Dogs – Page 3 – Gardens For Goldens

Teach Your Children Well

A garden is a reflection of its keepers. Tidy and structured;

casual and carefree;

or untamed and wild.

It inherits our priorities – not by birth, but by effort and example. So too, our children.

“Whatever you would have your children become, strive to exhibit in your own lives and conversation.” ~ Lydia Sigourney

Kate is a dedicated Homeward Bound dog walker. Despite juggling a full life with young children and a husband’s doctor hours, she shows up every Sunday to get the dogs out – rain or shine.

She has an eagle eye for the first sign of a sneeze, limp, or matted ear – and an enormous heart for those most in need. In 2014, she extended it to George. As a Black Lab with insecurities in a place surrounded by sought-after Goldens, she was worried that he would be overlooked forever. So she took him home.

And while he is still unsure when he encounters dogs on his walks, it turns out that he is fine with dogs in his home. Go figure. This, of course, makes him a perfect host for fostering, which he has taken to very nicely following Kate’s example.

Last week, Kate saw that Maggie needed a soft place to land as she recovered from recent medical procedures.

With George and family in tow, an introduction was planned.

It did not take long for Maggie and George to give the “all clear.”

The kids cheered.

Rescue runs in this family. Kate and her husband, Christian, see to it by living the example. The love, respect, and concern for animals that they have inspired in their children is obvious.

Because of that, Maggie is in their foster care today. She has an opportunity to get well in the comfort of home, and to be loved upon while she waits for her own furever family.

Fostering. A gift for the dogs.

A great way to inspire a love of rescue in children.

If Dogs Could Fly

I enjoy photographing birds almost as much as dogs. Off topic as they are, birds make their way here quite frequently. Theirs is not the easiest life, but you have to envy their freedom – which got me to wondering: if dogs could fly…

would they hover close to home, or travel the world?

Would they pull sticks from the tree tops?

And catch balls in mid-flight?

Would they travel in packs?

Or set a solo sail?

Would old dogs become young dogs?

And young dogs never grow old?

Could they fly free of pain and injury?

If dogs could fly, would they bark our friends ‘hello’ just over the rainbow bridge?

Would they reach for the stars and try to touch the moon?

And still tumble back to earth when the dinner bell rang?

If dogs could fly, would they always find their way home to us?

Trooper’s Mini-Me

Mini-me.

Just me.

Wordless Wednesday: Love

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

In the garden, opposites attract, like the purple aster against the yellow bush marigold –

and things that are alike complement each other: two different varieties of Gaillardia:

Dogs: not necessarily so. Dogs that don’t want to live with other dogs take a little longer to get home. Like our beloved, Barnaby here.

But dogs that react negatively to other dogs, require dog-savvy humans committed to their training. Their journey can take longer still.

Some dogs have had very troubled pasts, with understandable reactivity to all other dogs. But some, just pick and choose. What is it about a dog that makes it holler at another dog: “Hey, Dude! I really don’t like you!”? (These two are just playing!)

We have four of them right now: the fearless foursome. Dogs that are okay with some dogs…but really don’t like selective dogs.

Finn hates Bear.

Bear hates Jackson.

Jackson hates Finn.

And sweet Gunther isn’t sure he likes any of them.

Because reactivity can seriously limit their adoption chances, we also have devoted dog walkers and trainers who are working with them to help them learn how to co-exist.

They don’t have to like each other…

but take a lesson from the garden, boys:

can’t we all just get along?

Thanks to Rob Kessel, of robanddog.com, for use of the Bear and Finn photos.

UPDATE: All four of our fussy friends have been adopted to loving homes. Happy life, Finn, Bear, Jackson and Gunther. BE GOOD BOYS!

Kasey: Fourteen and Fabulous

A Letter To Shasta

Dear Shasta,
This is not the post I hoped to write about you. Please don’t be sad or embarrassed that you are back so soon. And if those other dogs tease you, you let them know it will cost them cookies!

That it didn’t work out with those nice people is not their fault. And it is not yours. It’s ours. As much as we thought we knew about you – we just didn’t know enough.

You have worked so hard to shed years of your too-young-life being a dog of purpose and not of the heart. You did what you were trained to do; you hunted with astonishing speed and dogged focus. Shasta at work is a sight to behold!

But you never learned to play. And you never knew the ways of a loved dog –

until we showed you. We expected more from you, and for you. Eventually, you leaned in and trusted us.

And just when we thought you had finally met your match…you are back. What we didn’t know is how strong that hunting instinct still was in you. And when you tried, in wild pursuit, to find your way to freedom, they knew they could not keep you safe. We hadn’t seen that in you – or we missed the clues. And we forgot to teach you something else about humans (perhaps you already knew): we make mistakes sometimes.

But there’s one more thing we hope you know, girl: we don’t give up. We will not give up on you, sweet Shasta. We will hunt and seek until we find your perfect match. And until we do, you are safe and loved with us.

“But ne’er the rose without the thorn.” ~ Robert Herrick

Thank you, Rob, for use of your wonderful capture of Shasta running.

New Dog On The Block

From time to time, you have seen me include photos of our rescue’s dog photographer, Rob, in my posts.
This must be how he got so good.

His photos are pretty extraordinary (I’ve stolen some…below). So is his way with dogs.

A while back, he began fostering some of our toughest cases; dogs that would be considered unadoptable without considerable rehab.

Others just needed a quiet place to recoup before they could be released.

In his care, they made amazing progress…

and they have found their way home.

After much ~~prompting~~ pushing, he made the leap into the blogosphere with us – to share his photos and his stories of his time with rescued dogs.
I hope you’ll take a peak. You’ll find him here. Welcome to the neighborhood, Rob!

It’s All About The Dogs

An Indian Summer drifts begrudgingly into autumn, dragging her last lazy rays behind her.

“Nature bestows her own, richest gifts
And, with lavish hands, she works in shifts.” ~ Gertrude Tooley Buckingham

It’s too hot to garden (much less fly!)…

much better to just enjoy the company of dogs.

I’ve written for years about our rescue – Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary. For those who can’t travel to visit us, I thought you might enjoy a video recently completed and donated by our long-time volunteers Bob Murphy and Carolyn Belz. Regular readers might recognize some of the dogs and their stories. It’s a magical place … because “it’s all about the dogs.”
Click here to view. Enjoy!

Big Paws To Fill

When Michele fell in love with Finn, it was with a still-heavy heart.

She had recently lost her beloved Cooper to cancer. They had trained together through our local Lend A Heart Lend A Hand Animal Assisted Therapy organization. Cooper had a very special role at the Yuba City Library reading with children – so much so that they named a special section after him, “Cooper’s Corner.”

Michele’s hope was that Finn would one day be ready to join her and contribute again to this amazing organization. (Note: today, some of the group was at the Butte Fire here in California, lending comfort to those displaced.) I remember her visiting with this fur ball almost daily until he was ready to go home. (This is Finn nearly sleeping through his puppy assessment.)

Sometimes she would wonder aloud if he had the energy or personality to become a therapy dog.

If last week’s class was any indication, I think that question has been answered.

He just needed to grow into his playful self. And he found the perfect match in Summer! Let the games begin!

Big paws to fill? Finn’s got this.

Wordless Wednesday: Pre-Season Take Down

The Dogs of Klamath IV

We made our annual trek to Klamath, CA a little early this year. This place – not far from the border of Oregon, where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean, restores my spirits and renews my energy each year.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.”~ John Muir

On the river,

the trails,

the sea…

they say it’s not where you walk, but who you walk with. At Klamath, you are especially fortunate if you walk in the company of dogs. Introducing, the Dogs of Klamath, IV: