnarling, teeth gnashing in a battle to ensure each has their own. Looting and hoarding. Sounds of terror and squeals of alarm. Intimidation and threats. Bodies slammed to the ground. Awakened. The sounds continue; the smell is unbearable. Is this our end? No. It is puppies at play! Ferocious cubs. Testing out their tiny voices and might on the early path to doghood. Four Great Pyrenees puppies to be exact. […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Puppies, Rescue • Tags: Adele Litter, dog rescue, Foster puppies, Great Pyrenees puppies, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue

Getting Our Feet Under Us

March 8, 2020 by Ogee

Mother Nature has been taunting us. Sending daytime temps soaring, then blowing in a light freeze. To boot – a bone-dry, record-breaking February. Not a drop of rain. As I undertake the annual editing of Asters, I’m glad that I moved summer-blooming perennials in the fall. Apparently, there is an old gardener saying that this helps them get their feet under them. Someone else needed some help getting her feet under her. Her name is Babe. And she stole my […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Rescue • Tags: China Dogs, Dog Meat Farm, Dog Meat Market, dog rescue

My Little Man

February 16, 2020 by Ogee

He is my sugar-faced little man. It seems like just yesterday, he was my little boy. Serious and uncomfortable with the camera, it all melts away for Daddy. Our Bella picked him out as a puppy and raised him right. They were inseparable. There has never been a human or animal he did not befriend. In his grief at her passing, he chose a wild child named Yogi. He does his best to keep our hooligan in line. No matter […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, golden retriever rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, My Pups • Tags: Golden Retriever, Jackson, Senior Dogs

The Power of Love

January 30, 2020 by Ogee

At ten years of age, Napoleon was surrendered to a shelter with inoperable masses and a limited life expectancy. After months of doting on him at the rescue, he went home as a permanent foster with Elaine and Justin in October 2018 expecting that his was truly hospice care. Elaine and Justin are no ordinary humans. For years, they have been showing up every Saturday morning to feed, clean and care for the dogs. They showered Napoleon with the same […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Loss • Tags: Dog Loss, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue

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