Farmington Valley Golden Retrievers

In my mind, happiness is a quiet nap in the middle of the day with no timed start and no timed end. With our children now grown, it gets easier to accomplish this than in our prior more harried younger years. And the best companion is a golden or two or three curled up beside you. The softness of their fur, their easy rhythmic breathing, and heat of their body curled against you is more relaxing to me than any fancy spa massage or other body treatment could ever promise. The pups seem to agree whole heartedly with me. As you have already seen, the pups seem to have an endless combination of poses they assume when sleeping. Almost like an ever changing puzzle, they move and climb and nestle until comfy. Today with all the hours we spent around the whelping box there were some interesting combinations…

And so a day that began with me coming off a busy night of call, moved to the refreshingly crisp cold of a long walk with the big dogs, then to the pleasant company and conversation of an afternoon of golden people, ended with an uplanned little nap in the family room with Riley curled in my lap. This is certainly not Mayberry village, but still close to a perfect day in my own mind. Thanks Barb for taking the photo. Good night.

Today was a very fun day here in Dogville. Lots of neighbors, friends, and soon to be new golden owners came to visit. There was magic around the whelping box with warm smiles and peaceful vibes emanating from all who came and sat for awhile. Even better than quiet conversation at a coffee house, we heard stories of goldens past and present, all much loved and cared for. And every golden a true friend that gave back memories that far outweighed the forgetten monetary and messy house costs.

Today was another first for the pups. Semisolid food out of two community dog dishes. The start was a little slow while the pups sniffed and tried a taste. Before too long though they were eating with gusto. And when stuffed, they did their usual group cuddle and probably had some very pleasant puppy dreams.

We also met more special golden people today who have reserved a pup. Several more families are coming this weekend. Will put everyone’s photo on line with the next post. I’m on call again this weekend so no more posts until Sunday.

The energy and movement in the whelping box is increasing dramatically every day now.

They still don’t interact that much with each other yet but that is soon to come. When Barb cleans the whelping box, the pups are now crowded into the little white box. As little as four or five days ago, they fit there nicely.

As you can easily see, they want to move and see the world now. These energy episodes are still fairly brief, and they fall asleep soon after to nap and then want to eat again. We will be starting the puppy food this weekend. Then the mess and cleanup work really begins.

We had two future golden retriever lovers visit yesterday from Barbara’s school. At this stage of their lives, the puppies are so cuddly and small that they don’t intimidate even the youngest children.

Although it was wet, dreary, and chilly outside, the atmosphere was warm and bright in the whelping box. The heater in the corner certainly helped, but mostly the warmth was generated by the spontaneous smiles and good vibes generated by the interaction of people and puppies. All good. More visitors, family, and friends shared the warm puppy atmosphere today. Everyone left smiling and happy.

Emma was a very good sport all weekend. I think she felt safe with all our visitors. These dogs have an uncanny way of judging the inner good of people, and everyone passed with flying colors.