Dawson

Updated 9/1/10

Okay—picture a combination of Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and Gentle Ben.  That might come close to describing Dawson.  He’s a big dog in all sorts of ways: big head, big feet, even bigger heart.  He came into our household two weeks ago, took a look around, drank some water, and lay down for a nap by the dining room table.  He woke up, then went to the living room and got dog toys out of the basket and started playing with them.  No muss, no fuss—just doing his dog thing.  And that is how his stay with us has gone.

Dawson is a wonderful dog!  He has taken care of his potty business outside with no slip-ups; he eats well; he plays energetically but patiently with our (sometimes annoying) toy fox terrier; he sleeps through the night in the living room on his bed and greets us with a wagging tail each morning when we come downstairs.  No counter surfing, no chewing on anything except dog toys and tennis balls (which he LOVES).
 
He loves to be with us.  He doesn’t follow us around anxiously, but simply with the desire to be close.  He comes to us for pats and hugs or he just hangs out wherever we are in the house.  He enjoys being outside and chasing a tennis ball as weather permits, and he likes the dog park.  But what he likes most is being with his people.

Dawson will be a great addition to some lucky family!

Updated 8/29/10

Husky, handsome Dawson and his friend Della came to GRR from a loving family who’d recently suffered a house fire. Forced to relocate to an apartment, they were able to bring along their little chihuahua—but there wasn’t room for two big Goldens. While they tried to figure out what to do, Della and Dawson remained in the shady yard of the original home. The family dropped by often to give the duo food, water, and attention, but as one scorching-hot day followed another, they grew increasingly anxious to get the dogs out of that yard and back into the cool indoors!

A websearch turned up GRR – and once we were contacted, we mobilized and whisked the dogs into care the very next day. Dawson is a big boy at 88 pounds—and as sweet and gentle as he is big. That’s not to say he doesn’t like a party as much as the next young Golden; he’s happy to run and chase with other dogs. But he’s really more focussed on the people, which of course makes him a pleasure to train. His foster mom reports:

Dawson didn’t seem to have spent much time on a leash, but he’s already doing so much better on his walks. He doesn’t pull, and he walks sideways into my legs less frequently now. He loves to retrieve, and will bring his ball or a toy to you and try to get you to toss it for him.

One thing for a new family to know about this wonderful guy is that he’s afraid of storms. He was relaxing  in the backyard a couple of afternoons ago and there was a bit of thunder.  My husband went outside to get him and couldn’t find him—we thought he had someone gotten through or over the fence. Oh no! Luckily, it turned out he had climbed our back staircase to the third floor and was on the deck… when he hears thunder, he wants to get IN the house, not run away from it.

Dawson is a gentle giant.  He is a beautiful, very fine dog who needs to go to a home where people will love him and talk to him and include him in whatever they are doing.  When we are sitting in the living room, he just hangs around there with us.  Sometimes he comes over for a pat-pat (and is pretty insistent that he get it!) but other times he just likes being there.  He can entertain himself for a long time with a toy or a tennis ball.  He is a great houseguest.