The Master's Plan

Long ago my master Ron had me in mind, but first he had to graduate from college, have 3 kids, and teach 38 years. Now it is my turn. The Master's plan was to have a RED golden retriever (that's me) trained to be a service dog who could be with him ALL the time; even restaurants and doctor's offices and stores!

The plan seemed pretty easy. He found me on the internet googling RED GOLDEN RETRIEVERS. Really. And he found Greenmeadows and Wendy, and they started THE plan when I was still just a twinkle in my mother's eye.

Next my master needed to find someone to train me to be a service dog. I guess GOOGLE is some kind of info-god because that is how Ron found Doggie Do Good. They were one of the few trainers who would let the owner choose the dog. My master wanted ME - not just any dog. Can you believe that? he wanted me over any dog a trainer would choose. (Please note he was careful about choosing, and a dog for service training must be screened. Cody passed.)

I was born January 19, 2009. At just under 8 weeks I jumped into Ron's lap and his life. Ron loved me, hugged me, and kissed me. He liked that part. That was the part he was looking forward to - BUT - he didn't know the other part, even though people did try to warn him ;-) cuz I had to get up in the night several times to go tinkle outside....FAST. This is where my mistress Marti comes in. Ron doesn't know FAST. Ron only knows SLOW. Slow doesn't work when I need to relieve myself...NOW.

Marti knew about this part. She had even asked Ron if he could postpone getting me until much later--except much later and Ron wouldn't have ME. Nope, Ron was insistent. He wanted ME...NOW. Thanks Ron (slurp!) I wanted you too.

I was happy-go-lucky reckless funny chewy jumpy like every puppy. I was sure Marti adored me (who wouldn't?) I didn't notice the sighs and comments that she would say; something like "RON, this is YOUR dog!" Ah! She didn't mean it - cuz she would hug me and kiss me too. What is there not to like?

So this part was not exactly the Master's Plan. I think he thought, "We'll get to play with the puppy a couple of months, get him trained, and then I will have this wonderful dog to be with me all the time. That was the plan. And that IS what happened...kind of - but I guess there were LOTS of other steps (and money) in between that Ron hadn't thought of. I was worth it though. Really. I AM worth it.

No Bones About It

Well, my typist is having trouble getting started here. I have a story to tell and she is telling me she cannot find the way to post pictures. Pictures are a BIG part of my story. You need to see it to believe it - and believe me, I am something to see :-)

OK. She's on it now. As you can see from my darling picture - I was a really cute puppy at 5 weeks.

The breeder chose me for my master because I preferred to be with people over my brothers and sisters. Believe me, my siblings were CRAZY! You would have chosen Wendy too.

I didn't exactly understand what was going on when my sweet Wendy from Wisconsin put me in a crate and drove me in her SUV to the airport. They put me in the cargo area. People were sweet to me - but I was a little scared.

Finally the airplane landed and they put me in a truck and drove me to this cargo place where a guy, my new master, wanted to hug and kiss me. Hey! After that long trip - hugging and kissing was just what I needed.



In fact, I just wanted to sleep on his lap most of the way home.