5 June 2011 Welcome Home - Dog of the Week - Goldie

The flight home yesterday was long but well worth the time. I arrived back in Orange County a few minutes late and was met by my wife Mary and my youngest daughter Lauren. Natalie was still working so we had to go by her work to see her. It was wonderful to be home and relax with my girls.

Today is Sunday and I couldn't forget that I should have a dog to write about today, and I do! This is Goldie. Her full name is Marigold because the girls in her family, her mom and grandmother, were both named after flowers. She is a Golden Retriever who is soon to be 7 years old. She has three loves: first is the Frisbee, the second is a tennis ball, and the third thing she loves is food! She will do anything to get you to throw a Frisbee for her, and she will just about kill herself running it down. If a Frisbee is not in sight, and I mean this literally, she will settle for a good old tennis ball. Once she has been completely worn out from playing she will flop on the ground and pant for twenty minutes and then she is ready to eat.

Now Goldie is not the strongest dog, or the fastest. She probably couldn't pull a sled very far and would have a tough time on her own in the wild. But she is full and love and very smart. She spends as much time with us as she can and is more than happy just to be near you when you are busy doing something else. We picked her out from her litter just a couple of week after she was born, and then brought her home with us as soon as she was ready to leave mom.

Just recently our other Golden passed away. Samantha was a bit over 15 years old and was one of those dogs that you remember for the rest of your life. She shares this honor with Goldie this week.