Hello Duke fans
Duke has moved to his forever home in Minneapolis. His forever family has been so kind to update me on
his progress adapting to his new digs. First thing on his list is to win over his new furbutt sister Sunshine
a former Ragom gal 09-381. I'm told he is doing wonderful in that department. I had no doubt in that,as he is
a great dog pal, just ask my resident dogs Charlie & Zoey. They were such pals those three.
Dukers second task was to win over his new Mom & Dad and I would say he has done wonderful in that too.
From reading the words in the E-mails I have received so far I think he has already stolen their hearts. That I can
understand...Duke has such a wonderful personality and a great balance of energy and calmness. He's a happy
boy and is now living the Golden Life. I'm including some of the photos Dukes family sent me in his forever home.
FD & crew are looking forward to a play date in his new yard next spring. Cant wait!
Duke 11-248


Profile
At a Glance #11-248
Golden Retriever | Born: July 2004 |
Male | 65 lbs |
Status: Adopted
Profile
Updates
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Hello Duke fans
Duke and I went to visit a family up the road in Minneapolis Saturday. They recently had to say good by to one of their Golden's. Their remaining Golden "Sunshine" is a little lost with out a dog pal. They have decided Duke should be Sunshine's new pal.
He will have two humans and his new fur butt sister a nice sized fenced yard and all the love he will ever need. A wonderful family!
Duke will be changing zip codes on October 27th. So foster Dad and crew can enjoy Dukers company for another week. Duke and the resident dogs are so fun to watch with their three way playfests,they are like litter mates. FD and crew have already received an invite for a play date next spring in Duke's new yard. Picture is of Duke on critter watch in his new yard. I will give you one more Duke update after he has moved north.
FD
Monday, October 3, 2011
Hello Duke fans
Duke attended todays Ragom event "the great Minnesota pet together" at the state fair grounds. He did wonderful by the way,he was very social. His foster sister Zoey tagged along too. Duke would see someone stop by our booth and he was right out there to greet people. And I was very impressed on how well he did with the under four foot crowd. He would wade into a pile of kids to get petted.
I took him one night to a friends house to talk some NFL one night last week...They no longer have a dog and it showed on how Duke interacted. He was much more reserved than normal. I continue to take him out and try
to expose him to new sights and sounds...The urban landscape as it is. Duke is just more confidant in the company of other dogs...He has lived his life with other dogs around and it shows at times.
He has become just one of the pack here in his foster home...He has been a godsend to foster dad as we deal with the loss of resident dog "Bailey"...He now eats in the kitchen with the resident dogs in Bailey's old spot...But, I told Dukers, I would find him a wonderful family to call his own. Are you a wonderful family for Duke? Contact placement @ Ragom if you are.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Hello Duke fans
Duke attended last weeks Goldzilla and he did wonderful. Duke spent some time at the foster tent and also participated in the foster parade. A highlight of the day for foster dad was meeting his former foster Peaches 10-148 now known as Gabby. At one point I had Duke and Gabby sitting side by side getting petted. Shame there was not someone with a camera handy. And while that reunion was going on another former Ragom dog I spent a lot of time with, Luke 08-248 joined us.
Duke had been doing the free run in the kitchen with foster sister Zoey while I'm away at work until about a week ago. We then started to have an issue. I would come home, open the door and get greeted by the boys, Charlie & Duke...Note that should be Zoey & Duke, as I had a gate up when I left and Charlie & Bailey were on the other side of it? This happened again with the gate knocked flat. I did not want to have the gate get knocked over and fall on my senior gal Bailey who likes to snooze in that area. So starting the next day Duke was by himself behind the gate in kitchen with the other three on the other side of the gate. This has worked fine ever since & FD is convinced he knows who was taking out the gate...That would be resident dog Charlie...I suspect that Zoey & Duke may have been playing a little and Charlie would not be left out on the fun!
We had a very sad day this week. Bailey my senior gal went to the Rainbow Bridge Thursday. She was 13 and a half years old and, as I mentioned above, blind. Duke was very good with Bailey, getting bumped, run into and stepped on a few times. He was great with her and never got annoyed and was always gentle with her. I looked at my photo file and I only found one picture with Duke & Bailey. Bailey is the blond gal snoozing behind Duke. I will include that with this update along with a photo taken of Dukers at Goldzilla by one of our volunteers - thanks Morgan. Duke is really enjoying a pet from a lady who found the best spot while petting Duke. He leaned in and shut his eyes, pure contentment.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Hello Duke fans
Well foster dad has his computer back so time for a Duke update. Not much new to report .
We have left Duke's crate door open with him just baby gated in the kitchen with his pal Zoey
a few times now and all is well when I returned.
Goldzilla is 8 days away and if you were wondering Duke & I are planning to attend,yes. I just filled out
a form that had a space for a short & concise write up on my foster boy. Short & concise is not one
of FD strengths. However I will paste it here as a good review on Dukers.
Facts :7y/o male Golden,69lbs,neutered,fence preferred,cats OK,kids yes, older kids 10 and older lets say.
House trained yes,any medical needs no.
What other things do you want people to know about your foster dog?
