Larry 10-197

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July 13, 2010

Hello Mom, Dad and family,

This is Larry emailing you from Camp Foster here in Golden Valley. I arrived safely a week ago and met my new canine friends and bunk mates with happy tail wags and lots of kisses. I’m having tons of fun running in the big fenced in camp chasing Rocco the 3 year old lab. Jimmie the 8 year old lab is really cute….she’s a girl and is playing hard to get but I know she likes me. The camp director (foster mom) is really good to us all even though she took me to the doctor for a check-up and I had a couple of shots and some tests. Good news, clean bill of health other than a little ear infection and something about needing to drop some weight. Foster mom says that’s not a problem as she is changing my diet and I will start getting more exercise. I’m not too sure but I think I’m in some kind of extreme makeover boot camp because I also went to a cool place called Ollu Dog Wash and got a really nice bath and hair cut. Thanks Heidi for making me cooler by giving me a great hair cut, trimming my feet and belly and cutting out my mats. Now I look, smell and feel so much better. Ok, now about the food here at camp foster….please send me some real food. This is my only complaint, they are trying to feed me duck and sweet potato dog food and giving me green and orange food as treats. You can’t fool me, those green and orange things are vegetables….that’s not food to a dog. The kibble is ok but not enough….send me some food…you know the kind I like. Nothing falls on the floor here like at my old house where the kids always dropped something. That’s the other thing, there are no human kids living here. There are some really nice ones next door and a nice dog too but I only get to visit with them….I really like kids. Oh….I have to go and chase Rocco, he sees some rabbits and I need to help him run them out of the camp, the camp director will have to finish my letter. I’ll write more in a day or two.

Your friend Larry

Foster mom here. I’ll try to fill in what Larry left out of his letter. Larry is a 9 year old (birth date 060101) PB Golden Retriever. He is neutered and current on all vaccinations and has a clean bill of health from the vet other than a slight ear infection and needing to drop about 15 pounds. His current weight is 85.3, he came in at 86.8, so he is already on the right path. He is very good about his ear drops and will either sit or lay down to allow you to put in his meds. He is completely housetrained and will cry to let you know he needs to go out or needs something like water. He is great with all dogs and humans. Larry is an owner surrender and lived with his surrendering owners since he was 8 weeks old. Unfortunately a move to a new house has resulted in Larry needing to find a new home and family. He is without a doubt a family dog, lived with children ranging in age from less than 1 year to mid teens. He came in wearing a friendship bracelet on his front leg. He loves, loves, loves kids and would so love to find a home with children or at least someone who can expose him to children from time to time. I do not know how he is with cats but can cat test him if needed. He does not need a fenced in yard but does need someone committed to helping him lose weight, so walks and or exercise are a must. He does not retrieve and does not appear to swim or like to be in the water. He pulls a bit on leash but he was not walked so we will work on leash manners. Larry is a sweet, sweet boy……..I’ve nicknamed him “ Mr. Sweetness”. He only gets on the furniture if invited and loves to give and get snuggles in the bed in the morning otherwise sleeps in the hall or bedroom. He does not use a kennel, but does not need one as he has had free run of my house since arriving. He has been left alone for 5 hours and left alone with the two resident dogs for 9 hours with one mid day break from the dog walker. There have been no issues. Everyone who has met Larry loves him, from the UPS man, to the neighbors, to the groomers. I would be a foster failure if not for my two resident dogs. Please make this young 9 year old's dreams come true and give him a home and family of his own…..he is a ready made family dog. They don’t get much better than Larry. Please contact your placement advisor if Larry sounds like the one for you.

Larry just ran in and said “tell RAGOM thank you for taking me in and helping me find a new family”. He knows how lucky he is.

Please check back for more emails from Larry at camp foster.

Larry on the deck: relaxing at camp

Larry and lab: Larry and Rocco hanging out

Larry on towel: Larry wearing friendship bracelet

At a Glance #10-197

Golden Retriever Born: June 2001
Male 80 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

