# Share Your Golden Memories



## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

I thought it would be nice to start a thread where we can post our funny memories of our bridge pups. I've been reading alot of posts recently that have reminded me so much of some of the things that Barnaby used to do!. 

One memory of mine that makes me smile is when Barnaby dug three large holes in our garden, in the end they were almost tunnels, we gave them the names Tom, Dick and Harry after the film The Great Escape!. My number husband would often ask 'where's Barnaby' and I'd answer 'He's working on Tom' etc. 

Look forward to hearing all your golden memories.


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

My Lily was an inveterate roller after a swim. One day, with her usual enthusiasm, she was rolling vigorously when she disappeared. I couldn't see or hear her, then realised she'd fallen in a little washaway. It was exactly her width, her length and just high enough to hide her legs. Neither of us could workout how to get her out. I couldn't just pull on her legs because of her deformed back. In the end, I had to dig her out.
But I'll never forget that look of astonishment on her face when I found her.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

When Bayleigh was just over nine she decided she no longer loved running with me. On our last run together she stopped & plopped in my neighbors grass. I tried to get her to come, even if it was just to walk home- she wasn't budging. My neighbor came out & said she'd sit with her.. I continued to run & each time I'd circle her she'd stand up, bark at me, and wag her tail.. I swear she was saying good job mom.. She'd often come with me running after.. But only to walk to the neighbors yard and cheer her mom on. 

Man, I miss that girl.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

I always miss Jake knowing it was dinner time. He would do a circle and dance and say it's time for dinner at about five o'clock every day.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

Kalhayd said:


> When Bayleigh was just over nine she decided she no longer loved running with me. On our last run together she stopped & plopped in my neighbors grass. I tried to get her to come, even if it was just to walk home- she wasn't budging. My neighbor came out & said she'd sit with her.. I continued to run & each time I'd circle her she'd stand up, bark at me, and wag her tail.. I swear she was saying good job mom.. She'd often come with me running after.. But only to walk to the neighbors yard and cheer her mom on.
> 
> Man, I miss that girl.


That is so cute.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I guess mine will be spread out as I have so many. Our first golden was Scooter. He actually belonged to our son who got the pup to train as a duck dog. I had helped my dad train quail dogs, but never worked with a duck retriever---but I would say I must have done it right because Scooter was retrieving at 6 months. He had a "soft mouth" and never ruffled a feather of a duck, dead or alive.

Scooter loved to hun and if he so much as saw Ron take his shotgun off the gun rack to clean it , etc, or sa Ron in camos, he was on his toenails dancing around. About 2 miles before our cut off to get down to where we parked and walked to the blind, Scooter would start whining He was NEVER allowed in the back of the truck, always inside with us or Ron if I didn't go. Didn't matter how wet and muddy, he was on the inside..

I think it was the year he was 3, it was the next to last day of season and a weekend which Ron had off. I didn't go that Saturday, and Ron had been gone a couple of hours and he came home in a panic. Scooter had cut his leg on the side right above his foot and it was pouring blood. We got him inside and in the tub, leaving blood everywhere and got the mud and salt water off him and I could tell it was a pretty deep cut. However, the vet decided not to stitch it up, but to keep it tightly bandaged. He said that where it was located, he would be pulling the stitches loose when he walked.

Okay, Ron had killed 99 ducks that year and he wanted so badly to get 100+ and only had that one day to get them. But he refused to go because he knew it would break Scooter's heart if he went with him. So he didn't go. By the way, Ron registered him with the simple My Huntin' Buddy.

Scooter adored Ron so much and when Ron was at work, Scooter had to carry around an article of Ron's clothing--shirt, sock, and once in a while he managed to get a pair of underwire. And when Ron was on graveyard, Scooter slept with me & my husband when he was home (cross county trucker) and he always had to have something of Ron's in bed with us.

Sadly Scooter dropped dead of a heart attack 2 months after his 5th birthday in 1999, and my son has never gotten another duck dog.

This is Ron with Scooter the day he got him, Ron with Scooter after a hunt--Scooter was 7 months old, and I hope the one is of of Scooter with a pair of Ron's jeans (vision to bad, couldn't tell for sure) and then one of Scooter coming back to the blind with a live Pintail. Scooter was 6 months old. Ron had known down two and he went after one and Scooter after the other. The one Ron was after managed to get up and fly off, but Scooter got his.


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

I love these stories, thank you everyone for sharing!

Our Bailey - our first Golden ever - was a handful. I had raised 2 puppies before he came to us - both mutts, both so different than a crazy Golden puppy.

