Duke #03-101

(Fostered in Twin Cities Metro Area)

Hi everyone. I thought I would introduce myself to you. My name is Duke and I am 5 1/2 years old.

I am staying with my foster family for a month as I recover from heartworm. It is not fun having to stay still all the time but I am hoping the time will go fast. I am a very big boy weighing in at a whopping 105 lbs. I am not that much over weight I am just very tall or as my foster mom says "huge." I am very gentle and love to put my paw on you while you are petting me. Unfortunately for my foster parents it does not seem like I am housetrained...could be because I was kept outside. I promised my foster family I would work really hard at learning where to go and how to let them know I need to go.

My foster mom caught a few pictures of me. You can see I like to keep my backside up while I am chewing a bone

 and that Faith 03-087 and Caesar 03-093 thought that my kennel was a lot more appealing than I did.

Do you see me in there?? We will let you know more about me as I become used to life indoors and a life filled with love.

UPDATES:

9/22/03:  Duke continues to amaze us - in fact, we've considered adopting out one of our goldens and keeping Duke!!! We had a terrific weekend with Duke. Friday night was spent playing fetch, mowing the lawn (well, Duke watched us mow the lawn) and wrestling with Otis (our male golden). Duke plays so well with our other two goldens, they sound like big grizzly bears and jump at each other and then some magic word must be said because one of them chases the other around the yard! We then enjoyed a fire in the fireplace and Duke slept at our feet. We have not found a single thing that seems to scare Duke or even make him think twice, he looked at the fire for a second and then ignored it. He is very interested in squirrels, but does not take after chasing them - just stares at them.

Saturday we played in the backyard all morning. In going from the back yard to the front, Duke just follows us everywhere. He does not wander at all; he comes when he is called; and is simply wonderful. He is such a happy boy. He has a thick tail and it is constantly wagging - so be careful !! We went for a long walk which he loved. The three goldens romped along and sniffed everything. Duke loves bones. With us, Duke is sleeping in a room downstairs, and stays in that room while we are gone. Every night we give Duke a bone and he goes right downstairs to his room and we don't hear a peep from him. For a treat, Duke will sit and lay down (with a little coaxing). Overall, he's adjusted better than we could imagine.

Otis seemed a little depressed today when we left and Duke was in another room!!

Here are some pictures we took of Duke after his day at the groomer last week!

9/17/03:  Some family is going to be so lucky to get this boy. Duke arrived at our house on Monday - what a beautiful red golden! He is the complete lover-dog. Duke met our two goldens and it went very smoothly. He even wrestled with our younger male - which was fun to watch!! Duke outweighs him by a bit so he likes to push him around!!

Duke LOVES to be around us, and likes to be pet - which could mean standing with his head against our leg, laying down at our feet, or, if he thinks we haven't pet him enough, gently putting his paw on our leg!! He is so funny! Duke has very good manners; he is housebroken; you can take food or toys away from him without any problem; he comes when he is called, you can poke around his ears, mouth and feet with no problem, he walks well on a leash, but he loves people and dogs so will pull toward them when he sees them. He came with a harness, so we're going to try that tonight.

Duke had a big day yesterday! He went to the groomer and is so clean and handsome now! After the groomer, he went to the park to watch a softball game. Duke was the center of attention for all the kids there, and was so patient with all the kids petting him and talking to him. After that he got to play fetch for a long time and loved it! He is very good at bringing the ball back and drops it when told. Once we got home, he curled up at our feet and watched the Twins game (okay, he didn't watch it, we did! )

More updates to follow!

5/12/03:  Hi everyone it is me again. Well my foster mom says YEAH I did not have one accident in the house today!! I am letting them know when they need to let me out and I go right away. Here I am enjoying my time outside with Caesar 03-093  after we had a walk

I was really jealous because my foster parents would not let me go into the water but Caesar 03-093  and Faith 03-087 got sooo dirty that they had to be hosed down when we got home and I didn't :-) I am really enjoying my freedom and can look for my forever home. I am heartworm positive but I have been treated and if I can just relax for the next month things will be fine. I am allowed to take a walk and play for a short period of time but not to get too overly excited. If you think you can give me all the love and understanding I need please let RAGOM know as I would love to meet you.