July 13, 2010

Hello Mom, Dad and family,

This is Larry emailing you from Camp Foster here in Golden Valley. I arrived safely a week ago and met my new canine friends and bunk mates with happy tail wags and lots of kisses. I’m having tons of fun running in the big fenced in camp chasing Rocco the 3 year old lab. Jimmie the 8 year old lab is really cute….she’s a girl and is playing hard to get but I know she likes me. The camp director (foster mom) is really good to us all even though she took me to the doctor for a check-up and I had a couple of shots and some tests. Good news, clean bill of health other than a little ear infection and something about needing to drop some weight. Foster mom says that’s not a problem as she is changing my diet and I will start getting more exercise. I’m not too sure but I think I’m in some kind of extreme makeover boot camp because I also went to a cool place called Ollu Dog Wash and got a really nice bath and hair cut. Thanks Heidi for making me cooler by giving me a great hair cut, trimming my feet and belly and cutting out my mats. Now I look, smell and feel so much better. Ok, now about the food here at camp foster….please send me some real food. This is my only complaint, they are trying to feed me duck and sweet potato dog food and giving me green and orange food as treats. You can’t fool me, those green and orange things are vegetables….that’s not food to a dog. The kibble is ok but not enough….send me some food…you know the kind I like. Nothing falls on the floor here like at my old house where the kids always dropped something. That’s the other thing, there are no human kids living here. There are some really nice ones next door and a nice dog too but I only get to visit with them….I really like kids. Oh….I have to go and chase Rocco, he sees some rabbits and I need to help him run them out of the camp, the camp director will have to finish my letter. I’ll write more in a day or two.

Your friend Larry

Foster mom here. I’ll try to fill in what Larry left out of his letter. Larry is a 9 year old (birth date 060101) PB Golden Retriever. He is neutered and current on all vaccinations and has a clean bill of health from the vet other than a slight ear infection and needing to drop about 15 pounds. His current weight is 85.3, he came in at 86.8, so he is already on the right path. He is very good about his ear drops and will either sit or lay down to allow you to put in his meds. He is completely housetrained and will cry to let you know he needs to go out or needs something like water. He is great with all dogs and humans. Larry is an owner surrender and lived with his surrendering owners since he was 8 weeks old. Unfortunately a move to a new house has resulted in Larry needing to find a new home and family. He is without a doubt a family dog, lived with children ranging in age from less than 1 year to mid teens. He came in wearing a friendship bracelet on his front leg. He loves, loves, loves kids and would so love to find a home with children or at least someone who can expose him to children from time to time. I do not know how he is with cats but can cat test him if needed. He does not need a fenced in yard but does need someone committed to helping him lose weight, so walks and or exercise are a must. He does not retrieve and does not appear to swim or like to be in the water. He pulls a bit on leash but he was not walked so we will work on leash manners. Larry is a sweet, sweet boy……..I’ve nicknamed him “ Mr. Sweetness”. He only gets on the furniture if invited and loves to give and get snuggles in the bed in the morning otherwise sleeps in the hall or bedroom. He does not use a kennel, but does not need one as he has had free run of my house since arriving. He has been left alone for 5 hours and left alone with the two resident dogs for 9 hours with one mid day break from the dog walker. There have been no issues. Everyone who has met Larry loves him, from the UPS man, to the neighbors, to the groomers. I would be a foster failure if not for my two resident dogs. Please make this young 9 year old's dreams come true and give him a home and family of his own…..he is a ready made family dog. They don’t get much better than Larry. Please contact your placement advisor if Larry sounds like the one for you.

Larry just ran in and said “tell RAGOM thank you for taking me in and helping me find a new family”. He knows how lucky he is.

Please check back for more emails from Larry at camp foster.

Larry on the deck: relaxing at camp

Larry and lab: Larry and Rocco hanging out

Larry on towel: Larry wearing friendship bracelet

Updates

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

 

It breaks my heart to tell you that we lost Larry on Wednesday, March 27. He had developed a cough, with all the signs of a cold, so I took him in to our vet. An x-ray to check his lungs found an abdominal tumor. They took him into surgery and found multiple liver tumors, the largest about half the size of a football....it was so complicated and so advanced that there was nothing they could do.

Larry was simply an exceptional dog—the kindest, gentlest, and most loving I have ever known. I can’t begin to say how much we loved him and how much we miss him.

 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

From Larry's foster mom...

I got a chance to see Larry back in January when I was in Fargo to help with the ND puppy mill dogs. Larry is doing great and his folks love him very much. They said they have never met a happier, easy going dog than Larry. He's still working on dropping a few pounds and hopefully now that the weather has improved he is able to get out for more walks. He is healthy and a great family dog, loves his snuggles and going for rides in the car. Here are a couple of pictures of Larry at Bubba and Company, our staging area for the puppy mill dogs.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hi folks,  Larry here writing you from camp foster for the last time.  Today my family is coming to get me.  They are driving a long way just to meet me, and take me home.  I am so excited to see them.  Foster mom has told me all about them, they have kids....that is the best part.  I get a mom, a dad, three kids (two at home, one in college), and a cat brother.  Oh, boy, oh boy, I can't wait to meet them.  Hope they like me....and they feed me better food than here at camp foster. 

