Tag: Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue
Catching Up
For those of you suffering through snow and ice, let me catch you up on our Northern California garden!
The Narcissus arrived – a bit early thanks to all that water in December (and woefully, none in January).
The roses took a final bow following a brief freeze…
and let us know that their time had come. January is the month for pruning roses In Northern California. By my count, there are 41 of them in the garden proper with another 20 along the perimeter. To help get the job done, Ina brought a fresh recruit. Beth is a knowledgeable and focused gardener – and a great addition.
St. Francis, Patron Saint of Animals, took a serious tumble from his housing in a high wind storm.
Sadly, we were unable to revive him. Given his stature, a proper burial was planned at the base of the podium. Because of conflicts with her plantings, however, Maria wanted to save space and lay him to rest with his head upright.
While discussing the inappropriateness of this plot, Scrappy misplaced his ball, adding insult to injury.
The plantings were displaced to create a proper resting place; the ball was retrieved…
and disaster was averted.
You might remember Yule – the frightened dog that Maria took home to foster. Well, that was two weeks ago, and she is not showing any signs of giving him up at this point! He has adapted really well at home and become much more confident and clearly relaxed.
He is an excellent garden dog. Another great addition to our team.
Late in the day, one of our longer term residents went home. At only six years old and gorgeous, you’d think that Ernie had everything going for him.
But he is one of those very independent dogs that doesn’t connect right way to people. Not to mention that his manners were less than perfect. He went home for a time with our dog photographer/whisperer, Rob, to work on those. Today, it paid off. His new people spent a lot of time with him and learning about him. Their “going home” photo (thanks Rob) reflects a match that was worth the wait.
Happy life, Ernie!
Moving from human to kind
In a world that has seemingly gone mad, you would be forgiven for wondering if an effort like rescue is trivial in comparison to the headlines these days. But it’s not. There are lessons here.
It’s not just the hundreds of dogs that we rescue each year through our own effort at Homeward Bound – but the untold number of rescuers, advocates and angels all over the globe working together for a common good.
It’s not just the dogs saved, but the countless number of people whose lives are touched…
enhanced…
and transformed as a result.
It’s not just the act of rescue, but the education that accompanies it. Not that long ago, rescue networks were non-existent. We have a long way to go – but we have demonstrated that a difference can be made against seemingly impossible odds when people stand united together. The dogs, and our work on their behalf, teach us about acceptance of others,
forgiveness,
and healing.
We learn to face adversity without losing hope…
and how to say “good-bye” – while still carrying on.
Rescue reminds us that despite all the difficult things we see and experience, human beings still have the capacity for care and compassion.
And in this crazy world – maybe that matters most.
“The next evolutionary step for humankind is to move from human to kind.” ~ Author Unknown
The Bridge
Mojo was the last dog of 2014. Dog number 410. Something tells me he won’t be with us long. 🙂
Hunter is the first dog of 2015. He was literally pulled from a Los Angeles shelter after closing on New Year’s Eve. Special elves opened the gates to help set him free and into the waiting arms (and van) of Barry – one of the many angels who help ferry dogs on their journeys home. Hunter (on the left) spent his New Year’s night in foster style waiting for transport. He has yet to arrive on site…hmmm. Another failed foster? Or transport adoption/abduction in the works? It wouldn’t be the first!
Maria, one of our devoted gardeners, is an experienced foster “mom” herself. For the past two and a half years, she provided permanent foster to handsome Beau.
Our permanent fosterers are special angels. They take the dog as their own, while the dog legally remains Homeward Bound’s. The rescue continues to provide all of the medical care the dog needs throughout its life. It is the perfect arrangement for special needs or very senior dogs. Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue alleviates concerns about medical expenses, making it easier for families to say “yes” to a dog in need.
Beau was both a special needs and senior dog. When he went to live with Maria at the age of 11, he already had failing hind legs.
Regardless, Beau went everywhere Maria went, even traveling in a special cart when walks became too much.
When Maria was out of the country on one of her many world travels, her sons and devoted caregivers, Aly and Drew, stayed with him. But his favorite place to be was right beside Maria in the garden.
He was never alone – and utterly adored. When his time finally came, Maria was determined not to have another dog too soon. And then she met Yule.
When our beloved companions leave us, some people wonder how you could open your heart again. We ask: how could you not? The loss of a dog never leaves us. But love has a way of making hearts grow larger.
“Our feet still go around the place the food dish used to be.
And, sometime, coming home at night, we miss them terribly.
