finding homes for goldens in need

Goldens are gathering at the dog park in St Mary’s County on Willows Rd in Lexington Park at 10 a.m. Weather looks great. Raffle tickets and calendars will be available. Hope to see you Saturday.

Heading out soon to Camp Goldstock where the theme is “Golden Super Heros” look what pops up on my Facebook page from someone totally unrelated to camp:

Hero

The annual Breakfast at Sniffany will be held Sept 25th at the Solomon’s Island Yacht Club. Please let us know if you plan to attend this event as the rescue needs to sell 4 tickets in order to participate. We’ve attended before and have received a generous donation. It’s a very nice brunch. Lots of treats from Clippers Canine Cafe for your pup and a silent auction in addition to info about local rescues. Call 410-394-3990 to buy tickets.

I signed Madeline up for agility class on Monday evenings from 6 – 7 starting Sept 13th at Indian Bridge Kennels. Cost is $90. Will someone else sign up with us so we’ll know someone? classes

Dancing Golden Video

When You Love Someone

Vinny was found as a stray by another rescue after the 4th of July. They assumed he was frightened by fireworks and escaped. He was badly matted and not well cared for. After trying to find his family they realized there was no family to claim Vinny. Just as well. They learned he had heartworms and treated him for those. They also learned that he is deaf. His back legs are extremely weak as if he has spent a lot of time in a small pen.

The picture of Vinny in an outside pen at the other rescue was breaking several rescue member’s hearts as goldens need to be with people so we contacted the other rescue and asked if we could “adopt” him as Barb and Bob Davis were eager to foster him.

Yesterday he came to us. Barb and Bob report that he is a very nice dog, but stays off by himself. He quickly found the leftover marrow bones and gathered them up. He eats well which is good as he is very thin.

He seems very sad and won’t hold his head up. He has a vet appt on Saturday and we’ll post an update.

Sam Shelton was concerned that her black lab, “Daisy”, who is not a fan of other dogs would not like a new puppy. Looks like Mooch fits right into the Shelton household after a few short months.

Thank you to Jim and Cynthia for the donation you gave at the beach blast. We don’t have your contact info and would like to send you a “thank you” note and add you to our email distribution list. Please contact us at contact@goldenretrieverrescueofsouthernmaryland.org.

