Humor

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Tale of a Golder Retriever



We didn't actually name him Oakley; he was given the name by his former owners. Why don't I start at the beginning?

It was April, 2004, and we were still in Florida. Each year we venture to the sunny south for about 5 months where we are known, like many others, as “Snow Birds.” My daughter e-mailed me one day relating the fact that her boss was looking for someone who would be interested in a 3 month old golden retriever puppy. He had the dog for only 2 weeks before discovering that it wasn't working out with his family's busy schedules, etc. Alas, the question, would we be interested in being the proud owners of another dog?

Prior to this time, we had lost our golden retriever, Woody. He had died the previous November. We, of course, were crushed as anyone is who has had a dog for 14 years. He was part of our family, and went everywhere with my husband when he ran errands in his truck. Woody would sit up in the passenger side beside his master, head held high.

As I read my daughter's e-mail, I thought, do we want to endure all of this again? That is, becoming attached to a dog and then to face losing him after a number of years. Would it be worth the immense responsibility of owning a pet? Would we want to be tied down again? Question after question arose in my mind. Finally I totally left the decision in my husband's hands.
However, after several days of deep thought, as is his custom, he decided the good points of owning another dog outweighed the bad ones; and fortunately our daughter had volunteered to keep the puppy for 2 weeks until we were able to make the journey home.

He was 3 ½ months old the day we saw him for the first time. Oakley was romping with Edison, our daughter's dog. They loved playing together, and had done so each day for the two weeks he was in their care. I knew taking him home with us would be another difficult adjustment for the poor little guy.

He cried the entire way home, and when we finally were settled inside the house, he was really quiet, merely standing in the middle of the living room floor staring at us with those big sad, brown eyes. My heart went out to him because I knew he certainly must wonder how long he would be staying at our house; especially after being transported to 3 different families in a matter of 4 weeks.
My husband suggested we not play with him for a short time in order to enable him to adjust, and soon Oakley did adjust.
Each day became easier for the pup, and each day we could see him growing. His legs grew taller and his nose grew longer, it seemed. Soon he wasn't sleeping in his cage any more; instead he slept in his bed immediately next to ours. Oakley had become part of our family.

He loved going outside. We soon found out that he stayed around the house and didn't try to run away. We have several acres with our property, and he absolutely loved it. There were many birds to watch; also squirrels and rabbits to chase. Sometimes he would even sight a deer or two.

It was nearing the end of May and the tulips were in full bloom. I stood in the open doorway one morning, adorned in my robe, with bare feet, just watching Oakley. Suddenly, he grabbed onto a beautiful deep purple tulip, which glorified my garden, sticking it into his mouth. Of course he picked a time to do this with me in my robe with bare feet. I immediately demanded that he drop it, but to my dismay, the more I yelled, the further into his mouth that tulip slid, until eventually, he ate the entire flower! I didn't know what to do, never having experienced that sort of behavior with Woody.
My daughter looked on the internet and found that tulips are poisonous to dogs. I was frantic, especially when it was quite evident that this animal had developed a severe case of diarrhea.
After a visit to the veterinarian, a medication for Oakley, and a lighter wallet, we were assured that Oakley's problem would soon be resolved. I was beginning to feel like a full-time “Watch-Woman.”
My husband asked the vet if this would ever cease, eating everything he came in contact with, and the vet answered,
“Oh yes, in time he'll find out that these things he finds interesting now, will not be as tasty as he once thought.
Meanwhile, we needed to watch this dog 24/7.

One day, several weeks later, after admitting Oakley into the house, my husband called out to bring a plastic bad. The dog kept moving his mouth around as if he had something inside. Upon prying his “big” mouth open, we discovered, much to our shock, a dead bird! He had contained this entire bird inside his mouth without any of it being revealed on the outside. We soon disposed of the bird, but then reality began to kick in that with this dog, there would never be a dull moment!

A few weeks later, our vet took some x-rays of Oakley's hips which determined that he had severe hip dysplacia. The vet was as disturbed about this as we were. He made the comment that this was a vet's worst nightmare, and put the blame on “backyard breeders.”
This term applies to breeders who don't use proper procedures in breeding dogs. A good breeder will x-ray their dogs' hips before breeding, in order to prevent this disorder in puppies.

