Not the Letter We Were Hoping For

9/30/10 

I got all excited today out by my mailbox. There was a letter from SEGD.  Could this be the letter we have been anxiously waiting for?  The letter that will put an end to the raging hormones running around our house disguised as a dog?  The letter that will save our young sons’ virtue?  The letter that will put Joey one step closer to becoming a real guide dog?  PLEASE, let this be the letter telling us to take him in to be neutered!  I didn’t tear into it like a madman out on the street, I maintained a degree of decorum while I was out where the neighbors could see me.  Once I got in the house, I tore into that envelope like Joey trying to get a treat out of his kong toy. 

I got the letter out and unfolded.  I started to read.  I heard somebody screaming “NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO”!  It may have been me.  My youngest son, Colby, asked me what was wrong.  It must have been me.  I looked at the letter again.  I read it very slowly and carefully, but it still said the same thing.  Joey is being considered for the breeding program.   

Now of course we are very proud that Joey is special enough to be considered to sire offspring for SEGD.  We are happy to do our part in raising him to do what ever they determine is best.  Joey is also very anxious to do his part.  We just have a personal preference to see him actually bring light into somebody’s dark world.  Yea, yea, I know he could help a lot more people by having pups as great as he is, but we are selfish.  We want to see him help just one. 

Congratulations, Big Joe.  You get to keep them for a while longer.

Slip Sliding Away

Joey is so much fun to watch around the house these days.  We have been making a few design changes, one of which, really affects him.  We have removed the carpeting from the living room, dining room, and hall, and installed hardwood flooring.  I think you can picture an energetic six month old puppy, especially one as big as Joey, suddenly deprived of the traction properties of carpeting.  It is almost like the old cartoons, where he runs in place for a few seconds before he actually starts moving.  Now we get to the old physics law that states that an object in motion, stays in motion.  That law is providing a lot of entertainment right now.  We see a big black blur sliding across the floor, appearing to be back-pedaling til it slams into a fixed object.  Non-fixed objects, like Cindy or the boys coming home from work or school, tend to fall over when he slams into them.   
Since we have the new flooring, we have to install new baseboards, which, I have learned, means we have repaint the walls.  Joey just loves to check out that funny smelling stuff in the trays, and since he seems to have his own version of a paint brush, he is spending more time on tiedown or in his kennel.  But then we go out for longer walks while the paint dries, so it all works out OK for Joey. 

BIG JOE

Sep 8
Joey is six months old today.  He is weighing in at 72 lbs, so the size estimates I am seeing on-line are scaring me.  I have looked at different formulas, and they seem to agree that his adult weight will be around 144.  All the websites are very careful to mention that these are only estimates, but it does seem clear to me that we need to start calling him "Big Joe". 
We know that SEGD's goldadores always come from male goldens and female labs, but we have heard that they are considering breeding male goldadors with female labs.  If this happens with Big Joe, I can envision a line of very large dogs.  Probably not in the best interests of SEGD, unless they are planning on creating personal protection guide dogs for blind celebrities and heads of state.  Or, adding a riding stable for the kids after they come for the puppy hugging.  Not to mention the females that would have to carry his pups!
What I am getting to, is that we want to get that letter telling us to get him fixed.  Of course we would be proud if he was eventually selected as a breeder, but we would rather see him fully trained and be somebody's first guide dog.  We want him to change somebody's life.  And, it would be great to put an end to those raging hormones running rampant in our house.  The kids aren't safe getting down on the floor to play with him.  And he wouldn't be so distracted by little miss Ellie, the beautiful nine month old golden in our puppy group.

A New Sheet For the Doggy Bed?

Sep 5
Yesterday was our wedding anniversary and our oldest son cooked a beautiful dinner for us. The table was fully decked out with candles and ------------------------------------- wait for it------------------------------------------------a tablecloth. Everything was great last night, but this morning the tablecloth and candles were still on the table. Joey got very curious about the fabric hanging down and decided that it would be much easier to lay on if it was on the floor. I think it would be very easy to picture what the scene would have been like with a fully set table (and the good china). We were lucky that there was only the candelabra to be knocked over.
I am a little surprised that it took almost four months before Joey saw a tablecloth. But, having two young sons, we very seldom set the table that fancy. The holidays are still months away. And, having the boys, we almost never go to the finer dining establishments where they cover the table instead of just wiping it down.