Hi Barb and family! Maiya’s turning 2 tomorrow–how time flies! To celebrate, we’ll decorate a plate of canned salmon with lots of sprinkles, light a birthday candle and sing. Salmon is her favorite treat! Happy Birthday to all her Captain/Ruby Sept. 30, 2009 litter mates! Here are a couple of our favorite photos that demonstrate her passion for her beloved ball (and willingness to share!) Thanks for raising wonderful Golden’s–Maiya is pure joy! Nancy & family

Ruby is eight years old and is not going to have any more puppies. She is so sweet, calm and gentle. Some of you may know that Ivy was living at the nursing home, got sick and had to be put to sleep. It was such a struggle for me as I saw the residence and staff saying good-bye. I wondered if I had done the right thing, letting her become such a part of their lives, only for them to have to let her go. But people in the nursing home have seen a lot of life. They have loved and been loved. They have seen death and tragedy, triumphs and victory. Knowing this, we decided to donate Ruby to the same facility. I have gotten to know some of the people because of Ivy, and Grandpa John living there. The staff is wonderful, and they see the joy that a dog brings to the residence, so they are willing to care for the dog, above and beyond their normal duties. Ruby has been there for one week, and is doing very well. Everyone loves her! She is very sensitive to people and their emotions. Sometimes I felt like she understood every word I said. It is such a blessing to be a part of bringing joy to the elderly. When they see Ruby, their face lights up! They talk to her and she almost talks back with her deep brown eyes. Ruby and the nursing home are a great match, and it reminds me why I am a Golden Retriever breeder. It’s time like this that make my job one of the best in the world!

Hi Barb,
Just wanted to share an update with you for Sabin. (Ruby/Captain litter) I can’t believe he’s one already! I just can’t say enough about my handsome man – he is always so happy and easy going. We love how laid back he is, even for just being a year-old. I can tell a huge difference in his personality from that of our other golden (when she was his age) and other goldens that I see in the clinic. So many of them are just bonkers and have too much energy to contain at this age but Sabin is remarkably calm. He loves playing fetch – we have to keep his tennis balls hidden in the closet unless its time to play because he’s obsessed. He also loves to play tug – especially with our other golden. I know I have said this before but thank you for your wonderful breeding program and the great puppies it produces. The Golden Retrievers that you breed are great representations of what the breed truly is.

I have attached a few pictures so you can see him all grown up. One of our two dogs together, one of Sabin and me (we both have Sept. birthdays so it was our birthday pic) and one of Sabin and my brother – it was his first swimming experience this summer.

Cheers!
Janessa

Hi Barb -

Just wanted to share an update with you. Sabin (Ruby x Captain Sept. 09) is doing great. He has such a wonderful personality – calm, confident and spunky all at the same time. He will be starting puppy obedience next week – I’m sure he’ll do great. Even though the rest of us haven’t enjoyed the snow I think he is secretly sad that it’s almost all gone – he loved to play in it. I’ve attached a few of my favorite puppy pics – he’s almost as big as my other adult golden so he doesn’t look much like a puppy anymore. Thanks again, I think you have a fantastic breeding program and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or puppy.

~ Janessa

Nancy, John, Nathan and Claire

I hope this finds you and all of the Felts enjoying health, happiness and a lovely Minnesota autumn! Since our big man turned 2 yesterday, I wanted to send you some updated photos. Crosby is from a Ruby/Captain litter.

Suffice it to say that we still believe Crosby is the most perfect guy on the planet He remains a puppy at heart with his playful attitude and ability to convince us to take him everywhere possible! He is a fierce protector of all of us and is at his happiest when we’re all home together at the same time. With three active boys in the house, those moments are not as frequent as he would like, so he remains at my side or by (or even on!) my feet at all times. He is incredibly social and loves the company of other dogs – his “playgroup mom” remarks each week at how well-behaved, patient and kind he is with all of the other dogs in his group, no matter their size or temperament. He is also an amazing athlete and way too smart for his own good! Suffice it to say that he “wins” at EVERYTHING. And, as you can see, he also remains a show-stopper – cars slow and people go out of their way to ask us about him – of course, his eyes and engaging personality draw them in even further and it just turns into one big love fest with him at the center of it all! A couple funny facts to share with you….as much as we very rarely let him enjoy anything but dog-appropriate food/snacks, he is obsessed with cheese and can distinguish the sound of any cheese packaging being opened versus any other packaging noise! Also, he is absolutely fanatical about popcorn and will stalk us until every last kernel is gone – we sometimes wait to make popcorn until he is deep in the woods casing deer but it doesn’t matter, his senses prevail and he’s at the door within seconds of turning on the air popper!! As always, thank you for being passionate about what you do and doing it so well – we feel unbelievably blessed to be the recipient of your gifts!

Much Love,

-Kristin

Hi Barb. Hope all is well. Thought you’d like an updated photo of Tia (pictured w/ James and then Charley and James). She’ll be 2 years old in a couple days. (Ruby/Captain puppy) She’s gorgeous, sweet, loving and basically perfect.

She’s been a calming force as I go through treatment for cancer. She follows me around like a mother hen, checking in on me and cuddling with me. She sniffs me a lot with a real look of concern. Joel is amazed how worried she seems about me. We all really love her. Thanks for picking her out for us – it’s a perfect fit. I should be fine in a few more months. It takes about a year the doctor said to cure me of this breast cancer junk. I’ll be glad when I’m looking back on all this. But in the mean time Tia is a great source of comfort.

Take care,

Tanja

This is our grandson Samuel, helping Grandma hold puppies!

Ruby had her puppies! 6 males, 4 females. Babies and mom are doing well! This litter is spoken for. Our next litter will be born in November, ready for their new homes in January!