Tag: dog rescue
We go to school
At Homeward Bound we rescue Golden Retrievers, golden mixes and the occasional gold dog masquerading as one or the other. But we serve dogs of all shapes, sizes and spots through our Golden Rule Training program which is available to adopters, fosters and the public. The garden has always been a welcome place to visit on the way to training classes. Thor and Locke –
and Bear and Cooper regularly make their way through the garden before class. It puts them in their happy place.
Lately, the garden has become a destination for training in its own right. Since so many gather here, it is a perfect spot for people socialization training. Sadie visited with us last weekend. She is great around other dogs and gets a lot of hiking and outdoor time,
but people make her a little nervous. When I first walked by, her posture immediately let me know that I was too close and she was uncomfortable.
Our trainers have taught us – avoid eye contact and do not attempt to approach or pet a dog that is afraid. Instead, wait quietly for the dog to approach you – then reward with treats.
It took a little while, but pretty soon Sadie was saddled up to me and turning to mush while my friend Rob took pictures.
Claire is undergoing similar training. Sick as a puppy, she didn’t get a lot of people time – something that is key to a well-adjusted dog.
One by one, visitors approached her in the garden. She is making steady progress. Who says a dog can’t change its spots?
Training, like gardening, is a commitment. It requires patience, consistent effort, and a little bit of faith.
“Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.” ~ Corey Ford
A flower for every smile
For the first time since I began volunteering at Homeward Bound, the kennels are only half full (a temporary situation, I’m sure.) Despite the reduced workload, the volunteers were out in abundance. I overheard one of them explaining to someone about what draws her here: the joy she feels when she pulls through the gates; the serenity of the country surroundings; the garden; the people – like Michele and Chip who visited with their failed foster, Murphy, to pick out a new foster pup (they have fostered more than 20);
and of course, the dogs.
These are the loved dogs of Homeward Bound…
the ones that have been with us a long while because their special needs make them hardest to place.
We have faith that someday their perfect match will come along. But until that time, we are very happy to love on them.
“If I had a flower for every time you made me smile,
I’d be walking in an endless garden.” ~ Author Unknown
The garden is smiling back at us;
every visit this time of year brings new spring delights in the waking of perennials, trees and grasses from their winter slumber. I was thrilled to find the Mexican Sage finally popping out from its wood sticks, and Campanula making its way skyward.
I am under orders not to make any significant changes until Ina and Maria return. Does editing the Hummingbird bed count as a significant change?
I don’t think so. Wanting some greater structure during the winter, I added a smoke tree bush, dwarf blue spruce, blue fescue, some boxwood and others.
What do they expect, leaving me alone in our endless garden?
Secrets of the heart
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched…but are felt in the heart.” ~ Helen Keller
There is one feeling that I will never get used to – is the joy of watching new connections made and new two+four-legged families formed. Last weekend Jeff and Erwin came through the garden with Duke – 90 pounds of golden love.
Previous adopters, they had lost their beloved pup and were finally ready to share their hearts with another. The connection was real and instantaneous. They spent hours together. Arrangements were made to return a week later to pick him up; unable to stay away, they were back the next afternoon with a friend to share another day.
Who knows what clicks to create these instant bonds. Who cares?
Secrets of the heart – dog to human; human to dog.
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday: Unforgettable Agatha
Building trust
Building trust with the new arrivals at Homeward Bound…
one touch…
one kindness at a time.
“Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.” ~ Corey Ford
A promise made; a promise kept
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” ~ Will Rogers
The most important installation in the progress of the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden was finally completed this week. It shamed me a little that this one took so long, but it’s timing is perhaps fitting – as this year, the garden will burst forth in spring celebrating all the hard work of our first season’s plantings.
Our Memorial Path is where families remember their beloved pups with a commemorative brick. The bricks are laid in a sand base, so we can easily replace blank ones with new dedications,
until someday, every brick relays a special message to our pups over the rainbow bridge.
Thanks to Joe Porto and his crew of Top Line Masonry for their beautiful work.