We found a local trainer who handled obedience/agility champion Goldens and took him there for help. She was amazing teaching us how to get through to him - we called him the ADD dog because he certainly couldn't focus. We repeated Obedience I maybe 4 or 5 times before we bumped up to the second tier class, we never had any plans to do any type of obedience trials with him, we trained for fun and to build his confidence. He was a puppy mill puppy rescue and he was clearly the product of "bad" breeding. 

One night once we finally made it to advanced, Bailey broke his off lead "down stay"... ran up and down the length of the class room building twice before running into the gallery of watchers and plopped himself on the feet of one of the other "Dads" watching his dog in class with his back to him so he was facing the class... one leg "frogged" out, tongue hanging out of his mouth to the side with a "what???" expression on his face. Literally sitting on this guys feet - the whole building erupted into laughter despite our best efforts not too. All the other pet parents had known Bailey for more than a year at that point and knew what a nut he was... I composed myself as quickly as I could and fetched him off the poor guy's feet. 

Then when he took his CGC/TDI test I had to leave him with the instructor for 4 or 5 minutes I think. They had you go into the gallery and stand behind a curtain. One minute goes by, so far so good then the entire crowd goes "awwwwwwww" and I panic. A woman in the crowd looks over and sees my face and says "no it's OK, it's good". Those next few minutes are an eternity...

The instructor knelt down to shuffle her paperwork on the floor and Bailey had gone over and sat down gently on her bent knee giving everyone a huge "squeee" for the day. 

He was a sweet, sweet boy. He will always be missed. 

You mean this isn't how you use a bed?


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## LynnC (Nov 14, 2015)

This is too funny because I've been very sentimental this week anticipating my youngest son's upcoming wedding next weekend. Looking through old pictures I came across this one of our first golden Bones. She was our first family pet and the love of our lives. We got her in 1986 when my oldest son was 7, my middle son 2 and I was pregnant with my youngest son. I'm going to blame it on my hormones but my sons had BEGGED us to get a dog. I read in a local newspaper that a woman in the next town was selling golden puppies. I told my husband I would just go look and of course came home with a puppy. I sometimes say it's a miracle how well behaved she was because looking back I swear I practically just put her in the middle of the living room and said here's your puppy!! I did go to one puppy kindergarten class with her but thats it!! Especially once the 3rd baby came I had no time for anything. The boys absolutely loved Bones and she was always right by their side. She played with them, cried with them, sat in the corner with them, ate with them, slept with them, trick or treated and I could go on and on. She was the most patient, loving dog and taught them so much. She mostly taught them about unconditional love. For this I will be forever grateful. 
Each of my sons now have their own dogs (rescue dogs) and I'm on my 4th golden Luna. I can't even imagine what my children lives would have been like without Bones, Harley or Cosmo.
Here's a picture of my youngest son napping with/on Bones .
Love & Miss you Bones.
I need to go get a tissue now .


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

Awww me too!!!

I grew up with English Setters and agree with everything you said about what dogs teach kids and how they are there for them side by side!

All such great stories! 

Our Blossom - 2nd Golden, first adult rescue dog I ever had was literally a perfect dog. She had been given up to the local shelter by her family because the new baby had "allergies". She clearly wasn't abused but we felt she was neglected...had a few mats - nails way too long. We were so lucky to get her. The one funny quirk she had was not liking her feet off the floor - unless she gave you her paw. You couldn't pick up her foot and cut her nails, but if you asked for her paw first then you could. Our joke with her was "girl paws on the floor!". Very proper that girl lol... she always laid with her front paws crossed as well. She was so well behaved until it snowed! Then he turned into a maniac! She stole my glove once and ran around the yard like a nut with it and refused to drop it or give it back. The only time she "misbehaved" was in the snow. 

Miss her to the moon and back.


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Thank you for sharing your golden memories, I'm enjoying them so much, what special characters they all have.


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

And then there is my sweet Monkey Belle.

I still can't believe I have to talk about her in the past tense. It still doesn't seem real that she isn't here. 

She got the nickname Monkey on her first day home - she mirrored everything Bailey did... it was so cute, his little mini-me. 

She would go NUTS - completely insane - over the "woo hoo" song... you know the one - for a while when she was a puppy it was everywhere... commercials, tv shows "woo hoo, woooo hoooo hooo". She could be fast asleep and if that song came on (and it was part of very popular ad campaign so it was on a lot) she would jump up, grab a toy and start "singing" and wiggling like crazy. It was adorable, hysterical and sometimes a little bit of a problem because she would get so excited she would pee!

