Sponsored by: Carol A. 

This handsome devil is Beckett, the senior statesman of the Bismarck puppy mill bunch. Beckett is a spry, 9-year-old purebred Golden Retriever with a thick, curly medium red-gold coat and silky blond feathering. And though he comes from deplorable conditions, there is still a sunny Golden personality shining through it all.

Rescue workers who unloaded Beckett from his crate after the trip from ND said that he came out wagging his tail and licking them on the face.  "This one is special," they said. And he is. He was quiet and calm when volunteers gave him his bath that first night, washing off the stink. He walked nicely on a leash, crated up with just a little urging, and waited patiently alone in my car while I finished up the foster paperwork.

When I got him home, my resident dog Chaz, age 3, started bouncing off the walls with joy to see another dog in the house. He wanted to play immediately, even though Beckett clearly wasn't interested. After Chaz ignored the older dog's warning growls and kept getting in his face, Beckett decided that physical discipline was necessary, and the two dogs went at it--for about 1.5 seconds. When I shouted "KNOCK IT OFF!" they both sat down and blinked innocently.

As an intact male, Beckett has some issues that will need work. He started marking inside the house as soon as he entered. He isn't housebroken, so that will be our first order of business. Neutering should reduce his urge to mark.

And speaking of neutering, the studly Beckett can start singing "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," because he'll be going in for a snip at the first available appointment.

Now let me tell you about the many pleasant surprises I've gotten in the half day I've known Beckett.  He has no problem on stairs. He's not afraid of doors—not even the loud overhead garage door when it opens and closes. So far so good with the cats, but I'm not sure he's really gotten a good look at them yet.

He loves to be brushed!  I spent 90 minutes this morning brushing out burrs and dreadlocks, trimming excess toe hair and clipping his nails. He has a thick, thick undercoat, no doubt from living outside during the winter. I brushed out hank after hank of it (and we're just now getting into spring.  The worst is yet to come!).  He seemed a little bewildered at first but quickly realized that this feels good!  By the end of our little spa session, he was even going belly up for me and letting me brush out his tail and butt feathers.  Good boy!

But what tickled me most was Beckett's reaction when I started tossing around Chaz's football. Beckett's eyes lit up and he started bouncing like a puppy.  He LOVES to chase the football and carry it around. He doesn't retrieve--yet--but I'll bet it's in his blood and it would just be a matter of training.

When I added Chaz to the game, Beckett stiffened up and gave him a look, so he's not ready yet to play with another dog.  But he sure loves a one-on-one game of catch with a human.  What an amazing thing to learn about a puppy mill dog

Beckett is a real gem with just a few rough edges to polish. He's smart, so I think he'll be easy to train. And he genuinely seems to love meeting people. As I write this, it's been just over 24 hours since Beckett was sprung from the puppy mill, so everything is new and he's still a little stressed. But I think he'll settle down quickly when he realizes how good this new life really is. "Petting is good. Brushing is good.  Ball is good. People are good." Maybe even "Chaz is good"--we'll see.

This is the chain that was cut off Beckett's neck last night. It's all that's left of the bad old days for this handsome gentleman Golden. So welcome to Minnesota, Beckett. This is the first day of the best of your life.