Tuesday, June 23, 2009

T'is the season for peonies and iris




Here are some photos of the peonies and a yellow iris in my garden.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Report on Max sent to GRRoW

GRRow is Goldren Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin. They'd asked for an update and this is what Max had to say:

Hi –

My name is Max and I told my mom to let you know that I am doing just fine at my new forever home. I have been in my new home for almost three weeks and things are going pretty good. I have some new lessons to learn, but I am catching on.

I share my new house with three cats. The old man is about 15 years old and he told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to nose him. I forgot a couple of time and he slapped me across the nose, but it didn’t hurt because he didn’t put his claws out. He comes and sits in my mom’s lap and I can put my head next to him and we both can get pets. He told me that he lived with other Goldens before and knows that they are OK—for dogs. The other two are young like me. They run and are so fun to chase. But they are getting curious and I am sure we will all have great fun in a month are so.

My mom has a bunch of child gates that she uses to block me out of certain areas, like the room that has the cat litter boxes. They smell so good, but she won’t let me in there. I tried a couple of time and she shook her finger at me. I felt bad, so I try to pretend that door doesn’t exist. I walk right by and don’t even look.

Last night was a little scary. We had thunder and lightning and it made me shake. But my daddy got up and sat with me until the worst part was over. But this morning was great. After I ate my breakfast, we went for a walk. All the ditches had water in them and some of the culverts had little furry animals living in them. It was great fun to splash through all the water and to sniff all the little animals. When we got home, Mom spread a bunch of towels all over the floor and I got to roll around in them. Towels are great to throw in the air.

Mom says I have to go to Obedience Class. She keeps telling me that the class is more for her than for me. I don’t know about it. It sounds like work to me. I’d rather go to the dog park. She takes me to the fenced dog park in Grafton. Boy, is that great! She doesn’t let me stay as long as I would like. She says I have to build up my stamina (whatever that is).

Yesterday there were three other Goldens at the park. We had a great time playing. Other dogs tried to join in, but they just don’t understand how Golden play works. It is just too hard to explain to them.

Mom took a couple of pictures of me last night and I told her to share them with you. As the summer goes along, I will get Mom to send more stuff.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Introducing Max, our new Golden Retriever


Gary and I adopted our 4th Golden Retriever on Sunday.

He is a year old and is a special needs dog. He was turned over to Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin in January with elbow dysplacia (hereditary). He has had his orthoscopic surgery and is now as fit as he will ever be. He takes an anti-inflammatory when he is sore, but otherwise is health.

The big recommendation is to make sure that he get a good walk each day. And that certainly doesn't hurt me either.

Day 1:
1. He successfully emptied the toy box (toys inherited from Ginger) and now has toys scattered on all three flours of the house.
2. He only asked to go out once during the night.
3. The old cat, Percy, gave him two firm swats on the nose for being all too familiar. (The other two haven't ventured out yet. But it is early days.)
4. He suffered a little separation anxiety. He is OK if he can see Gary or me. He fusses if he thinks he is shut up and can't see us.
5. He is eating well and is really bounding around.

Day 2:
1. I got his city license.
2. Max visited the vet for his initial check-up. I got his annual supply of heartworm meds and flea stuff.
3. He loves riding in the car.
4. He found my emery board and made mince meat of it.

Day 3 (today):
1. I have a splitting headache for most of the day, so Gary has had to "baby-sit."
2. He likes popcorn.
3. He doesn't like getting his ears cleaned.

More as we progress.