Hi everyone, it’s Harley. Mom and Dad told me that today (and every January 20th ever after) is Harley Day at our house. It’s the anniversary of the day I joined the family in 2013. How great is that!?!
It’s been an amazing year. I had thought that I was going to be able to settle in for long naps every day broken only by a short walk or feeding time. Instead I soon found out that I was going to be a working dog. Mom and Dad did Foster Training last April. When they got back they told me that my new title was “Resident Dog” which meant that I was in charge of dog to dog training for new RAGOM dogs that needed to learn how to live the golden life.
My first project was Rainy. She was here to recover from some serious jaw surgery. She didn’t need to learn much but she needed time and space to relax and let her jaw heal. I especially liked helping her clean up the floor of spills from her liquid treats (vanilla yogurt) that she had while she wasn’t allowed to chew solid food. She found a great forever home just 15 miles away from us. Here’s a picture of both of us along with Mom (Rainy is on the right).
After just a few days of R & R it was back to work again. This time I really had my work cut out for me. Dakota was a 9 year old Breeder Girl who knew NOTHING about how to be a dog! Houses, cars, cats, leashes, and walks were all new to her. I even had to show her how to go through doors and up and down stairs. I almost died going up and down the stairs time after time to show her what to do and that it wasn’t scary. Well, anyhow, after a lot of work on my part Mom and Dad took her to the Cities to a great family. We hear from them that she’s doing great and applying a lot of the lessons that I taught her. Here’s a picture of me (on the left) looking at Dakota on her first day here after Dad had given her a bath. You can tell that I looked pretty worried about how big a job this was going to be.
Well they say there’s no rest for the wicked. After a brief “vacation” at my friend Ginny’s while Mom and Dad took a little time off, I now have my current project. Oooof, he’s a LOT of work. His name is Oscar the Golden Doodle. He’s just 2 years old and is a typical teenager – he thinks he knows it all and doesn’t want me to show him anything. One of his front legs doesn’t work so he’s always sort of hopping around (at about 60 mph). We been working on “sit and stay”. I think he wants to do it so bad but his poor butt bounces up and down because he gets so excited and the “stays” are pretty brief. I think I’ll tell Mom and Dad that I think I’m better at working with Senior dogs as he’s just a little too hyper for me. I have to admit though that he has his good side. I like it when he snuggles up next to me on our dog bed for a mid-morning nap.
One of the really fun things I got to do this year (this was my favorite job) was to be a Senior Ambassador at a couple Meet and Greets. I got to wear the official money vest and go around and greet customers who were coming into the Pet Store. That was really fun! I got more pets and treats in two hours than I usually get in weeks. I’m definitely going to ask Mom and Dad if we can do more of those this year!
Well, I’d better go now, before I wear out my welcome on the computer. Here’s my favorite vanity shot of the year. Don’t you think I look pretty good for a guy who just turned 12 in November?
Thanks again for reading about me. I’m sending a special thanks to Kelly S for fostering me and starting me on the road to the Golden Life.
Your Friend Harley