Meanwhile we were directed to a veterinarian specialist who's practice was near Detroit Michigan. After several tests and more x-rays, the specialist was very frank with us, and confessed that he didn't think surgery would be successful. He suggested that the only procedure worth trying would be a hip replacement, which we decided against. We later put Oakley on a medication that has helped him tremendously; and now he can actually jump into the back of our suv without any problem. Previously we had to lift him into the car.

Shortly thereafter, on a beautiful August day, my husband was attending a car show in another city, so yours truly was in complete charge of our active animal. I was working in the yard, trying to watch Oakley at the same time, when suddenly hearing a strange sound, I looked up. Across the yard I could see him shaking something around which resembled a tail flying back and forth. Dropping what I was doing, I raced across the yard, reaching Oakley, who was sitting, very relaxed in the grass, embracing a very frightened chipmunk in his mouth. He was shaking it around, side to side, letting it's tail fly in each direction. The poor creature was crying; it was absolutely frantic! I yelled at the dog to drop the poor creature; finally I had to grab him by the collar and demand that he drop it. I then had to drag him, by his collar, into the house. By now I'm finding out that this dog definitely has a stubborn streak! Being concerned about the chipmunk, I returned to find him lying on his stomach. He looked up at me as if to say, “What are you going to do to me now?”
He was gone the next time I returned to the spot. The poor little guy had merely been stunned by all the shaking around.
Shortly after allowing my dog back outside, I discovered he had another bird in his mouth. Removing the bird, he was drug into the house once more until I buried the unfortunate bird. I was beginning to feel like de'ja Voux.
After burying the bird, what did I find but a bloody toad on the garage floor. Guess who must have discovered this jinxed creature before he found the bird. What a day it had been, and what a rare mood I was in, to say the least! (Not meaning to quote the song!)

Last year during the fall, Oakley loved to find small branches of trees that had dropped in the woods, and drag them onto the back deck. Our deck, which is quite large, was literally covered with all of this debris. Shortly thereafter, we left for Florida, and I had completely forgotten to remove the piled up mess from the deck. Thus, after we were gone it snowed continuously; that good old lake-effect white “fluff,” as is the usual procedure in Western Michigan.
Our daughter, so faithfully volunteers to check our house when we're gone and controls the heat, waters the indoor plants, etc. With the deck being covered with snow the entire winter, it was a complete shock to her when it finally melted in the spring, disclosing a deck full of branches and sticks. She called me via phone, saying:
“Mom, it must have really been extremely windy here, although I don't remember that we had that much wind; but your deck is full of branches and sticks.”
Immediately I broke into laughter, and finally was able to explain that our golden retriever had a field day collecting his branches and sticks, and where was his favorite place to put them? On the back deck! We both enjoyed a big laugh out of that “Oakley Trick.”

Oakley has been traveling with us when we commute to Florida during the winter months with no problem whatsoever. He likes being in Florida, even though a dog leash is compulsory in our neighborhood; he has adjusted well. There are numerous dogs in our area and he has his favorites, namely, Lu Lu and Gypsy, two female dogs, a chocolate Lab, and a part Golden Retriever and part ????
They really have a ball playing together. My husband made a comment that when he is in the process of taking Oakley for his walk, someone usually walks by and remarks, “Hi Oakley”! Sometimes he has no clue who the person is, but Oakley remembers and wags his tail in response to their greeting.

Last, but not least, I need to mention my dog's lethal tail. We must always be on alert when Oakley is around our guests. He is such a “people lover”, and wags his tail constantly. One night our daughter and son-in-law were visiting us in Florida. Seated around our coffee table in conversation, we had placed our drinks on the table when I went to check on dinner in the oven. My daughter suddenly left her seat on the sofa to assist me in the kitchen. Who moved over to the coffee table to see our son-in-law, but Oakley, wagging his tail at high speed, and as my husband shouted to watch our glasses, we watched them tip over, creating a pool of liquid that covered the entire top of the table. The good news was that the glasses didn't break and not one drop fell on the carpet. Amazing!

I'm sure that some of you reading this are thinking, “What nonsense!” While others, like myself, are dog lovers who cannot imagine life without one of these furry creatures. I can see it being a little monotonous, to say the least.

God, our Lord and Creator, surely knew what He was doing when He created animals on the sixth day of Creation. (Gen.1:24) When it came time for Him to create dogs, I feel He knew that Man, (and woman) would enjoy a companion. A companion who enjoys man unconditionally, and who basks in affection and attention.

What a companion Oakley is; and how we enjoy him!

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