Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 22:56:24-0800
Subject: Photos of Goldy
From: Dale and Lorraine
To: Dixie Penner
Hi Dixie,
We thought that you might like to see a few photos of our prized little boy! We haven’t had a lot of practice in emailing photos, so we hope the files aren’t too big.
The first picture is of Lorraine emailing you just after we got Goldy safely to his new home. As you can see, it didn’t take him long to forget about all the stress he endured during the previous 14 hours of that day! He is chewing on a “giraffe chew toy” that we got for him, and for a dog that “never chewed anything apart” when you had him, it didn’t take him long to amputate the giraffe’s tail, one leg and an ear before pulling the stuffing out of the head! Needless to say, he had to surrender his first new toy to us less than ten minutes after getting it.
Photos 2 and 3 are of us attempting to get a “family photo” the next day, but as you can see, we weren’t too successful at getting everyone in perfect poses before the camera’s timer fired the shutter and flash! Hopefully one day we will be able to get a better photo to send to you!
Photo 4 shows Goldy at rest on his new “Designer” mattress bed. At first, be wanted nothing to do with it but the second day I {Dale) managed to get him to finally walk onto it while kneeling on one end and then it was no time before he lay down on it, and there was no looking back! His first night with us we kept him in his crate as we weren’t sure if he had received his “house training 101” diploma or not. Five minutes after “lights out” he started to cry and whine, and it wasn’t long before Lorraine was feeling sorry for him and was settling in to spend the night on the sofa so he could see that he wasn’t alone. Not another peep out of him all night after that! The next day it was apparent that he was indeed capable of letting us know if and when he needs out to go to the bathroom, so after that first night of being shut inside it, his crate door has been left open. He voluntarily spent his second night in his open crate, and he goes in and out of it at various times during the day, but be almost always sleeps on his mattress bed at night. He jumped up onto the sofa after being in the house for only a short time the first night, but a quick but gentle verbal admonishment from both of us at the same time had him bopping off just as quick and with the exception of one more attempt the next day … with similar reactions by us … hasn’t made any more moves since to see if we have changed our minds yet!
Photo 5 is of Goldy on the front deck, where he loves to spend time watching out over his new “Kingdom”. He likes it because he doesn’t have to be tied up as he can’t get off the deck without us letting him back into the house. I had Goldy out with me in the car again today (he loves it) and when we got back home, I just opened the back door and let him out as I had a few things to carry to the house. I was sure that he would stick around after having him out in the parking area and driveway the previous afternoon, letting him run around dragging a long rope attached to his collar while I played with him, keeping the rope within reach at all times should he try to run off. He just headed for the back door of the house like an old pro, much to my delight but then, instead of waiting at the door for me, be continued down the steps on the other side and began sniffing around the other side of the house, where he had never been allowed to go. No problem, or so I though4 as I put the things inside the house, but much to my chagrin as I came back out to call Goldy to me, be decided that it was a good time to go for a run up to the neighbour’s house. The snow has a real crust on it so he was able to run like the wind without falling through, and of course, he ignored my pleas for him to come back! With visions of spending the next few hours trying to get Goldy back home, I headed for the car to try and give chase as houses are far apart around here. I found him still at the neighbour’s house, busily exploring new territory, and when I pulled up and got out and opened the back door and called him to me, he came trotting over and hopped into the car. Of course, the stubborn husky blood in him meant that instead of getting into the back seat like he was supposed to do, he hopped into the driver’s seat instead, but I was so happy to have him back I overlooked his final act of defiance. He can be a stubborn little imp at times, but we love him!
Photo 6 shows Goldy enjoying a chew on his rawhide ring, or what is left of it that is. At first, he didn’t like the rawhide ring but now loves to chew on it from time to time. After a good chew session, he takes it and searches all over the house for a perfect spot to “bury” it whining all the while. He really gets bent out of shape with worry until he gets it hidden. So far he has “dug holes” in a dozen different places, and even put it into his water dish one time, but once he has it safely “hidden” from view, he settles right down. I told Lorraine after I vacuumed the floor the other day that there was more dirt on the floor from all the holes Goldy has dug than there was his dog hair! Speaking of dog hair, that “Furminator” comb really works! Goldy seems to enjoy his brushings with it as much as we enjoy keeping all that hair from getting in the house!
By the way, Lorraine and I were checking the Canada Post website this evening to see if a couple of mailings we had sent away recently were delivered to their respective recipients and noticed that the express post envelope we mailed off to you in care of the Fort Smith Animal Society reached Fort Smith on the 17th, but that it hasn’t been picked up yet from the post office. It has the cheque inside to cover the cost of Goldy’s adoption, his crate and his transportation to Edmonton, plus a little donation, so we were a little concerned that it hasn1t been picked up yet Perhaps you can confirm whether or not someone from the FSAS has picked up the mail recently?
Take care,
Dale and Lorraine