Foster mom here:  It's official, Larry has been adopted and is now on his way to his new home in North Dakota.  Yes, his family drove a long way to meet the big guy.  And it was love at first sight for all.  Larry never stopped wagging his tail, and his new family never stopped smiling or stopped petting Larry.  I would say he hit the jackpot with his new family.  We did cat test Larry, thank you Mari and MiMi for allowing Larry to visit.  Larry also met fellow Ragom foster Try 10-228, and declared him to be his new best friend and foster tested.  Larry would like to thank everyone at Ragom for bringing him into the Ragom family.  He says he struck gold with Ragom, and I think he is right.  Watch for updates from Larry's new family as he learns about life in Fargo.  Foster brother Rocco and foster sister Jimmie will miss Larry, and wish him well with his new family.  I will also miss the big lug and know he will be very, very happy and much loved. 

Larry

Larry and Try

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Larry is quite the social butterfly.  We attended the 4th annual NE Minneapolis Dog Days Of Summer dog parade last night with RAGOM dogs Meg and Heather and their mom Mari.  A great time was had by all.  What a terrific event; lots of treats and a goodie bag full of fun stuff for the dogs.  Once again Larry behaved perfectly.  We met 100's of dogs and people, both old and young, big and small.  Larry loved them all.  His tail never stopped wagging the entire time.  In fact, several people commented to me that every time they saw him his tail was wagging.  That's no surprise to me as his tail even wags when he sleeps.  I've seen my dogs feet and ears moving when they dream, but Larry is the first dog I've ever seen wag his tail in his sleep....sweet, funny boy.  Many people at the event had heard of RAGOM and those who hadn't now know about the wonderful dogs RAGOM has.  All three dogs were super ambassadors for RAGOM. 

Larry

Larry 

I am surprised no one has snatched up this great guy yet as he is such an easy dog to care for, and gives such love in return.  He has no issues...ok still needs to drop a few pounds, but that's easy to accomplish with daily walks and a healthy diet.  Larry does not need a fence. He loves kids of all ages (lived with 5 in his previous home), is perfect in the house, not a single accident, asks to go out.   He loves car rides, even if it is to the vet for a weight check, walks well on a leash, gets along with all dogs.  I haven't cat tested him yet, but I would be really surprised if he has a problem with cats.  He's not a jumper, does not counter surf, only chews on bones, does not destroy toys.  In fact, he plays with toys like a little puppy....so cute to see from a big dog.  I can't say enough good things about him other than the only thing that keeps me from adopting him myself is that I have two resident dogs and would not be able to foster if I had three residents.  There are so many Goldens that need RAGOM's help that I have to "Rescue, Rehome, Repeat" as hard as that is to do with guys like Larry.  Please do not delay, contact your placement adviser, or fill out that application so you can have a Larry in your life.  You will fall in love with this big lug as soon as you meet him...I know I have. 

Friday, July 30, 2010

Hi Folks,  Larry here sending a quick update as I am really busy playing with my foster brother and sister on this beautiful dog day of summer.  Do you know why they call it the dog days of summer?  I know because my foster mom explained it to us.  Seems that this is the hottest time of the year and since the heat makes us dogs want to nap they (the humans) call it the dog days of summer.  So it's good to nap....no one needed to tell me that.  Speaking of naps, one of my most favorite things to do is to snuggle in bed in the morning with the whole family.  It gets a bit crowed with three big dogs and one human but I really like it.  Sometimes Rocco (the 3 year old lab) and I get to wrestle in the bed, but most times I just get lots of snuggles, belly rubs and ear scratches.  Ok, got to go as I just saw a squirrel in the back yard and we need to make sure he is not eating any apples.  Then time for a nap before my personal chef serves me my dinner.

Foster mom here, Larry is doing great.  He is the sweetest, easiest boy to take care of.  He has absolutely no issues.  He is completely housebroken, does not chew up anything, sleeps through the night, walks well on a leash, does not need a fence, loves kids, loves all dogs, can go anywhere and do anything.  We attended the Slice of Shoreview last weekend and Larry walked in the parade and hung out at the Ragom booth.  He was not phased by the loud noise, heat, or crowds.  Yesterday we had a play date at a friend's and Larry did great with her two dogs and son.  He was not interested in swimming in the pool but was content to hang out and enjoyed a Frosty Paw treat with his new buddies....so much for the diet.  We'll weight him next week. 

I know many of you are hesitant to adopt a 9 year old, thinking that you will not have him in your life for very long.  Golden's live an average of 14 years.  Please do not pass over Larry because he is 9.  He has so much love and affection to give and will add so much to your life.  There are many advantages to adopting an older dog.  No housebreaking, middle of the night trips outside, no chewing, no wondering how he will turn out.  With Larry you know what you are getting....a great dog.  As someone who has lost dogs to illness at ages 4, 6, 7, 13 and 14, I can say that age does not make a difference as there are no guarantees in life.  Please consider adding Larry to your home, you will not be disappointed by this sweet boy.  Contact your placement adviser to meet Larry....don't miss out on one more day with this guy. 

Larry