Tasha and Others

Posts Tagged ‘golden retriever’

Stuffed toys are to my dog like chocolate is to some people. When she knows it’s somewhere near, she has to have it. And once it’s in her mouth, she has to destroy it.

Like a typical golden retriever, Tasha first holds a stuffed toy with a “soft mouth.” This breed usually holds their prey tightly, but without too much pressure, so as not to actually pierce it. Sometimes they even drop what’s in their mouth.

Not my dog. No matter how big or small the stuffed toy, it doesn’t take Tasha long to get a good grip and start ripping it apart. She’s like a dog maniac on a short-lived mission.

I’ve tried hiding these fuzzy teddy bears, rabbits, and balls, but she can smell them. I wonder what stuffing must smell like.

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I missed it this year, and I feel terrible. I didn’t remember that it was Tasha’s birthday until a few days after it had passed.

I’ll get her the usual birthday cupcakes tomorrow and we’ll celebrate. Too bad she doesn’t have any friends this year to help her celebrate. Well, actually she does have friends, but they’re not the birthday types.

Tasha is a rescue, so technically she doesn’t have a birthday. But the man I rescued her from told me (for some reason) that December 23rd was her birthday. So, I celebrate it every year.

Happy Birthday to my girl, who’s now five-years old, but acts about two. I’m so glad we found each other.

So, now that I’m pretty much healed and recovered from surgery, I’m out of bed, walking tall (well, that’s relative), back to the gym, and seeing friends. During the time I was laid up, Tasha stayed by my side. She had different people feeding her and taking her for walks. But her favorite place was at the corner of my bed, where I stayed for two months.

Now I take Tasha here and there with me, and it’s almost like the surgery and recovery didn’t happen.

I missed the whole summer (the best time in Seattle)–the time when I’d be at the dog park with Tasha whenever I could. I missed taking her to the lake and throwing tennis balls for her.

I didn’t go home for awhile, so Tasha got to stay with her best friend, Roxy, a Rottweiler mix, which was good for both of them.

But without her normal exercise and feeding, Tasha stuck with me. She didn’t care that I couldn’t walk because she had her special corner of the bed. She also licked me quite often, as if to say, “I’m here for you and I love you!” Sometimes I think I got more love from her than from anyone else.

I’ve tried not to give my dog people food–ever. No dog-food recipes, no table scraps, and no giving Tasha leftovers that would otherwise go into the garbage disposal. I do give her real bones, but in my mind it doesn’t count as people food.

Eating a dog bone

The other day I dropped a basket of strawberries on the kitchen floor. I thought I picked up all of them. That evening, Tasha came to me with something suspicious in her mouth. She was giving me the “I did something bad” look. At closer examination, I saw that she had a whole strawberry tucked away in the side of her cheek.

It wasn’t hard for me to pry open her mouth and see what was in there. She cooperated. I plucked out the strawberry intact, and told her again, as I have in the past, “No people food!” I think she understood. The stawberry was saved, and Tasha continued to eat only the dog food I put in front of her.

Here’s a quick story about my first encounter with a golden retriever.

I lived in a house full of college students. We needed one more renter in our big house.

One day a guy knocked on the door. He was scheduled to check out the house, and for us to check out him. For some reason, it was up to me to see if he’d fit into the household.

I opened the door and didn’t see him. I just saw his golden retriever. It was love at first site. The guy came later.