All is good in Gantryland.

Sol

Let's rewind a bit shall we. This is a picture of Sol. He was my first golden. This picture was taken in 1982, I was 11. Sol was my steadfast friend throughout my childhood and we had many adventures. He was a "neighborhood" dog and everyone loved him (I use the word neighborhood very loosely as I lived on a narrow dirt road out in the boonies). He constantly carried a rock around with him and would never tire of retrieving it. We would amaze people by taking his rock and throwing it far into the woods behind my house. Sometimes it would take him twenty or thirty minutes but he would always come back with it. Some naysayers would doubt that it was the same rock so we painted one one day and hurled it out there. Twenty minutes later he came back with the same rock.
He was extrememly smart and we even won a trophy for obedience. Needless to say I have many stories about Sol and very fond memories of him. He was a good friend to a lonely little kid.
I just thought I'd show some of my past goldens and give a short excerpt about them from time to time.

Gantry and the collar.

So I was asked yesterday if I was going to keep Gantry or should the process to find him a "forever home" begin. I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if I was ready to have another dog. I wasn't sure if I was "over" Tanis and Zak. I wasn't sure if I was in some way "forgetting" them by getting another dog. I was torn.
I told myself that when I started to volunteer that I would be subjective and not take in every one that I fostered. Easier said than done as I have a severe soft spot for goldens. Always have, always will. Gantry's my first foster. If he wasn't diagnosed with mange as originally thought he wouldn't even be here due to my fence not being complete. But he is.
So when I was asked if Gantry was going to stay here I thought about him leaving. Then I was sure.
So Gantry's staying. And with that I gave him his new collar which was originally Zak's but I have passed to Gantry. I made it for Zak when he had his leg removed due to cancer. It was a rough time and making this collar was theuraputic. I made two, one for Zak and then a matching one for Tanis. Originally when Zak passed I thought about different things to do with the collar; framing it and putting it on the wall, making a bracelet out of it that I would wear, something. But nothing really struck me so it has sat next to Tanis' on my dresser for the past two years. So now that Gantry has come along it seems appropriate that Gantry, who reminds me so much of Zak, should have it.

Gantry's chewing habit.

Gantry has a small habit of chewing. Not bad. Not big. Small. He likes socks. He likes small soft things left within reach. Like my favorite hat.
It went missing about a week ago. I searched the house and my jeep for it to no avail. It then dawned on me. Gantry. Checking his kennel I found my old friend crumpled in a wet, slobbery ball near the back. He didn't do a lot of damage to it but my hat (which I've had for about 10 years) was on it's last legs anyway. Gantry just put the finishing move on it. I couldn't really be that mad because it's needed to go for awhile. Okay, the hat's finished. I've moved on.
Today: I get out of the shower to find Gantry lounging on the bed. Cool. He's usually not on the bed by himself but I'm cool with that. Then I see why. He has , in his idle boredom I can only guess, removed the stuffing from my comforter. Okay Gantry, not cool. In his defense the comforter, like my hat, needed to be retired a long time ago. It had a rip in it and I guess that was the invitation Gantry needed to remove the stuffing. It was open right? Again I'm not that bothered, just an excuse to finally get another comforter.
So I'm hyper sensitive now to the sounds Gantry is making such as chewing, cloth ripping, etc... I am continuously checking to see what he has in his mouth. Sometimes it's a bone (good dog), sometimes it's a sock (bad dog).
So about an hour ago I hear him chewing on something that sounds suspiciously not like a bone so I go to check. I catch Gantry chowing down on my Lord of the Rings hard cover, boxed book set which he's chewing on while it's still on the shelf. Okay man, that's where we draw the line. Old stuff that needs to be tossed is one thing but randomly chewing on books, not cool. Maybe it's his way of telling me I'm a huge Lord of the Rings nerd. Maybe but that's not the point, books are definitely not on the list of chewing-allowed items.

Gantry's Favorite Spot

I haven't met a golden yet that doesn't like lying on tile floors.

Gantry's First Bath

I can only assume this is the first bath Gantry has gotten. If his initial condition was any indication of the care he received then it's a safe bet. Gantry endured his first bath in typical golden fashion; stoic and calm (and even though they love the water they act as if baths are some unexplained punishment.)
Well after a week he's looking much better and obviously feeling much better. His temperament has calmed a bit and he's acclimating well. He was around a few other dogs this past weekend and besides a small eating "disagreement" all went smoothly and friendly. He's a very good boy.