Crate trained,respects baby gates and is fine with a full work day.
Needs a medium or large dog pal or two in his future home.
Can be timid at times with new situations.
Calm in the house,not much of a barker. Sleeps on a dog bed at night in my bedroom. Has free run of the house when I'm home. Gated or crated in my kitchen when I'm away.
Really enjoys to play/wrestle with the two 7y/o resident dogs in his foster home.
He is good with my 13 y/o blind senior Golden.
He will keep your back yard critter free.
Duke is a very sweet & loving dog and will steal your heart. He so appreciates any kindness you show him.
That's all for now fans. If you would like to meet Duke before Goldzilla contact placement.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Hello Duke fans.
Well Duke had a busy weekend and did some new things. Duke found out other people besides FD have treats they want to hand out. It started with a friendly letter carrier went on with a car ride to foster grandma's and ended with a stop at neighbors. We also had Dukers meet a cat this week end. A very savvy feline who has "cat tested" many a Ragom dog. Duke passed after giving some sniffs the cat wandered off. Duke also met the resident dogs at the foster home Maggie & Jayden. Duke was much less of a shy boy once Maggie & Jayden joined us and was quite comfy.
Duke has been going out and visiting some of the local pet food stores both solo and with one of his foster siblings along. His encounter a first I think with a linoleum floor was interesting. He acted like he was on glare ice but was OK after a time. We met a few kids as we walked around too. He stopped to sniff and got one pet from a lil girl. We did not really get to interact really but he was calm. Duke had a cute reaction to the TV being turned on too for the first time. He has taken to making close observation of my kitchen counter tops paws up and a good look around. I don't leave any thing tasty out so no problems. I'm not sure if he looking to score a snack or just curious.
We had a little thunder & lightning last night. Duke was laying next to me when he just got up and walked out of
the room? I peeked around corners and into his crate he went. He is making use of a plastic style dog crate at my home. It may be he is fine with free run of the house but its nice to just leave the crate door open in case he wants to go in there.
Dukers will be attending his first Ragom event this Saturday at the Eden Prairie PetSmart. We will be there appox
11:30 till -1 pm if Duke is ok with that. I may have foster sister Zoey tag along too depending on how many dogs are coming. Duke and I already checked out the store this week its very nice. I will bring some treats along and you can see he takes them gentle. Come meet this sweet boy. FD
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Hi Duke fans.
Well we learned a lot more about Duke this week. I still don't have all the answers. but we are getting a few of the blanks filled in as we get to spend more time with him.
As far as what Duke would need or want in a forever home. I still have not kid tested him but he does startle easy from time to time so I think he might be best off with older children let say perhaps 10 years of age and up might be best. I miss my old neighbors two doors over, the kids always wanted to come over and meet the new dog. I will keep you posted as I get more info.
Duke would love to be your second or third or forth dog. He so enjoys having a dog pal. Oh... and I have had to be the fun police all week, because he's feeling fine and has bonded with his pack mates. This boy loves to play with his dog pals. He and my resident dog Zoey really like to wrestle and chew on each other. But he is still healing up from his neuter so I have to put a stop to their fun. What's really makes me smile he also wants to play with my Charlie boy now too. In fact he has jumped in when my two are playing with the idea three's not too many in his book. He has figured out that Baileys play days are behind her and he does not pester her. I think he needs a well adjusted medium to large dog in his forever home for him to thrive. He's not all play he still likes to pull up some floor and just take it easy too. As I type this update Duke & Charlie are laying next to each other on the floor,my Velcro boys.
Cat test is this week I hope. I have an offer from another Ragom foster here in Richfield, so I will report back on that. Duke does have a prey drive as far as the neighborhood wild life is concerned. Pesky wabbitts & squirrels beware there's a new kid in town. He was reported ok with cats at his former digs, but I want to see for myself before I report it to his fans. As they said he was fine with storms and we know that's not 100% correct. Speaking of storms we had an overnight thunderstorm. He's nervous is the way I would describe it. He pants, he came over close up to make sure I was warned it was storming. I decided since I was awake I would go get a glass of water & Duke stayed right with me to the kitchen. Flash-boom and Duke retreated to his crate so that is a safe place in his mind to ride out the storm. I decided to go back to bed and he followed me back to the bedroom. I turned on the fan for a little white noise and the next thing I knew it was morning & Duke was laying right below me. It was not as bad as the storm a week ago. Oh he sleeps in the bedroom now with me and the resident dogs and has tried two of the three dog beds with no clear favorite yet.
Duke did get a mid day potty break most days last week but we did do a full workday last Thursday with out an issue. I do limit his access to water during the day when I'm gone. He crates well and I leave his pal Zoey gated in the kitchen with him. I will start to see as time permits if the crate door needs to be shut or not? Dukes primary walking pal is foster brother Charlie I thought it was good bonding for the boys too. Duke does not pull much at all but he does switch sides and slow down with out warning and I have been using a gentle leader with no complaint by him at all. In my next report a lot more on Duke and some of the things I have been doing with him to make up for some of the stuff he has had little exposure to with the goal that he is not such a shy boy. Warning this shy boy will steal your heart. FD