It brings both tears and joy to walk, read, and remember. This one in particular – as it is dedicated to Chelsea, the Golden Retriever who inspired all that Homeward Bound has become.
A lasting tribute, soon surrounded by all the blessings of spring.
It was the perfect time after all.
happy new beginning
This is an update to my Worth Waiting For post – about a blind golden retriever named Bogey, who was adopted by two retired eye doctors on Valentine’s Day – after three years in Sanctuary at Homeward Bound.
The morning with spent with CBS13 local news reporter, Cambi Brown and crew, interviewing Bogey’s adoptive family, Homeward Bound’s president, Jody Jones – and Bogey, of course!
Word spread quickly of his brief return, resulting in an extra-large turnout of volunteers today. Now we know how to incentivize them!
While all the other dogs reaped the benefits of so many helpers on hand, Bogey was definitely the center of attention.
Special thanks to our friends at CBS13 for their interest in our Bogey boy and for helping to spread the word about the value of adopting adult and special needs dogs.
But our greatest thanks are reserved for David and Anita, who gave our golden boy a long-awaited loving home.
Happy ending? “Every end is a new beginning.” ~ Proverb.
Happy new beginning, Bogey boy!
Work is love made visible
Q: “What are you planting today?”
A: “Stone.”
Big weekend of work in the Memorial Garden; I am just recovering.
Jody and I began the stone walkway project on Saturday. I finished on Sunday, while she oversaw the completed clearing of the adjacent pen. Moving a half ton of stone certainly makes you sleep well at night. But the results are worth the effort, I think.
“It is better to wear out than to rust out.”
– Bishop Richard Cumberland
The curve creates obvious pockets for drifts of plants that echo the natives in Ina’s garden, coupled with some perennials to bridge the front and back of the garden. Next stop: nursery!
The garden is about to burst into spring. We’ve discovered that our flowering season is longer here; but winter leaves a little later. Things that have sprung in my home garden, are still hinting at spring in the Memorial Garden. The breeze that cools over the rice fields is welcome relief in summer, but keeps a chill on a while longer in spring.
We were joined once again today by a group of students from the University of San Francisco. They are studying Fundamentals of Organizational Management with a focus on nonprofits, and selected Homeward Bound to get some hands-on experience and information. They were attracted to us as an all-volunteer organization; and for our mission of rescue and sanctuary.
They had an opportunity to spend time with our President, and some of our newest recruits. Meet Lily…
Daisy…
And Lucy.
After spending time with the dogs, trainers and team leaders, Jody let them experience the manual labor side of rescue – clearing the adjacent pen. Not bad for city kids! It looks immaculate.
We return them to the metropolis a little tired, dirty, and wiser about the work of a nonprofit.
“Work is love made visible.”
– Khalil Gibran
Breaking up is hard to do
Love is in the air – at home and in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. At home, Mourning Doves on a wire signal their return to the nest they use season after season.
In the Memorial Garden, the Killdeer have returned to the same spot we marked for them last year. Can you spot the egg?
These monogamous birds pair year after year; they share parenting duties, forming strong bonds. We often receive such bonded pairs of dogs at Homeward Bound; we go to extraordinary lengths to place them together. Sometimes, it simply becomes impossible – as was the case with our Brutus and his beloved Sierra.
She was sweetness and grace; all adopters were drawn to her. Her Brutus was of a different class. He was her big, rough and ready guardian; a lovable clod who, through no fault of his own, was never taught the simple basics of civilized behavior.
At some point, we were simply holding her back. Once the decision was made to allow them to separate, she quickly found a forever home. Heartbreaking as it was to break them up, it may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for our friend, Brutus.
With the opportunity to devote one-on-one time to him, he has made amazing progress. Simple things that we take for granted, are giant steps forward for Brutus – like returning a ball instead of eating it…
“look at me” –
and “leave it.”
But these are the things that will help people to see the magic in our boy who just needs a little attention and love.
Breaking up is hard to do. For Brutus, we hope it pays off soon in his very own forever home. One thing we are sure of: he has proven himself both loyal and true.
Wordless Wednesday
Gardens For Goldens 