I'm amazed.

Well my fears have been abated. Girl (my cat) and Gantry have met and Girl has had almost no reaction to Gantry whatsoever. No hissing, nothing. It wasn't until Gantry actually touched her that she finally turned around and gave him a small hiss. He quickly got the message and he backed off and ever since there has been absolutely no drama. None. Zero. I'm flabbergasted.

For those of you who don't know my cat this is HUGE. She likes no other living thing except me and is quite violent when jacked with. Ever since I've had her (I got her when she barely had her eyes open and bottle-fed her for a few weeks) she's been like that. She wasn't abused and she's been completely pampered her whole life but she has decided that she's a one person cat for some reason. She's depriving herself of a lot of affection because people always want to pet her. Everytime I have new people over I always give them the "Whatever you do, don't pet the white cat" line and inevitably I have the person who thinks they're the cat whisperer and can pet Girl despite my warnings. Multiple lacerations and a bit of blood loss later I get the same old, "HOLY CRAP! YOUR CAT IS MEAN!"

Um yeah, I already said that.

So you now understand the profoundness that Gantry and Girl not only are coexisting but actually (shall I say it) like each other??

It just goes to show that animals have a certain body language, energy(?) that they give off to one another and there are many things communicated that us detached humans can't see. Girl didn't see Gantry as a threat at all even though, at first, he was very curious and went right up to her. He even chased her a bit in the yard and she acted very nonchalant about it(!). She hardly acted this good with Tanis and Zak (my previous guys) and she was around them her whole life. While I was working yesterday I even noticed that they were sleeping not a foot away from each other.

I'm amazed.

Good News.

After visiting the vet again yesterday, it was determined that Gantry does not indeed have mange which is great news! He can now have free reign of the house and is able to be around other animals. We'll see how that goes... (if you know my cat you will know my trepidation).

And out of the darkness came a wooly mammoth...

Gantry's tough to photograph because he wants to be a foot away from me at all times.

Sit.

Gantry officially knows "sit" now. Woo hoo!!

A quick assessment.

I've found out a few things out these past couple of days:
1) Gantry likes to lick. A lot.
2) Gantry knows no commands. (I think he's going to get "sit" real soon though.)
3) He does respond to being addressed, ie: "Hey Gantry, come here dude."
4) Gantry would rather follow you around than take "care of business" while in the yard. I mowed the grass and he followed right behind me.
5) He likes rawhide chews but not rawhide bones.
6) Gantry is a collector. If I put the rawhide bone outside of the kennel he will promptly take it back in the kennel, drop it, then come right back out.
7) He's not an escape artist. He hasn't even tried to leave the kitchen which he is confined to while getting over the mange.
8) He likes tennis balls (big shock there).
9) He is ravenously hungry all the time (another shocker).
10) He is house-broken.

Gantry

Well this is the first post to the GDB. I played with the thought of it and after asking around it was clear that there would be a few people interested in hearing about my experiences with these most awesome critters so here it is.
So let me introduce Gantry, my first foster "kid". I'm volunteering for GRR and one of the main duties is to foster wayward goldens until they can be placed in their new "forever homes". Originally I wasn't going to be allowed to foster younger goldens until I got my fence finished (I am short by about 100 feet on only one side) but due to the fact I don't have any other dogs an exception was made due to the fact this boy has mange.
Last week it was thought that I may be getting a little girl in the same kind of shape but the good samaritan (*good sam) feel in love with her and decided to keep her. Understandable because, as far as cute goes, there's golden retriever puppies then there's everything else.
Well here we have Gantry. He currently has heartworms, sarcoptic mange, an ear infection, and a bum leg (the vet thinks his leg may have been broken and left to heal on it's own). So needless to say he has a relatively long road to recovery ahead of him.
Supposedly his previous owner decided to move and leave him behind to fend for himself. Neighbors took care of him, hoping that the owners would return which, of course, they never did. I really have a hard time understanding why/how someone, in good conscience, could just leave such a cool animal behind. For those that know me, you know I'm not a big fan of the human sense of morality anyway and examples like this just solidify my beliefs.
That all being said, Gantry has a great personality. I was worried there may have been some psychological issues but there are none. He's very laid back and friendly. He just wants to be around people (a strong golden trait) and be showered with affection. He reminds me very, very much of my Zak, one of my previous boys. Gantry has no idea he has won, what I call, the dog lottery. His life may have sucked the first year but he won't be wanting ever again.