And although time may bring new friends and a new food dish to fill,
That one place in our hearts belongs to them…and always will.” ~ Linda Barnes
I showed you how Yule melted into Maria’s hands when he first arrived a couple of weeks ago. He’s a shy boy – and a young one at only two years of age. He’s also a little hard to read in a rescue environment.
Today was Yule’s special day. Maria is wearing her foster hat again.
Whether he ends up staying with her forever, or only for a while, her time with him is a gift. It allows Yule to gain confidence in the security of a home environment, and it provides an opportunity for us to learn much more about him. If he is not Maria’s forever dog, our odds of making a perfect match are better for their time together.
Beau will never be forgotten. Rather, he is honored by Maria as she makes room in her heart – and home – for Yule.
“I am the bridge between what was and what can be. I am the pathway to a new life.” ~ Diane Morgan, A Poem to My Foster Dog
Wordless Wednesday: Red
A Happy Tail
Among the greys and browns of our December garden are little pockets of color, life…
and many happy tails.
The roses are having their last hurrah, with a cold snap now upon us. A yellow rose symbolizes friendship. Something we have in abundance here.
People from all walks of life bonded by a common goal of saving lives and seeing dogs on their journeys home.
Pink roses represent gratitude and appreciation.
I don’t know if it shines brighter in the faces of our newly adopted dogs or their lucky humans. This is Zephyr and her new family.
Red is for love and passion.
That’s what Chris and Steve have in spades.
They devote all of their weekends and many of their nights and vacations to our dogs and mission of rescue, with a special passion for the hardest cases. With love and patience they slowly rehabilitate dogs that others might give up on.
Goldie came to Homeward Bound at the age of 18 months. She went home and came back five times – sometimes the result of her own behavior issues, and finally, because of the economy.
Last returned in 2012, she was guarded, unpredictable, and not safe enough to place up for adoption again.
Considered sanctuaried, she could stay with us forever – but for a special bond – coupled with Chris and Steve’s steadfast determination.
Since 2012, they have been building trust. Over the past year, there have been careful introductions to Chris and Steve’s other rescue dogs.
Baby steps and small victories, culminating in a very special day. Today was Goldie’s Going Home Day.
It will take care and time before she is fully integrated in to the family, but if anyone can do it – they can.
Tonight, Goldie sleeps not in a house – a home. A forever home. And that makes for one very happy tail.
(Special photo credit: Rob Kessel for many of the images here.)
Holiday Cheer
Saturday morning, there were two adoptions on the weekly board. By evening there were seven. This is all the cheer I need to make my holiday bright.
“What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
~ Dr. Seuss
But, try as we might to empty the kennels before Christmas Eve, there are always new recruits.
Darbee snagged the coveted office dog spot, which makes her Judy’s (current) favorite.
This adorable little girl looks like a cross between a Golden and a Corgi with a little Basset Hound rolled in for good measure.
Yule was a stray, rescued from the shelter. Part Golden, part Great Pyrenees.
Scared and very thin, his wary face turned to smiles in Maria’s hands (which means she found a way out of gardening chores!)
The rains have turned our garden and walking paths to lakes and mud, but after three years of drought, no one is complaining. The rice field next door once again supports migrating geese and herons.
And the bees were enjoying the last of the roses and the blooming Ceanothus on a late, warm, December day.
Nature’s Yuletide decorations cannot be beat.
Good News In Buckets
Remember when I was whining about the injustice of the flooded rice fields adjacent to our water-starved garden? Well look at us now!
The area beyond the levy is the rice field. The area in front shows the overflown banks of our pond at Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue.
Good News #1: It rained. Buckets and buckets. For hours on end. It rained so long and so hard I thought we might float away.
Good News #2: We did not float away. But we did have some flooding, and we’re left with pooling water everywhere. Every time our pups go out, they get covered in mud. Us too. (Candy was working on manners with new arrival, Tucker. Looks like Tucker: 1; Candy: 0 so far!)
The rain created rivers of water that swept the garden’s walk-on bark paths away.
I spent the day putting down a layer of shreds to soak up the mud and make the place passable.
Good News #3: More rain is on the way, but in more manageable doses this time. We need every drop of it to help put an end to our three-year-long drought.
Good News #4: Remember scared Missy from last week’s blog post? She went to her foster home. Given that her foster mom has already renamed her Maggie, we’re pretty sure that they will be a foster failure together. We love foster failures.
When they first met, Missy was still shy.
It didn’t last long.
She jumped in the car with no prompting and said “let’s go!” Looks like a perfect match to me!