No matter what she was doing, that song came on and she would look at the tv, get up, grab a toy and sing and wiggle... she never stopped doing it... you could "woo hoo" at her and as long as you did it like the song, her reaction was the same. Fortunately she grew out of the excited pee part but she never out grew her "woo hoo" dance. 

We never saw the cancer coming with any of the ones we lost to it. Blossom we had several hours with to say goodbye, but right up until she didn't get out of bed in the morning she never showed a sign. Bailey either, he was zooming 1.5 hours before he collapsed... we had a shorter amount of time with him to say goodbye. Belle we had no time... collapsed on the floor and was gone, a beautiful candle blown out.


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

Goldie was a rescue who came into our lives when we adopted her for my father after my mom had passed away. Goldie lived with my dad for several years until he died of cancer (with Goldie at his side). She then came to live with my husband and me. From the beginning it was clear that Goldie was a dog unlike any other we had had. She really did not consider herself a dog but rather a hairy human lacking oposeable thumbs. It wasn't that she did not like other dogs, she did. She just didn't conIsider herself one of them and we would often observe her with a very puzzled expression on her face while watching our other dogs. Almost as if she was thinking, "They are awfully cute but I just don't understand them." Back when I used to take the dogs to the dog park Goldie would go along. She never played with the other dogs. She preferred to sit at the picnic table with the "dog parents" and watch the dogs play. She was a favorite at the park with the other "parents" because of her calm and quiet way. One day a new woman showed up with her small dog. Not sure what breed it was but it was fluffy, tiny and small enough to fit in a purse. Hence I nicknamed it "pocket dog". Pocket dog's owner took an immediate dislike to Goldie, demanding to know "What the $#&× is wrong with your dog? Is she too stupid to play with other dogs?" Not wanting to interact with this woman I mumbled something about Goldie not really thinking she was a dog and left it at that. I continued to keep an eye on my other two dogs (who were playing) and chatted with other "dog parents". All of a sudden the owner of pocket dog flew to her dog screaming at it and began to hit it. Before any of the "dog parents" could react Goldie flew into action. I have never seen a dog move as quickly as Goldie did that day. She ran at the woman, tackled her and knocked her to the ground. Then she placed herself between the woman and her pocket dog. The expression on Goldie's face was one which clearly said, "You will NOT hit this dog again". She did not bite, she did not threaten the woman in any way. She simply sat watch over the pocket dog. Now by this time all of the other dog's had seen that there was a human on the ground and, as dogs are prone to do, they all assumed that the human was on the ground to play with them so they did what dogs do best. With their very muddy paws and bodies they all playfully piled on the woman. She, of course began to scream obscenities and swat at the dogs. The dog parents immediately removed their dogs which allowed her to stand. I called Goldie, who reluctantly returned to my side. This allowed the owner to scoop up pocket dog and storm off yelling that she would never return as all of us and our dogs were !#@& crazy. Goldie became something of a legend that day. My sweet, gentle therapy dog who did not consider herself a dog became the Guardian of the dogs at the dog park. We stopped going to the park eventually but I still see people I had met there and I am told that they still tell the story of Goldie protecting the pocket dog. Yup. She was special and I miss her every single day.


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

That is so amazing!!!! What a wonderful dog!!! "The Legend of Goldie" love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Parker16 (May 30, 2016)

What an amazing story! Goldie is indeed a human on 4 legs  I'm in awe of her personality although I've never met her. I so wish I had...

I really enjoyed reading all the stories here!



G-bear said:


> Goldie was a rescue who came into our lives when we adopted her for my father after my mom had passed away. Goldie lived with my dad for several years until he died of cancer (with Goldie at his side). She then came to live with my husband and me. From the beginning it was clear that Goldie was a dog unlike any other we had had. She really did not consider herself a dog but rather a hairy human lacking oposeable thumbs. It wasn't that she did not like other dogs, she did. She just didn't conIsider herself one of them and we would often observe her with a very puzzled expression on her face while watching our other dogs. Almost as if she was thinking, "They are awfully cute but I just don't understand them." Back when I used to take the dogs to the dog park Goldie would go along. She never played with the other dogs. She preferred to sit at the picnic table with the "dog parents" and watch the dogs play. She was a favorite at the park with the other "parents" because of her calm and quiet way. One day a new woman showed up with her small dog. Not sure what breed it was but it was fluffy, tiny and small enough to fit in a purse. Hence I nicknamed it "pocket dog". Pocket dog's owner took an immediate dislike to Goldie, demanding to know "What the $#&× is wrong with your dog? Is she too stupid to play with other dogs?" Not wanting to interact with this woman I mumbled something about Goldie not really thinking she was a dog and left it at that. I continued to keep an eye on my other two dogs (who were playing) and chatted with other "dog parents". All of a sudden the owner of pocket dog flew to her dog screaming at it and began to hit it. Before any of the "dog parents" could react Goldie flew into action. I have never seen a dog move as quickly as Goldie did that day. She ran at the woman, tackled her and knocked her to the ground. Then she placed herself between the woman and her pocket dog. The expression on Goldie's face was one which clearly said, "You will NOT hit this dog again". She did not bite, she did not threaten the woman in any way. She simply sat watch over the pocket dog. Now by this time all of the other dog's had seen that there was a human on the ground and, as dogs are prone to do, they all assumed that the human was on the ground to play with them so they did what dogs do best. With their very muddy paws and bodies they all playfully piled on the woman. She, of course began to scream obscenities and swat at the dogs. The dog parents immediately removed their dogs which allowed her to stand. I called Goldie, who reluctantly returned to my side. This allowed the owner to scoop up pocket dog and storm off yelling that she would never return as all of us and our dogs were !#@& crazy. Goldie became something of a legend that day. My sweet, gentle therapy dog who did not consider herself a dog became the Guardian of the dogs at the dog park. We stopped going to the park eventually but I still see people I had met there and I am told that they still tell the story of Goldie protecting the pocket dog. Yup. She was special and I miss her every single day.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

My beloved bridge girl Yaichi was a challenge.

She was pretty much nervous "Nellie" all of her life which resulted in us only being able to walk a couple of familiar routes, she would get spooked if someone left something on the curb that wasn't there the day before etc.

The one thing she absolutely loved was going in the car, so she went almost everywhere I could take her with me everyday.

Early on, she figured out that I always took a purse with me, when we went out. She would go get my purse, bring it to me and coax me with a "let's go" and/or she would get my purse and keep it so that I couldn't go out or that she wouldn't miss me doing so.. The problem with this was, that she was leaving teeth marks in my leather purses and ruining them, so I had to come up with another idea...I bought Yaichi her own purse.

From that day on, I would get my purse, I would tell her to get hers and off we would go. 

She loved that purse and took it everywhere with her. 

I still have her purse, which sits by her urn, her collar and her picture. I miss you my special girl!


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## Parker16 (May 30, 2016)

I love it! This made me teary...you must miss Yaichi so much. 



Yaichi's Mom said:


> My beloved bridge girl Yaichi was a challenge.
> 
> She was pretty much nervous "Nellie" all of her life which resulted in us only being able to walk a couple of familiar routes, she would get spooked if someone left something on the curb that wasn't there the day before etc.
> 
> ...


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I love the photos of Yaichi with her purse! That is so sweet (and smart) to figure out that you didn't go in the car without your purse. And to then bring along her own...what a sweet story. And Yaichi was a beautiful girl. All of our bridge kids are so very special and it is no wonder that they all continue to hold such a special place in our hearts.


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Yaichi's Mom said:


> My beloved bridge girl Yaichi was a challenge.
> 
> She was pretty much nervous "Nellie" all of her life which resulted in us only being able to walk a couple of familiar routes, she would get spooked if someone left something on the curb that wasn't there the day before etc.
> 
> ...


You made me cry, at work. Oh, what an amazingly special girl!


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Tears here also, Yaichi sounds like such a precious girl. Thanks everyone for sharing your lovely stories.


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## smp (Apr 27, 2016)

Great idea. When I was deployed with the Navy, our Maggie would keep my pregnant wife company - often laying with her head on her big belly. Those were some of the best photos I got when I was away. One time though my wife sent an email saying they were walking in the trails by our house and she found a wounded bird in the middle of the trail. Before my wife could grab the leash, off Maggie went, grabbed the bird and took off at a full sprint (highly unusual for her). My wife, 9 mos pregnant, had no chance keeping up. She jogged out to the neighborhood and Maggie was nowhere in sight! Just then a strange man in a car saw my wife standing there crying and he offered her a ride. She accepted!! Luckily, he was a nice man and drove her around the neighborhood looking for Maggie. They finally gave up and when she went home, guess who was on the front porch...Maggie of course! She was sitting, staring at the front door, with the bird still gently in her mouth and her tail wagging a mile a minute. Not looking at my wife, but intent on the door. My wife said it was obvious she was hoping I would come out of the house since she had done the most golden thing ever by retrieving a bird for me. When I finally did come home after being gone for 6 months...well, words can't describe that reunion. We were both blubbering fools. She whined like she was a puppy on her first night at home and just couldn't get close enough to me. I can still feel her pressing the side of her face into my chest...


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