Jade is now eleven and a very beautiful girl.  We joke that she is the Farrah Fawcett of Golden Retrievers, because her coat is so luxurious.  She is as loving and sweet as ever, and she even cuddles up to new people!  She and her brothers, Rufus and Skipper, enjoy hanging out together and taking up as much floor space as they can.  Jade also considers the couch her own, and even sits there during Bridge parties, when she is not nudging the ladies for attention.  Jade, Rufus and Skipper are looking forward to Goldzilla this year.  See you there!

Ruth, Mama Jade, and the boys Rufus and Skipper

It has been over a month since the last update, so I want to share the great progress that Jade is making.

She now gladly eats her meals in the kitchen with little worry about others in the room.  She is also finishing her food faster then our other RAGOM Golden Rufus.  Initially mealtime with her was a prolonged experience that often took enhancement of the food to get her to finish it all.  Now she just gobbles her food down like a "normal" dog.

Storms are still an issue but with various products they have been manageable.   We will see how she gets through the rest of the Fourth of July holiday.

Taking walks on leash have greatly improved, in fact she took her first walk all the way around Lake Harriet yesterday and did very well.  Last weekend we took her to Pet-A-Palooza and she got to visit the RAGOM booth.  All of the people made it a little scary for Jade but she did remarkably well.  Once she was introduced to people she really enjoyed getting petted by them.

Jade and Rufus continued to get along very well.  Rufus has been a good teacher for her.   You can see in the pictures that they sleep right next to each other, and guard the house together.  That is Jade on the couch looking out the window with Rufus down below.

And you can also see that she has the golden retriever maneuver of putting the paw up when she wants to be petted.  Jade is really learning that there are good people in the world.

Sometimes a village steps up to care for and adopt out one of our beautiful dogs, and for sweet Jade, this was definitely the case. Jade and I would like to extend our gratitude to the following volunteers, who helped her journey by temp fostering her, by transporting her, by caring for her while she had her short stint in boarding, and for donating a very much needed grooming session: Jen & Eric S. and family, Jeff C., Rhonda J., Mark C., Scott B., MJ  B., Sheila W., and Julia R. If I have forgotten anyone, I am very sorry, but know that Jade has not forgotten you.   Jade would also like to send her thanks to Bruce J., for honoring her by decorating the top of her page with a carrot!

No matter how long or how short a dog stays with us, they always take a piece of our hearts with them. We love them like our own, and want more than anything for them to find their perfect forever homes.  Jade has definitely found a home that I only could've dreamed of for her - she will be loved, cherished, and pampered for the rest of her beautiful life, thanks to now 5 time RAGOM adopters, Mark, Ruth, and of course Rufus V.   One of my favorite things for Jade is that Mark, Ruth, and Rufus do therapy work, and it is their desire that Jade join them, when she is ready. Our Jade loves children more than just about anything, and my heart just smiles thinking of all the joy that she will someday bring to those who need her. 

Thank you V. family, for adopting the dog that was loved by a village. You've made many people in RAGOM-land smile today.  And speaking of smiles, look at lovely Jade, the very first morning in her new home. Have a wonderful life, precious girl - you certainly deserve it!

Jade is doing FANTASTIC! She has recovered from her spay and all of her incisions are completely healed up from having her tumors removed. She also went for another “spa day” to get all cleaned up after having her stitches removed. She looks and smells beautiful! A special thank you to Dr. Lewison and Becky for donating their time and getting her all cleaned up! 

When I think of Jade, the following words first come to mind: sweet, beautiful soul, love and adorable. I would also describe her as timid and unsure of everything around her, yet very brave and willing to step out and try new things. Jade will still have her tail tucked at times, especially when something new is going on or we go to a new place. However in our house, she more often has her tail wagging, a smile on her face and is pawing at us (or another dog) for attention. She will try to get attention from wherever she can get it.