The Seeds of Today and Yesterday
“Memory is the power to gather roses in winter.” ~ Author Unknown
Gardens don’t have memories. They die back in winter and come forth in spring to show the results of our hard work – or the havoc the birds and nature have sown.
But surely, they have souls.
Each year the garden is reincarnated; reborn. Taking on a remarkably similar, but changed version of its former self. It’s journey – a combination of planning and happenstance.
A blogger I admire – Will, of Will and Eko “Marking our Territory” fame – wrote a beautiful tribute this week to his brother’s dog, Dutch, titled “On Losing a Dog.” If you haven’t read it; you should. He captures so perfectly the grief we feel when our most accepting companions leave us. But there was one line I could not shake. He wrote: “A dog has no journey of their own, no thoughts of past or future, so they give themselves fully to us in a way no person ever could.”
Will is right that a dog’s journey is largely controlled by others, but the dogs we rescue at Homeward Bound most definitely have pasts – and memories of them. Some are very hard to let go. We have seen dogs that mourn the loss of their human or canine sibling; others that have been traumatized or mistreated. One of our newest arrivals, Missy, is clearly thinking only of her past. Surrendered for a minor transgression, she does not understand why she has gone from family dog to homeless dog, or why she was left in a place she finds so overwhelming. Shaking, tail tucked, her body language says “I’m afraid.”
As soon as she sees the vet, we will hope to have her in foster. Gorgeous, she should have no problem finding a home. We will guide her on a new journey – with a secure and loving future. And she will, no doubt, give herself fully and gratefully to a person who will make her feel safe and loved.
“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today and yesterday.” ~ Chinese proverb
Fall whispers farewell
The garden is tucked under a blanket of leaves.
We’ll let it wear this thin cover through the winter to protect sensitive perennials from frost while feeding the soil.
I am always surprised at how quickly the garden can fade; from brilliant oranges, reds and golds
to a canvas of grey and brown.
Not dead; just moved to a new state of slumber as if to say, ‘let’s rest awhile.’ It is a well-deserved. Fall whispers farewell.
Last year at this time, two weeks of record cold and frost were upon us. Unheard of for our area, it stole – overnight – the last color from the garden and resulted in more than a few casualties.
This year, we are blessed with successive days of warm rain. The last roses shine like neon against an earth-colored backdrop.
The long-term forecast says we will not yet escape the drought – but the outlook improves somewhat. For this we are very thankful. With the grey skies and the holidays upon us, the pumpkins were promptly dispatched to the compost pile
and a living tree was moved in.
While the décor has changed, we are still filled with the spirit of giving thanks. Our kennels are only half full after so many “going homes” including eleven of our twelve puppies –
Only sweet Titania remains. We have promised her a home by Christmas.
The breeder dogs that came in recently are all spoken for, including this beautiful pup – surrendered for a heart murmur. One person’s “defect” is another’s great fortune.
For once, the pace is relaxed – with time for enjoying each other’s company as well as the company of dogs.
Our own well-earned rest.
“And the dead leaves lie huddled and still,
No longer blown hither and thither;
The last lone aster is gone;
The flowers of the witch hazel wither;
The heart is still aching to seek,
But the feet question ‘Whither?’” ~ Robert Frost
In today walks tomorrow
Each rose has its season…
Each season has it’s time.
And every dog has its day…or so we hope. This weekend, more of our little puppies had theirs. From twelve, we are down to three – with “going homes” celebrated Saturday for Sydney –
and for Miranda and Nix, lucky littermates who went home together.
Fall marks an end…
And also a beginning.
Today marked an important end for Rosie. She will no longer live the existence of a nameless breeder dog; and the pink dye that was used to identify her and her pups is now washed away.
Today is her beginning. With time and patience, her fear will also be washed away – replaced with trust. Here is the beginning of that process in Carolyn’s capable hands:
“And in today already walks tomorrow.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Happy tomorrow, Sydney, Miranda, Nix and Rosie.
Why Heaven Made Dogs
“If Heaven made him — earth can find some use for him.” ~ Chinese Proverb
As our garden matures, it has found purpose beyond beauty. Our compost now makes soil. Our passion vine feeds caterpillars –
that turn into beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterflies.
Nature has a way of creating purposeful pairs…Monarchs and their symbiotic relationship with Butterfly Weed;
Birds and their perches;
Lizards and turtles?
Apparently in our garden – if no where else. Spring needs Fall;
Bees need flowers;
And dogs need homes. Among others, Daphne and Delilah found theirs together this weekend…
And Indy, too.
And why did heaven make dogs?
“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big.” ~ E. Jong
Gardens For Goldens 