Gunnar (Trooper 09-486)

back to Memorials

Profile

 

11/28/2009

After just a short while of knowing him since his arrival at his RAGOM foster home, all Foster Dad can say is "Trooper is SUPER!" He is the total package...........a very handsome, muscular, and larger (80#) purebred, up-to-date on all shots, a beautiful longer and darker coat, neutered, microchipped, and recently bathed and clipped. Did I also mention he knows all the basic commands of sit, stay, down, rollover, and shake AND is housetrained? May need some work with the "off" command since he is so happy to meet new people. Best of all, the people who took care of him until RAGOM "came to the rescue" also outfitted him with an Iowa Hawkeyes collar!! Thank you, Michelle, for taking such GReat temporary care of Trooper!

Trooper was found as a stray in Iowa. Such a loss for the family that had raised and trained him!  He has spent the past two weeks with a local dog rescue person who is also an employee at a vet clinic.  He had great treatment and care with her!!  He immediately settled into his new foster home surroundings of two other dogs, four cats, two kids, one fish, and lots of neighborhood dogs. He is 90% GReat with the Gentle Leader, with just a bit of learning to do to automatically sit when the walker stops. He is lousy without it, so you will need a Gentle Leader for him if you want to walk him with no whining, no pulling, no pooping, no peeing. Trooper is at the maximum limit for the "large" size.

Trooper is basically calm, but will need lots of walks, "jobs" to do (like retrieving), and loving attention. If we have him long enough, he will be a wonderful helper for me when ringing the bell at the Salvation Army kettle this year.

Perhaps I am premature in my assessment - it is still early in our knowing each other. Will keep you posted.

 

At a Glance #09-486

Golden Retriever Born: May 2008
Male 80 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

 

11/28/2009

After just a short while of knowing him since his arrival at his RAGOM foster home, all Foster Dad can say is "Trooper is SUPER!" He is the total package...........a very handsome, muscular, and larger (80#) purebred, up-to-date on all shots, a beautiful longer and darker coat, neutered, microchipped, and recently bathed and clipped. Did I also mention he knows all the basic commands of sit, stay, down, rollover, and shake AND is housetrained? May need some work with the "off" command since he is so happy to meet new people. Best of all, the people who took care of him until RAGOM "came to the rescue" also outfitted him with an Iowa Hawkeyes collar!! Thank you, Michelle, for taking such GReat temporary care of Trooper!

Trooper was found as a stray in Iowa. Such a loss for the family that had raised and trained him!  He has spent the past two weeks with a local dog rescue person who is also an employee at a vet clinic.  He had great treatment and care with her!!  He immediately settled into his new foster home surroundings of two other dogs, four cats, two kids, one fish, and lots of neighborhood dogs. He is 90% GReat with the Gentle Leader, with just a bit of learning to do to automatically sit when the walker stops. He is lousy without it, so you will need a Gentle Leader for him if you want to walk him with no whining, no pulling, no pooping, no peeing. Trooper is at the maximum limit for the "large" size.

Trooper is basically calm, but will need lots of walks, "jobs" to do (like retrieving), and loving attention. If we have him long enough, he will be a wonderful helper for me when ringing the bell at the Salvation Army kettle this year.

Perhaps I am premature in my assessment - it is still early in our knowing each other. Will keep you posted.

 

Updates

Sunday, July 3, 2016

RAGOM dog, Gunnar (#09-486), was once a stray dog found in the countryside with no ID tags or microchip when he was about 1-1/2 years old. He came into our home as a foster, but never left. Today he is a community "hero".

For the past 5 years Gunnar has been a registered therapy dog (Pet Partners) with his therapy dog team member/dad Pete.

This summer we were awarded one of four "Hero" Awards by the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Freedom Festival Board of Directors for our volunteer efforts in the community and surrounding areas (schools, libraries, hospitals, hospices, and more). In addition to attending an awards presentation dinner, Gunnar and dad were one of three grand marshals in the 4th of July parade. Gunnar had never been in a parade or a Corvette before, so we dressed him appropriately for both situations (and took precautions so he would not scratch the upholstery or paint job!).

Never underestimate the talents of your RAGOM dog! Gunnar is by far the bigger and better half of our therapy dog team. He has brought more comfort, joy, and smiles to more people in his 5 years as a therapy dog than I ever could by myself in a lifetime! It is a fun activity for all of us.....Gunnar, me, and the people we see.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

We adopted one of our own RAGOM fosters, Gunnar, a.k.a. Trooper, shortly after he came into our home in November, 2009. By shortly, we mean three days. Day One was to pick him up as an unclaimed stray and let him become acclimated to our home of two dogs, four cats, three kids, and two adults. Day Two was to call a family who was on record for a specific type of dog. Day Three was to determine it was not a good match for that family and we knew Gunnar was a perfect fit for our family. Since that time, I have never had to look too far beyond my feet to see where he is. What a GReat companion he has become!

All of this after I repeatedly told my wife we could never adopt one of our many fosters unless one of our own dogs died. To do otherwise would make that foster the LAST foster we would ever have, figuring 3 dogs of our own really did not leave room or attention for any "extras" (fosters) in the house and yard.

There had always been such great pleasure in seeing each of the fosters we had meet their fur-ever families and the reactions of both parties as they met, bonded, and drove away happily together into the sunset. (It has also been wonderful to hear back from many of them as their new family additions settle in and settle down.)

Despite all of that, Gunnar made it an easy decision. We considered him an early Christmas present to the entire family.

By no coincidence, I am sure, one of my Christmas presents was a wall plaque with paw prints that reads "There is always room for one more dog.". The plaque is right, regardless of what I had told my wife before. I was wrong. Because of the joy and love we have experienced with Gunnar as a member our family, we want to continue doing our small part that unites a rescued dog with a fur-ever family so they might experience the same because, after all, "there is always room for one more dog"! 

Dogs will always be man's (everyone's) best friend. Gunnar has become one of ours, and we could not be more happy or thankful.

Bring on the next foster!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Trooper is a great addition to our family.  He gets along great with Maren and Yosi and the cats and will be a wonderful foster brother to the future Ragom goldens who live here.  We thank Ragom for letting us adopt him and wish you all a very merry Christmas.  Trooper's new name is Gunner and he and Maren will be helping Pete ring the bell for the Salvation Army.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

OK, Foster Dad said he would keep you posted on Trooper. Here it is..........

Day 2- Loves to ride in the car and makes himself comfortable in the backseat. Retrieves very well and enthusiastically! Needs some work to curb his premature "fetching" by making him "sit", "mark", and recognizing hand signal directions to blind retrieves. He does return proudly with "game" (tennis ball) in his mouth, sits to present it, gives on command, and loves the whole experience!

Did some pacing in the house after everyone went to bed last night (according to my wife), probably not decided on his best sleeping spot. He had free roam of the house, though, had no accidents, and did not sneak up on any of the four cats while they slept.

Progressed nicely with Gentle Leader and the need to sit when the person walking stops. Also, remained in "stay" position for 5 minutes with foster GR (Maren) by her side while I was 40 feet away. Good dog, Trooper!!  

Loves attention, but knows when to lay down and enjoy the golden life when foster mom or dad are trying to type things on the computer.

"Bottom Line" on Trooper- We have decided our own RAGOM dog, Maren, is most valuable as a foster sister to many future RAGOM dogs instead of just a permanent sister to one. Maren was born to be the perfect foster dog to many of her golden family (she has proved it many times). We will keep it that way until Maren gets older, but Trooper has certainly made that decision a difficult one.