Ivy was a great mother!

I am overwhelmed with emotion today. We had to put Ivy to sleep. Ivy was the mother to many wonderful puppies, and when she retired, she lived at the Nursing Home in Litchfield. She was loved by so many residents. She was the perfect dog. She was so calm and sweet. Many people in town would comment on what a difference Ivy made at the home. This week end the staff called to say Ivy was not well. I picked her up and could see as the days went by, she was getting very uncomfortable. This morning I took her to the vet and he said she had a large mass on her spleen, making every movement painful. She was almost eleven years old. I brought Ivy back to the Nursing Home to say good bye to all the wonderful people who loved her. It was so sad. I questioned whether we had made the right choice to let Ivy live there. As I thought about it, I realized what a gift she had been to those people, and as hard as it is to say good-bye, there were two and a half years of joy and happiness. I don’t regret it. As the vet gave her the shot, I told her how much I loved her. Her entire life, all she knew was love. It is so hard to let go of such a sweet, wonderful dog. I just feel so very, very sad that Ivy is gone. She is a treasure, and I will never forget her.

Hi Barb, I was looking at your website and I realized I haven’t sent you pictures of Dakota (Captain & Ivy April ’08) in awhile. She turned 2 yrs. old this past April! Its amazing how fast time flies by. It just seems like yesterday I brought home this tiny little puppy that I could pick up without any effort! I remember looking at all the other adult dogs on your website and thinking it was so far away that my little puppy would grow up into an adult.

I get such wonderful compliments on her color and her looks; whether it be at the groomer, going for walks, from the vet, or from friends and family. Everyone says how well behaved she is. It just makes me feel like such a proud owner when I hear things like that, and it reminds me how she got such a great start when she was a puppy from you and your family. I can’t stress enough what wonderful things your family does for these puppies and I know how much work you put into them.

As you can see in her picture she LOVES to play with other dogs. We had a doggie play date the other day. All 3 of them have their tongues hanging out from a long day of playing! You have no idea how hard it was to get all 3 of them to sit and look at the camera! In the other picture you can see she likes to help herself to our bonfire wood – even if it is a log! And the last one was from this past winter during our Christmas day blizzard. Thank you for everything you and your family does! You do an amazing job!
Erin

Hey Barb!
Our whole family is loving having two dogs! They are getting along great and love to wrestle and play tug-a-war. Scout is from Ivy/Banner ’03 and Bailey is from Emmy/Captain ’10. Both dogs go to all of our sports events with our family. They are always swamped by kids and parents the second we get there, wanting to pet them. Everyone loves them! We have made sure that Scout has been getting as much attention as Bailey. Both dogs are so much alike. They both love people, toys, food and the dishwasher. Thanks so much for giving us so much happiness and two gorgeous dogs.
-Meghan (13)

Hello Barb!

Wanted to share with you some new photos of Belle (Ivy and Banner Dec 2006).

Belle is doing wonderfully and is such a good dog! We couldn’t be happier with her and her temperament. Everyone who meets her loves her. Belle has many many friends in the neighborhood who come to visit her each day. Every time I look out the window when she is outside I see someone who has stopped to greet her or play with her, this includes other dogs. kids and adults. The neighbor kids often take her across the street to the park while they play lacrosse, football etc so she can run with them. She loves it of course!

As you can see from the pictures- Belle and our daughter Natalie are truly best buddies! Natalie just turned two and has taken over feeding Belle. She makes sure that Belle gets her breakfast and dinner everyday Natalie also got a big girl bed recently and Belle is pleased as now it is easier to snuggle!

The fourth picture is what we call her “alligator” pose. She lays like that all the time and we always think she looks like an alligator laying around the house. She has always been a pretty big girl but she did put on some winter weight that we are working on taking off now that spring is here. Everybody comments on her size as she is a very big dog but we couldn’t imagine her any other way We affectionately call her our ” big yellow moose”.

Take care, we hope all is well!

Chad and Jamie

Hi Barb- Sorry we haven’t checked in for so long! Hilde is doing really well. (Ivy/Captain pup) She is a happy, happy girl. She is really well behaved and seems to almost anticipate commands before I give them. In this picture she had spent the weekend snow shoeing, going to the park and out and about around town. She loves to go with us when we do errands on the weekend. She LOVES to go to Chuck and Don’s the pet store. She often gets treats and always gets lots of love. When Hilde is the most tired and really wants to sleep she settles in on the corner of the couch with the pillows as shown in the picture. Good thing the couch is Golden Retriever colored! -Amy and Ray

Hi Barb!
I hope that all is going well with you and your family. I had to share a few photos of Dakota (Ivy’s April ’08 litter) with you. My neighbor got such a kick out of her while I was trying to rake the leaves in my yard. Every time I would rake them into a pile she had to go running right through it! She definitely was not helping out much, but it sure was entertaining! You can tell by her look in the picture, that she was up to no good! As you can tell she definitely has a fun personality and keeps my life entertaining!
Have a Merry Christmas!
Erin

Hello Barb!
Wanted to share with you a few great pictures I got of Belle today on our walk. It was a beautiful November day

Her nose is already turning pink for the winter as it usually seems to do. It is much darker in the summer.

The last photo is of Natalie (19 months) walking her, as she loves to do. Belle never pulls and walks right at Natalie’s pace! She is such a great dog.

Take Care! Happy Thanksgiving
Jamie

Belle is from Banner and Ivy’s Dec 06 litter.

P.S. Cute story for you… we took Belle to the groomer two weeks ago and when the gal took her to the back room and we tried to leave, Natalie started crying hysterically. She could not figure out why we were leaving Belle there. She cried and kept pointing to the building as we were trying to leave. She continued to cry all the way home. When we got back home, she looked all over the house saying “Beh Beh Beh” (Belle) It was very sweet. Natalie was so happy when we went back to get her doggy The bond these two have is amazing to me!

Barb,
I’ve attached a couple of pictures of Maddie (Banner and Ivy’s off spring). I click on your website all the time and love the pictures and testimonials. I know it’s hard for people to believe but your goldens are exceptional! Everywhere I take her people want to know where she came from – they think she is beautiful and so well behaved. I have to say she even amazes me. She is now in agility and even the judges have commented on how sweet she is. She runs and smiles as if to say “how much fun are we having?” She even went to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game going onto the field with my niece (they both thought they were way cool) Thanks for raising such great little golden puppies!!!!
Sandee

Hi Barb- Just wanted to share with you some new photos of Belle (Ivy and Banner Dec 2006) with our daughter Natalie. As you can see these two are best buddies.  They are never far from one another and it is so fun to see the two of them play together. Belle is the best dog anyone with children could ask for.

Hope all is well!
Jamie and Family