Daisy, The Four Legged Heroine

James Crane worked on the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center.  He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy.  After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an act of love.  She darted away into the darkened hallway.

Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke James was just waiting to die. About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back along with James' boss, who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112.

On her first run of the building, she leads James, James' boss, and about 300 more people out of the doomed building.  But she wasn't through yet, she knew there were others who were trapped.  So, highly against James' wishes she ran back in the building.
 
On her second run, she saved 392 lives.  Again she went back in.  During this run, the building collapses.  James hears about this and falls on his knees into tears.  Against all known odds, Daisy makes it out alive, but this time she is carried by a firefighter.  "She led us right to the people, before she got injured" the fireman explained.
 
Her final run saved another 273 lives.  She suffered acute smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she saved 967 lives.  Daisy is the first civilian Canine to win the Medal of Honor of New York City.

New Moet 2011 Litter Photos

I'm finally starting Facebook albums by litters - Moet's 2011 litter is the first!  These are the most recent photos of Bailey.

Agility Trial Success!!

This past weekend I competed with Moet in a CPE (Canine Performance Events) trial in Portland, ME. We entered 8 classes and earned 8 qualifying scores, 7 of which were 1st and 2nd places!  What that translates into was that my dog was able to shift from  handler or  obstacle focus  as I  asked her to,  and she read  my cues ( that I gave accurately)  with ease.  We had speed,  no faults,  a couple close calls that required more information from me for her to complete her weaves. I played with her  in an exuberant, goofy way following each run  so she learns that a job well done yields fun time with me. She ran joyfully and with confidence,  and we both had a great time  being in the company of the other.

                                                     It just doesn't get much better than this. 

New York Times Article - Wonder Dog

This is an incredible and poignant article  that dramatically illustrates the power of the human/animal bond, in this case, between a boy with autism whose parents were desperate for viable  treatment options  and his beloved golden retriever therapy dog.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/magazine/wonder-dog.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Golden Moments - Sadie, December 2004 litter

One of the most exciting things about having a blog is that I can share anecdotes and photos that I receive from our  sizable  and ever growing golden retriever  family.  I am creating  "Golden Moments", a column of sorts  will highlight and celebrate the life and antics  of beloved goldens present and past.

Bird (Bath) Dog

Bath Day Beauty

Going from the breeder  Mom to the forever Mom.

Sadie is a littermate to our Lucy ( the little red agility dog), born 12/23/04. She and her parents, Joel and Dottie Savilonis, visited with us recently.  Below are photos and  a bit about Sadie provided by her  family.   The “bird (bath) dog” photo has been a favorite of mine for years and  never fails to reduce me to a puddle of laughter.  Enjoy!

  Since the first day home, Sadie has been a wonderful companion to both Dottie and I. She kept us entertained then and still does today. I love the shape of her "Goldie Head"

She loves and demands attention no matter where she goes! Sadie has one Black Lab brother and six cats to play with. Sadie has been caught carrying her favorite cat around and wrestling with it more than once. She is definitely a water dog, a bird lover, and a mush to say the least.

She has traveled across the USA with us and loves the wind in her face.

Sadie is our third Golden, and won't be our last for sure!

2012 Litter Planned!!

 In February 2012 we plan to do a repeat breeding of our Moet ( see her page on the website - Ireigold Champagne at Midnight)  to   Scout ( Crangold the Hunt is On-  photos below), with pups ready for their new  homes toward the end of June. Last year's breeding  yielded rave reviews  and all ten pups are   beautiful, healthy, well tempered, and versatile, as goldens should be. Several will go on to agility and/or therapy dog careers including Piper ( look for her page  on the website),  the promising pup we kept who  is in residence with my daughter, Emily, in Washington.  Keep an eye out for photos of these pups on the blog, or email me and I can send you several directly.

 Scout is a handsome, smart,  easy going and proven sire who comes from a long established and well respected kennel in Vermont.   His pedigree  and that of any of our dogs may be found at K9data.com. He is hip/eye/heart/ elbow clear.  In addition to Piper, he also sired our Lila ( Goldensand the Heat is On) who earned her Canadian championship at age 10 months, is well on her way in agility foundations training, and is among  the most intelligent and charismatic goldens we've had the privilege to own and train. Needless to say, we are especially pleased with our Scout progeny.

We are reserving puppies now and have deposits for three.  Contact us  for more information and to schedule a visit with us.

Camden and Santa