Happy Dance dedicated to Jake at Golden Pines

Video credits: Devo dancing, trotting & burping, Cosmo bouncing and Sunny taking it all in.

Jake is an old Golden just rescued by the wonderful people at Golden Pines.

Stop by and paw Jake a woof. He's had a hard life and deserves the best.

We are so happy he can spend the winter of his life at Golden Pines

Life at Golden Pines

Happy Father's Day

To my Dad - JT

AND....

Keeping with the Golden theme, Sunny - PaPa dog to 24 beautiful Golden puppies (including: Toby, Cosmo & Ellie)

The Pack

This weekend, while digging through boxes in the garage, I uncovered a rare picture depicting the time when my Pack grew to 4 happy sporting dogs. Bear with me while I tell their story. It's 1992, Bellevue, WA - here they are anxiously waiting to go for a ride to the park. Let me introduce you:
L to R
- Sadie, 3 years old, Half Golden, Half Lab
- Sunny aka PaPa Dog, 6 years old, Golden
- Cosmo, 18 months and behind, in the shadows is her sister Ellie (these gorgeous girls were from Sunny's 2nd litter)

This was a very special time for all of us. Sadie would soon be adopted by Andi's mom who was widowed and had bonded with Sadie like nothing I had ever seen. Ellie had just been returned to us after enduring a difficult year at a place that did not understand her needs as a Golden. We had four dogs for a month and then three dogs after Sadie went to live with Grambo. For the rest of her life, Sadie was always a member of our pack even though she lived a few miles away. Funny how they never forget.

Sunny, Sadie and Cosmo at Grambo's house - 1994

Ellie was a special case. She came to us skittish, skinny and lacking the natural self-confidence that permeated all Sunny puppies we had ever known. We had made up our minds to keep her permanently; she fit so well with the pack. Her sister dog Cosmo was so mellow, smart and confident that she had become (before Ellie's arrival) our loaner Golden! Several of our trusted friends would take her for a walks, or to the park and once; on a three day camping trip in the Cascade mountains! Cosmo was such a natural with humans, she knew exactly what to do and when.

The girls - 10 years old - 2001

Friends Chad and Kathleen were amazed at how wonderful having a Golden Retriever was after spending 3 days in the mountains with Cosmo. They also adored Ellie and 3 months later, asked if we would consider letting them adopt Ellie. They had a new house with a yard and Ellie was their first child!! It was a match made in heaven. Ellie grew into a healthy, confident girl who received as much unconditional love as she gave. It was the happiest ending we could have ever hoped for.

Needless to say they are all gone now, waiting for us at the Rainbow bridge. They all had long, healthy, happy lives with their peeps. Cosmo lived to be 15 - still a record for our Goldens.

I started this blog in early 2008 to chronicle the history of my Golden friends and to honor their memory.  The Links below are my early entries - which explains the original name of this blog....
"My Golden K9 History"

Sunny aka PaPa Dog

Sadie

Cosmo's story

Cosmo and Ellie

Cosmo with Sunny

Picture Perfect Wednesday

This portrait has been hanging in our living room(s) for 18 years. I finally spent some time and created a nice reproduction picture that would do it justice. This is young Cosmo and her PaPa Dog - Sunny. Cosmo is just shy of a year old and Sunny is 6. I never get tired of looking at this. The photographer (Brant in Bellevue, WA) did a superb job.

Cosmo and Sunny, 1992

Wordless Wednesday

Cosmo and Sunny - 1993

Sharing is Good !

Cosmo and her PaPa Dog (Sunny) share a holiday gift - yumm

Sunshine - today it's 87 degrees - this one's for YOU

Better late than never....A kind blogger friend presented this sunshine award to this here blog of mine! This was a couple of weeks ago, I copied the image you see above, then spaced out my follow-up. I can't remember who gave it to me (which I sincerely apologize for). If I remember the spirit of this award correctly, it's to let my dog-blog friends know their postings bring a little sunshine into our life.
I would like to return the favor and let folks know how special their blogs & posts are. I follow quite a few of you out there and love the effort and dedication each and every one of you put into your postings. Here are a few "Sunshine-Shoutouts", beginning with my very first discovery and the kind blogger who brought my humble efforts to the attention of such wonderful, like minded people:

Sugar - such a simple, positive message every time that brings a smile to my face and gives me something to think about. Our Golden treasure.

Thor - My dog!! It's Brazil - what more can I say? Always love seeing the pictures of Thor, his peeps and all their adventures.

Sam - The best imagination ever and a Dad that is a wizard with Photoshop. What a handsome boy too (Sam that is). BOL

Max Dog - This one cuts directly to my heart. I've been there, done that and know what Max Mom is going through. Probably the best written blog I've ever seen. Love learning about South Africa too.

Kim and the gang at Golden Pines - She had me with the video of feeding time. So many sweet, white faced, senior Goldens shuffling around getting ready for their chow-chow . Makes my heart soar every time I see them.

Khyra and Merdie - It took me awhile to get use to Khyra speak, but now I look forward to it every day! Kyhra's Mom has a wine and women blog that is cracker jack too. Where is that phloophy tail today?

Remington - What a big handsome boy that his Mom loves to dress up. So Minnesota nice too. Always makes me laugh.

Tucker the big dog - The funniest dog in cyberspace. Great Danes are just the best. I miss our dear friend Duke the big dog. Every Tucker post reminds me of those wonderful days.

Jack and his Dad - Our Tucson treasure, busy, busy Jack and his funny Dad who just tries to keep up. Tongue in cheek stories with funny pictures. Always love seeing their posts come up.

Bumpass Hounds - Just started following them recently. Watched the cookie time video with all the Goldies waiting (mostly) for their turns. White faces and young faces dancing and drooling. Now I'm hooked. I am astonished at Radar the blind Golden and how he has thrived. It's a great story. WOW

chit-chat-room - Behind the scenes at a vet clinic/school. Very eye opening for me. We like the personal touch about the workouts and family too.

Sweet Olive - What a lover girl. Makes everyday life simple and fun. Ain't that what our dogs are all about?

AND FOR EVERYBODY ELSE WHO PUTS THEIR HEARTS AND SOULS INTO THEIR POSTING. THIS IS A GREAT COMMUNITY, WE LOVE YOU ALL. SORRY IF I MISSED YOU THIS TIME. THERE WILL BE MANY MORE

I'll leave you with a picture of Sunny. He switched my Golden light on 24 years ago. There has been sunshine in my life ever since. Sunny always lived the Golden life; gregarious, balls to the walls, completely fearless and he loved everybody. He was one of a kind....the KING