Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A new gardening assistant

We lost Mocha (our second Golden Retriever) in March, and were waiting for him to send us a replacement (that's our vet's nice idea).

I started poking around the web a week or so ago, looking for puppies or a rescue dog (Mocha must have been whispering in my ear), without much success.

And somehow, my gardening companion suggested classified ads (which hardly exist online), and I thought of Craig's list, a popular free online service for all sorts of things, including pets.

I looked at pet listings for Asheville, NC yesterday morning, and made my way through a number of pages of unpromising listings about guinea pigs, pit bull puppies, free kittens, dogs 'free to a good home', until at 6 or 7 days worth of pages I came across a listing for an "AKC Golden Retriever (TN)"

Woody snoozing
He turned out to be a dog 'rescued' from a family who didn't have the resources to keep him, and had been kept in the backyard, without much attention at all, and whom they were taking to "the pound".

When the fellow (a long distance trucker) of the young couple who rescued him crossed paths with these folks, he said, oh, I'll make sure he has a good home, and took him home to his extremely good-hearted fiancee, instead of letting him go to a shelter.

The couple who rescued him already have 4 dogs, cats, and rabbits, so really couldn't keep another (very large) dog, but in the couple of months that they had him, helped him learn how to play, be less anxious, took him to the vet, but also realized that he loved to be with people and be petted, etc. and thought he would flourish as an only dog.

She was careful to screen interested folks on Craig's list, trying to find the right fit for this fellow.

We must have passed the test (we're good dog people, after all), and Woody, as we're calling him, is snoozing at my feet.  He's a big guy (about 90 lbs), extremely furry and soft, and is already enjoying walks, treats, and hugs.

We're happy that Mocha has sent us a replacement.

Woody tired after his walk!