Dog – Page 2 – Gardens For Goldens

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!

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

Our Holiday Cheer

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the ~~snow~~ rain, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?

It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” ~ Dr. Seuss

It has been pounding rain again. There will be no gardening this weekend, unless you count water features.

And few Goldens in the garden, because everyone is too focused on getting them walked and warm again. But that does not mean we are without Christmas cheer. Remember the story of Hunter and his transformation? (You can revisit it here.)

Part of Hunter’s pained look when he first arrived at Homeward Bound was very real pain in his ears.

Thankfully, he received the care he desperately needed. Unfortunately, the result was deafness. Sad as that is, it was an obvious relief to Hunter after the hurt he had endured for so long. You can see it on his smiling face and in his rebounded spirit.

So, after such a long recovery and wait for adoption, where’s the cheer? Hunter went home this week – in time for Christmas.

So you see? Even in the rain and cold and wind, we are surrounded with blessings and cheer.
What miracles have walked through here.

Best wishes for a joyous holiday and a new year filled with small miracles – to all our visitors and readers from the gardeners and the pups of Homeward Bound.

Laying Out Grounds

“A garden is never so good as it will be next year” ~ Thomas cooper

We officially cannot stop ourselves. Every visit to a local garden – like the recent outing to the WPA Garden and Old Historic City Cemetery Gardens – provides fresh inspiration and undercuts our well-earned fall rest!

This weekend at the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, Ina got busy laying out the first plantings for the entry-way California Natives Garden.

Wordsworth said: “Laying out grounds may be considered a liberal art, in some sort like poetry and painting.”

Ina’s beds are certainly a work of art with carefully selected blue-green Festuca’s, silvery Artemisia, and the deep evergreen of Ceanothus. Soon, she will add feathery, copper-colored grasses – and who knows what other surprises?

Susan and Jeff are busy picking out bulbs to bring spring color to the tree circle gardens; Jody’s garden is sporting a new Erica Heather addition.

And someone needs to inform the Sunflowers and Daylilies that the season is ending.

Today, we were blessed with hidden bounty: The birds must have taken some pity on us.

The nights have turned cold, and the days short. As they fade, so does the garden color. Everything looks a little more subdued since last week.

As if to brighten up the place, a transport of ten new dogs arrived yesterday at Homeward Bound. The garden was literally overflowing with them! Some, like Sheeva and Chickeeto are still unsure of their new surroundings. You can see the worry in their eyes and tucked tails.

But most seemed to get right into the swing of things. Lovers and huggers include River…

Thadeus…

Gracie…

Jack…

And Champ.

Shadow – an old hand at this – can’t figure out what the fuss is all about!

It was a beautiful day to be laying out gardens with the Goldens. Even the squirrels say so!

Surrender

When a plant fails to thrive, is over-run with bugs, or becomes a thug to others, we do our best to nurture, mend or tame it in the Memorial Garden.

One of our volunteer gardeners, Ina, is famously tough on her problem plants. She literally tells them to toughen up and get it together, or they are out of here!

And they will be, if they don’t respond. But plants are not animals.

When you see so many dogs come through a rescue organization like Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary, it is easy to fall into judging those who have given up their pups. This is Sammy. He was surrendered this week.

Recently, I met a woman in the garden who made me rethink my judging. She had come to the ranch, accompanied by her young son, in hopes of learning the fate of an older Golden she had given up.

She explained to me that her family lived in a very rural area at the time. Her dog was very much a beloved member of her large family which included a foster child, and was used to having room to run in the great outdoors. Life changed on a dime, however, when her husband passed away unexpectedly. Forced to move from the country to the city and a small apartment, she became a single, working mother practically overnight. She was beyond overwhelmed just trying to keep herself and her children together. The complication of caring for their older dog in a tiny space was beyond her capacity.

You could see that it broke her heart, and her son’s to surrender their dog. She didn’t know what she could learn, if anything, when she visited the Sanctuary – but she was hoping for closure.

When you surrender a dog, you give up all rights to it. Still, she was able to learn that her dog was successfully adopted, and now lives in an area with the wide open spaces it was accustomed to. She was greatly relieved – and sad as well. Tears welled up in her eyes as she told me about her pup and her heartbreaking decision.

My dogs are part of my family, and I consider them a lifetime commitment. I can’t imagine a circumstance that would ever force me to give them up. But I have never been faced with difficult choice this woman faced. To seek out Homeward Bound – an organization dedicated to rescue, no matter what the dog’s age or health, gave her dog the best chance for a good home and happy ending.

Too often, people give up on their animals without a second thought.

Shelters are filled with the pets of people who regard them as an inconvenience, an expense, or too much trouble. Worse, are those who simply drop a dog off on a road somewhere. If you would give up your dog because “he’s un-trainable”, or “he has (name-the-ailment)”, or simply “he was a lot smaller and cuter as a puppy” – please stick with Goldfish (nothing against Goldfish!) That wasn’t the case here. And many times, surrender is the last option of people who have lost their loved ones, their homes, and more. It was an important reminder to me to count my blessings and pray that I will never have to face the decision this woman did.

Rescue. Adopt. Foster. And if you must surrender – do it with responsible care.

It’s Raining Dogs!

I made a trip to the garden late yesterday afternoon. Sometimes, I find it more productive to break up the weekend chores into two sessions instead one long marathon. (Didn’t Ina do a beautiful job on the White Garden this week?)

It was definitely cooler, with ominous clouds moving in – unusual for our Sacramento Valley which is usually baking this time of year.

I met Janet and Dale in the gardens. They were visiting with Holden, the sweet pup they adopted from Homeward Bound about a year ago. A special-needs dog, he does not produce tears. So every few hours, they administer them for him. Such dedication.

Janet, it turns out, is also one of the designated administrators for the organization’s Facebook page. We have her to thank for sharing our blog and video, bringing it to the attention of so many more people last month. Thank you, Janet! We appreciate the assist!

I thought maybe the darkening skies carried coastal fog – perhaps causing our 20-degree day-to-day temperature drop.

Good thing I’m not a weather forecaster. Not long after I got home, thunder set in, and then a brief rainfall. This really does not happen here very often – and I feel a little guilty considering how parched so many parts of our country are this summer.

By the next morning, the clouds were gone, replaced by a light breeze and blue skies, and accompanied by a light shower of dogs all morning long – just happy to enjoy the beautiful morning in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden.

As I left the night before, I saw the pens filled with new, beautiful, blond Goldens.

This morning, I met many of them in person. Among the newly emerging Dahlias…

I met new arrivals, Sunny –

Huntington –

Bristol –

and Shadow (such a happy face!)

Amid the flourishing roses…

I found Chris – one of our dog-whisperers – and her own pups Tigger and Missy. They visit us pretty regularly, before Chris gets to a long day of assessing and working with the new dogs.

And not long after capturing this visiting Monarch Butterfly,

I was introduced to Tosh. He’s a handsome young man and full of “ready-to-roll!” Look how nicely he sits already!

It never ceases to amaze me that so many beautiful dogs find their way here for rescue.

Thankfully Ina paid a visit to the gardens this week and Pat joined me this morning. The extra hands made it possible to spend a little time appreciating the pups and still get the weeding, watering, dead-heading and fountain-cleaning accomplished. All while Maria is off playing in Europe dog-watching when she should be site seeing. She sent this picture of a “Hungarian Shepherd” (I suspect it is actually a Hungarian Kuvasz) –

and this unusual creature.

Don’t worry Maria. We’ll save you a couple of projects so you will feel missed when you return!