They told me the big black Lab’s name was Reggie,
>as I looked at him lying in his pen.. The shelter was
>clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly.
>I’d only been in the area for six months, but everywhere
>I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open
Everyone waves when you pass them on
>the
>street.
>
>But something was still missing as I attempted to
>settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog
>couldn’t hurt. Give me someone to talk to.
>And I had just seen Reggie’s advertisement on the local
>news. The shelter said they had received numerous
>calls right after, but they said the people who had come
>down to see him just didn’t look like “Lab
>people,” whatever that meant. They must’ve
>thought I did.
>
>But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me
>in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog pad,
bag of toys almost all of which were
>brand new tennis
>balls, his dishes, and a sealed letter from his previous
>owner. See, Reggie and I didn’t really hit it off
>when we got home. We struggled for two weeks (which is
>how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his
>new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to
>adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.
>
>For some reason, his stuff (except for the tennis
>balls — he wouldn’t go anywhere without two stuffed in
>his mouth) got tossed in with all of my other unpacked
>boxes. I guess I didn’t really think he’d need
>all his old stuff, that I’d get him new things once he
>settled in. But it became pretty clear pretty soon
>that he wasn’t going to.
>
>I tried the normal commands the shelter told me he
>knew, ones like “sit” and “stay” and
>”come” and “heel,” and he’d follow
>them – when he felt like it. He never really seemed to
>listen when I called his name — sure, he’d look in my
>direction after the fourth or fifth time I said it, but then
>he’d just go back to doing whatever. When I’d
>ask again, you could almost see him sigh and then grudgingly
>obey.
>
>This just wasn’t going to work. He chewed a
>couple shoes and some unpacked boxes. I was a little
>too stern with him and he resented it, I could tell.
>The friction got so bad that I couldn’t wait for the two
>weeks to be up, and when it was, I was in full-on search
>mode for my cell phone amid all of my unpacked stuff. I
>remembered leaving it on the stack of boxes for the guest
>room, but I also mumbled, rather cynically, that the
>”damn dog probably hid it on me.”
>
>Finally I found it, but before I could punch up the
>shelter’s number, I also found his pad and other toys
>from the shelter…I tossed the pad in Reggie’s
>direction and he snuffed it and wagged, some of the most
>enthusiasm I’d seen since bringing him home. But
>then I called, “Hey, Reggie, you like that? Come
>here and I’ll give you a treat.” Instead, he
>sort of glanced in my direction — maybe “glared”
>is more accurate — and then gave a discontented sigh and
>flopped down. With his back to me.
>
>Well, that’s not going to do it either, I
>thought. And I punched the shelter phone number.
>
>But I hung up when I saw the sealed envelope. I
>had completely forgotten about that, too. “Okay,
>Reggie,” I said out loud, “let’s see if
>your previous owner has any advice.”…. …..
>
>____________ _________ _________ _________
>
>
>To
>Whoever Gets My Dog:
>Well, I can’t say that I’m
>happy you’re reading this, a letter I told the shelter
>could only be opened by Reggie’s new owner.
>I’m not even happy writing it. If you’re
>reading this, it means I just got back from my last car ride
>with my Lab after dropping him off at the shelter. He
>knew something was different. I have packed up his pad
>and toys before and set them by the back door before a trip,
>but this time… it’s like he knew something was
>wrong. And something is wrong…which is why I have
>to go to try to make it right.
>
>So let me tell you about my Lab in the hopes that it
>will help you bond with him and he with
>you.
>
>First, he loves tennis balls.
>The more the merrier. Sometimes I think he’s part
>squirrel, the way he hordes them. He usually always
>has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in
>there. Hasn’t done it yet. Doesn’t
>matter where you throw them, he’ll bound after it, so be
>careful – really don’t do it by any roads.. I made
>that mistake once, and it almost cost him
>dearly.
>
>Next, commands. Maybe the shelter staff
>already told you, but I’ll go over them
>again: Reggie knows the obvious ones —
>”sit,” “stay,” “come,” “heel.”
>He knows hand signals:
>”back” to turn around and go back when you put
>your hand straight up; and “over” if you put your
>hand out right or left. “Shake” for shaking
>water off, and “paw” for a high-five. He
>does “down” when he feels like lying down — I bet
>you could work on that with him some more. He knows
>”ball” and “food” and “bone”
>and “treat” like nobody’s
>business.
>
>I trained Reggie with small food
>treats. Nothing opens his ears like little pieces
>of hot dog.
>
>Feeding schedule: twice a day,
>once about seven in the morning, and again at six in
>the evening. Regular store-bought stuff; the shelter
>has the brand.
>
>He’s up on his shots.
>Call the clinic on 9th Street and update his info with
>yours; they’ll make sure to send you reminders for when
>he’s due. Be forewarned: Reggie hates the
>vet. Good luck getting him in the car — I don’t
>know how he knows when it’s time to go to the vet, but
>he knows.
>
>Finally, give him some time.
>I’ve never been married, so it’s only been Reggie
>and me for his whole life. He’s gone everywhere
>with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if
>you can. He sits well in the backseat, and he
>doesn’t bark or complain. He just loves to be
>around people, and me most especially.
>
>Which means that this transition is
>going to be hard, with him going to live with someone
>new.
>
>And that’s why I need to share
>one more bit of info with you…..
>
>His name’s not
>Reggie.
>
>I don’t know what made me do it, but
>when I dropped him off at the shelter, I told them
>his name was Reggie.
>He’s a smart dog, he’ll get used to it
>and will respond to it, of that I have no
>doubt. But I just couldn’t bear to give them his
>real name. For me to do that, it seemed so final, that
>handing him over to the shelter was as good as me admitting
>that I’d never see him again. And if I end up
>coming back, getting him, and tearing up this letter, it
>means everything’s fine. But if someone else is
>reading it, well …. well it means that his new owner should
>know his real name. It’ll help you bond with
>him. Who knows, maybe you’ll even notice a change
>in his demeanor if he’s been giving you
>problems.
>
>His real name is “Tank”.
>
>Because that is what I
>drive.
>
>Again, if you’re reading this
>and you’re from the area, maybe my name has been on the
>news. I told the shelter that they couldn’t make
>”Reggie” available for adoption until they
>received word from my company commander. See, my
>parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could’ve
>left Tank with … and it was my only real request of the
>Army upon my deployment to Iraq , that they make one phone…
>call the shelter … in the “event” … to tell
>them that Tank could be put up for adoption. Luckily,
>my colonel is a dog guy, too, and he knew where my platoon
>was headed. He said he’d do it
>personally. And if you’re reading this, then
>he made good on his word.
>
>Well, this letter is getting downright depressing,
>even though, frankly, I’m just
>writing it for my dog. I couldn’t imagine if I was
>writing it for a wife and kids and family … but still,
>Tank has been my family for the last six years, almost as
>long as the Army has been my family.
>
>And now I hope and pray that you
>make him part of your family and that he will adjust and
>come to love you the same way he loved me.
>
>That unconditional love from a dog
>is what I take with me to Iraq as an inspiration to do
>something selfless, to protect innocent people from those
>who would do terrible things … and to keep those terrible
>people from coming over here. If I have to give up Tank
>in order to do it, I am glad to have done so. He is
>my example of service and of love. I hope I honored
>him by my service to my country and comrades.
>
>All right, that’s enough.
>I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at
>the shelter. I don’t think I’ll say another
>good-bye to Tank, though. I cried too much the first
>time. Maybe I’ll peek in on him and see if he
>finally got that third tennis ball in his
>mouth.
>
>Good luck with Tank. Give him
>a good home, and give him an extra kiss goodnight – every
>night – from me.
>
>Thank you, Paul
>Mallory
>
>____________ _________ _________ _______
>
>
>I folded
>the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. Sure I
>had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him, even
>new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few
>months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he
>gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at
>half-mast all summer.
>
>I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on
>my knees, staring at the dog.
>
>”Hey, Tank,” I said quietly.
>
>The dog’s head whipped up, his ears cocked and his
>eyes bright.
>
>”C’mere boy.”
>
>He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on
>the hardwood floor. He sat in front of me, his head
>tilted, searching for the name he hadn’t heard in months.
>
>”Tank,” I whispered.
>
>His tail swished.
>
>I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each
>time, his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture
>relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood
>him. I stroked his ears, rubbed his shoulders, buried
>my face into his scruff and hugged him.
>
>”It’s me now, Tank, just you and me.
>Your old pal gave you to me.” Tank reached up and
>licked my cheek. “So whatdaya say we play some
>ball?” His ears perked again.
>”Yeah? Ball? You like that?
>Ball?” Tank tore from my hands and
>disappeared in the next room.
>
>And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in
>his mouth.