The dog days of summer are fast approaching. During this warmest time of the year, most people and dogs enjoy cooling off by a pond, lake, river, or ocean. Some may even have a pool in the backyard. I used to think all dogs naturally liked to swim, but through the years I’ve learned this […]
In honor of Franklin’s 9th birthday, and the start of summer, I’ve decided to post another chapter from his “work in progress”, Everyone Loves Franklin. This is the story of his first swim at a beach on Cape Cod not long after he joined our family. Franklin’s First Swim at the Beach Now […]
We’re all aware of the usual things that our canine companions do for us, like offering unconditional love with a side of goofiness. But a few special working dogs go above and beyond, providing specific help for some of life’s toughest challenges. In my case, I’ve been fortunate to be served by four hearing-assistance Golden […]
Hello dear reader. My name is Benjamin Franklin. Yes, that’s honestly my full name. I’m sure you’ve all heard it before. And it’s true, I am named after our early forefather. But you can just call me Franklin. I am an extremely handsome and incredibly intelligent cream-colored Golden Retriever. This might sound decidedly immodest. But, […]
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It wasn’t until I was 24 and living in San Francisco that I got to experience the joy that a puppy brings. It was just before Christmas when my partner Rick and I picked up the runt of a litter of my friend’s Golden Retriever. We brought the little guy home in a shoe box […]
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I still remember the day I took my first Golden, Nicholas, to visit my alma mater, the University of San Francisco. As I snapped a photo of him with my old graduation cap atop his head I thought about how important his own education would be. And for dogs, that means good training. Before making […]
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Back in the 1700’s Christmas was known for a time of excess drinking, disorder, begging, misrule and chambering. It was a time when social roles were reversed. The workers told the bosses what to do. The servants acted like the masters. Men dressed like women and women dressed and acted like men. Often people darkened […]
I had never rescued a dog before but friends of mine had and they seemed very happy with their new furry adoptees. So when the great Recession hit in the mid-2000s, and foreclosures were widespread with people abandoning their dogs, I decided it was time to pay back the Golden breed for all they had […]
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My sweet Goldens Franklin and Morgan will always be indelibly linked to one another. James and I were deep in distress after we lost our boy Morgan, a year ago February. We really didn’t know how to move forward. Morgan had been unable to walk for the last year and a half of his life. […]
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It hardly seems like a year since Morgan left us. On February 12th at 3 am in the morning, while lying next to me in bed, he took his last breath. I have thought about him every day since. Some evenings when I go to sleep, I recall that night. He was having difficulty breathing […]
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