Albert 05-404

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11/28/05: Albert is adusting very nicely to his new foster home surroundings. He has a very nice personality and of course loves to be petted. Albert was a stray picked up by a shelter - they estimated his age to be between 2 and 3 years old. He gets along fine with our resident Golden but let him know he does not like to be bothered when he is eating. They had some minor squabbles over the dog toys but nothing serious. He is crate trained and when we both had to leave the house last Saturday evening for a few hours he stayed in his crate and was just fine. He sleeps in our bedroom on the floor at night. He doesn't have any trouble using the stairs of our two story home. I heard him get up once last night. He went downstairs and came back up to our bedroom with one of their hard rubber balls. He seems to be feeling more and more at home each passing day. He is scheduled for a wellness check with our RAGOM vet this coming Friday, and we will get an age estimate at that time.

At a Glance #05-404

Breed not specified Born: September 2005
Male Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

11/28/05: Albert is adusting very nicely to his new foster home surroundings. He has a very nice personality and of course loves to be petted. Albert was a stray picked up by a shelter - they estimated his age to be between 2 and 3 years old. He gets along fine with our resident Golden but let him know he does not like to be bothered when he is eating. They had some minor squabbles over the dog toys but nothing serious. He is crate trained and when we both had to leave the house last Saturday evening for a few hours he stayed in his crate and was just fine. He sleeps in our bedroom on the floor at night. He doesn't have any trouble using the stairs of our two story home. I heard him get up once last night. He went downstairs and came back up to our bedroom with one of their hard rubber balls. He seems to be feeling more and more at home each passing day. He is scheduled for a wellness check with our RAGOM vet this coming Friday, and we will get an age estimate at that time.

Updates

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

 

Hello,

I wanted to let you know that our precious beautiful Albert who came to us and lived in our “forever home”(s) passed away peacefully. He was almost 13 years old (1 Apr). We adopted him in Feb of 2006 from RAGOM. He was the love of our lives. He truly brought so much joy to us that I could not even quantify. We are so lucky that we made the decision to adopt.

We heard Albert was named after Albert Lea MN where he was found with another Golden Retriever (Lea) and rescued by RAGOM. He was nursed back to health sometime in 2005 and went to live with a caring foster couple, Paul and Liz McNutt of Fargo, ND. We still remember the day that changed our lives when we drove Albert from Fargo to St. Paul. He hopped in our car and off we went into an unknown but exciting future with our new “son”. He was so scared on the way home, he jumped on my lap in the front passenger seat. We never looked back after that. He had an amazing life, and he went with us on a fantastic adventure that started in St. Paul. In 2009, we all moved to Tokyo, Japan where we lived near the “central park” of Tokyo which is called Yoyogi-koen. Albert would love to visit there every day, this special oasis in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.. He was quite the celebrity in Japan, being such a large dog in such small streets and tiny homes. He would often garner smiles and sometimes gasps of amazement. We had the opportunity to travel throughout Japan, and Albert would often go with us sitting in the back seat of a small Japanese rental car.

In 2012, we moved to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Albert lived with us on the 4th floor of the Keizersgracht which means emperors canal. He could be seen daily walking with us along the canals to various parks in this beautiful dog friendly city. This is where he spent his last years. Europe is great for travel with pets and we made the most of it. Albert was able to visit more countries than many people I know. This included several trips to Paris and other parts of France, England, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and even the Czech Republic.

We were so lucky to be able to share our adventures with him and also the ordinary days that would bring joy to us just by knowing he was by our side. There’s no doubt that our experiences would have been much different had we had not had him in our family. We will cherish our memories of him and the many stories that go with our experiences. He was a beautiful boy. Thanks for making that possible. We will miss him so much. All the best to your fine organization.

Kathi Oetken and Peter Natale


Albert in Japan


Albert and Kathi after our long train ride to Burgundy, France.


Albert and Kathi boating on the Amstel River in Amsterdam


Albert and Peter on a 10k walk in Rhenen, Netherlands earlier this year

 

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Albert has recovered quite nicely from his neutering surgery and had the stitches removed last Tuesday. He is back to running and romping around the back yard with our resident Golden. January 3rd we have to take him back to the vet for a follow up injection to make sure all the tape worm infestation he had is completely gone. He weighed 77.5 pounds last Tuesday at the clinic.

Albert is a big boy and can easily look over the top of our fence when he stands on his rear legs. He likes to look over the fence at our neighbor's two small dogs who do quite a bit of barking, and seem to get Albert's attention. Albert rarely barks. Albert would probably do best with a family that did not have small children as he could easily knock them over with his friendly exuberance. I have been taking Albert on daily walks using his Gentle Leader. He is still adjusting to the Gentle Leader and it still takes him a little while to get comfortable with having it on. After walking for a block or two, though, he acts like he doesn't know he has it on. His has a good appetite and is fed every morning and evening and has some delicious doggie treats in between meals. He continues to have the run of the house and has never had an accident. Albert has that great Golden Retriever disposition and loves to be petted. Albert will make some future, forever family, very happy indeed.

Excuse me, could you hold it down over there?