Jade has started to really show her “retrieving” side. She likes to bring a shoe to a new location, carry around a box she took from the recycling can or walk around with a stuffed toy in her mouth. She destroys nothing and simply likes to carry things around. We laugh every time we see her do it because it is one more sign that she feels confident and comfortable in a house. As soon as we say her name or drop it, she instantly does and then continues on as though she did nothing. Silly girl!

Jade is getting along really well with our other two dogs and is starting to play with them a bit. We still haven’t seen her completely cut loose with them, but I know the moment is coming. We have seen her do the full back roll on the floor now. Way to go Jade! 

If you are interested in meeting Jade, let you placement advisor know! She is all ready to find her perfect family!

First I would like to officially welcome Jade into RAGOM!  Jade stayed with her first wonderful foster dad for about 2 weeks.  Because his work schedule has changed, we have the wonderful privilege of fostering Jade for a bit.

Jade is a complete sweetheart.  When I picked up Jade, she rode in the backseat of the car and decided it would be much more comfortable to crawl up on my daughter’s lap, then to ride alone on the other side of the seat.  She let my daughter rub her head, scratch by her ears and pet her back.  In fact, anytime my daughter quit petting her, she put her paw up on her to let her know that she would very much still like some more loving and crawled right up by her face.  My daughter said, “Mom, what do I do?  I know I am not supposed to be in a dog’s face, but what if they come in mine?  I can’t go anywhere!” 

She arrived at our house and met our resident dog Milo and foster dog Roxy 13-400 without any problems.  Roxy was a bit too much “in your face” for Jade and did get a small growl from her to back off, but Roxy listened and it was not a big deal.  Jade walked into our house with just a little hesitation and then explored most of the rooms she could get to. She is nervous and skittish, but not in an extreme way.  The first few days here her tail was tucked tight against her tummy, and we would see a tail wag anytime she was near our kids.

Jade is a sweet, retiring breeding mama and her owners wanted her to live the golden life and get all the special attention and love she deserves after all her hard work over the years.  I don’t believe Jade had been in a car or house much or at all prior to coming into RAGOM, yet she greets each of those new experience very bravely.  Some noises startle and scare her, while other noises don’t.  For example when we were on a walk, cars driving by or noises from a train didn’t seem to bother her much, but opening and closing a garbage can left her scurrying away.  We are very careful in our house to not make loud noises without first announcing them.  We actually say, “noise” first as a warning to her.  Then we give her lots of reassurance. 

In our home, Jade continues to love our two kids, ages 6 and 9.  They are very dog savvy and know to not make quick sudden movements and to be calm around her.  She literally follows them everywhere!  I am guessing it is because they are smaller than adults.  I have noticed that if I call her, she will only come to me if I squat down or sit on the floor.  Then she comes every time.  If I am standing up, she will walk away from me.  Even though Jade loves kids, she does need to go to a home where the kids are calm and know how to act around dogs.  Movements need to be predictable for her, so she can continue to build trust and relax.

Jade had surgery yesterday to spay her and remove some mammary tumors.  Prior to her surgery, she had some blood work done, as well as radiographs.  The blood work looked good and the radiographs were great.  Her breeding days are officially over and she is quite excited about that.  She also had extensive dental work done, including some tooth extractions and many of the teeth had a bonded sealant applied.  This will help her remain healthy and she shouldn’t have any other dental problems.  There was a large piece of hard, black, smelly material removed from her mouth.  It was wedged between two back teeth.  The object could not be identified, but had been there for a very long time.  It caused irreparable damage to the two teeth it was lodged between and they also needed to be removed.  Jade also had 4 mammary tumors removed and sent it to determine if they are benign or malignant.  Please keep her in your prayers for good news and for fast healing!  Our local Lakeside Animal Companion Clinic performed the surgery and took great care of Jade afterwards.  We thank Dr. Lewison and her staff from the bottom of our hearts for making sure everything went well and that she received the best care! 

We are so thankful for RAGOM and the care that they always provide to all the dogs they bring into the RAGOM family.  Thank you to all the donors and volunteers who support RAGOM.  They make these wonderful opportunities for dogs so they know nothing but love, once they come into RAGOM’s care.