Rescue | Gardens For Goldens

The Garden Calls For You

October 11, 2020 by Ogee

I arrived early that Sunday morning. Learning of her fall, I went to check on her. As she was loaded to the ambulance, I told her it would be okay. I knew in my heart it wouldn’t be – but who am I to argue with the power of prayer? We grieve the loss of our founder, leader, mentor, and friend. Her impact was immeasurable. The outpouring of love and sorrow at the news, indescribable. I have found it difficult […]

Categories: Friendship, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Loss, Rescue • Tags: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Jody Jones

Angel At The Bridge

July 8, 2020 by Ogee

There is a saying: “Wait for them at the bridge.” It is usually refers to a dog waiting for its faithful human companion(s) at the Rainbow Bridge, where dogs go—just this side of heaven—to run free and play, restored, until they can cross the bridge together with their human again. In this case, it was reversed. Cannela is the orphaned girl dog of an orphaned man. Homeless, they lived under a bridge in Mexico – a home that offered some […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, Golden Retreiver Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Rescue • Tags: Humanity, Rescue Dogs

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

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

Shedding the Past

January 5, 2020 by Ogee

The garden was thick with fog this morning – too wet to do any real work in the ground. So I set about removing the last of the apples from our little orchard. This used to be the work of a dog named Bones. With lumps and bumps and infected ears that left him deaf, he was left tied to a tree and abandoned. When he was finally found, he was literally skin and bones. Rescued and made well again, […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Pets, Rescue • Tags: dog rescue, Dogs and Dementia, Dogs and Forgiveness