Tynor & Ruby, Tracker, Collette, Duke

Tynor or Ty as he is now known, came to me in November 2009.  He had another GRR foster Mom, Jan, who began him on the path to good health, but he was still very underweight and had some ear and skin issues.  So the first business was fattening him up – not a difficult task as he loves his food.  Once he was in better health, Ty went for his heartworm treatment.  The first dose slowed him down a bit, but the second round was the real clincher. After that treatment, Ty aged a bit and slowed down considerably.  But his sweet and gentle nature have always been constant.  He is great with the cat, never really bothering them in the bit, and deferring to them as they expect.  And when Ruby came to be fostered, Ty was kind to her, but definitely let her know that he was the boss.   Since he has come home, Ty has been my constant companion.  If he thinks I have left a room he will run to find me – and it is not like I live in Graceland!  If I notice him doing this I will call him to me to reassure him that I haven’t left without saying goodbye.  He follows me from room to room, lying where he can see me as he naps, sitting outside my office door while I am working and waiting behind the front door for me when I am gone. I finalized Ty’s adoption in January 2010 when he had finished his treatment and as soon as he was eligible for adoption.  He is just the perfect gentleman. He loves when we walk, but is just as content to sit in the backyard (or better still, the house) with Ruby and I.

Ruby (formerly Ruffles) is my problem child.  She is the typical now 2 year old.  When I got the call to foster her, I had only had Ty for about a week.  But I thought we were game for the challenge.  I picked Ruby up at Tanglewood and she was spirited from the start.  Initially she did not want to get in the car and tried to take me for a romp, but we soon mastered that hurdle and we were on our way home.  In the coming weeks, I learned about typical young Golden behavior as Ruby preceded to eat her way through my closet – only my favorite shoes or clothes would do -  and none of the cheap ones for the princess. She was very discriminating!   And if didn’t matter if they were on a shelf or the floor – all were fair game for Ruby.  Pillows, fuzzy toys, area rugs all suffered through Ruby’s mouth and teeth.  I wasn’t sure I would have a house left standing by the time she was finished.  But along with my belongings, Ruby had also stolen my heart.  I adopted her in December 2009 and then about a month later, noticed some bleeding.  Off to the Vet we went, only to learn that she had a type of cancer that was sexually transmitted and fairly common for street dogs.  She went through 6 weeks of chemo treatments and did fine.  All of the vet techs loved seeing her – and she loved her weekly visits to her friends too.  Since that episode, Ruby has been very healthy.  She loves her cats, especially her BFF Stanley, and did really well with our first foster dog, Peachie.  And she has never met a kid she would not lick and love to death.

Tracker

Hello GRR,

We wanted to write and tell you how great Mr. Tracker is doing! He is absolutely loving it here with his two pals, Coco and Sela. He is such a funny guy and is full of love. He is always wanting to be played with and loves hugs. He has been on two camping trips already, trips to the river, many walks, and he has met many friends (he has yet to meet a stranger!). He adores the water—it's like the best thing ever for him! Also, he is always looking to explore and find new and wonderful things.

He and our other Golden, Sela, are definitely two peas in a pod. They love to wrestle outside in the backyard and love to chase after each other, especially if one has a toy that the other wants! Tracker loves attention and enjoys being loved on. He thinks he is a lap dog sometimes and we love it!

Hope you enjoy the attached pictures. We'll keep you updated every now and then if we can.

Thank you guys so much for everything that you all do!

Best,

Todd and Katherine

Collette

We all adore Collette!  Her new name is Gracie and she is a perfect angel.  We’ re so impressed that she knows her manners and knows how to play ball.  She loves to take walks down to the nearby creek with my boys.  One afternoon I lost my glasses (I have no idea how) and when I offered a reward to my kids to whomever could find my glasses, Gracie went outside and came in carefully holding them in her mouth and handed them over without a scratch.  Wow!  Yes, she was praised and rewarded very well.  

Gracie loves loves loves to chase the little red laser light on the kids’ nerf gun.  It keeps them all entertained for a long time.  Too cute!

I have some adorable photos of her to share - take your pick.  The ivy shot is a natural moment when she sat there and posed like a model.  I love the smiley photo too.  Thanks to everyone at GRR for bringing us together with her.  She is a sweetheart! 

Duke

I wanted to share this with you and tell you that Duke, our 6-year-old boy, is doing great!  He has fit into our family beautifully.  He is loved by his human brother and sister, Emery and Eli, his canine sisters Ruby and Zoe, and his two moms, Stacey and Sarah.  He goes to "school" every day and has become the Emerson Academy "greeter.”  He loves chasing the ducks and goats at our miniature farm and is the envy of all of the parents who say, "I wish my dog would behave that way.”  We are proud and lucky to have him in our lives!