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Spinnaker (AKA Rudolph 03-392) arrived at our house on Canby Court, outside of Northfield Minnesota, in January of 2004. We had been talking to RAGOM for a month or two and my wife had said very specifically that we wanted “a large Golden Retriever.” We renamed Rudy and forever after he was known as Spinnaker. We sail, the spinnaker is the large sail out that pulls a boat downwind. When sailing if a spinnaker gets out of control it can be a total disaster. Rudy AKA Spinner fit that description perfectly.
We took Spinnaker to our Vet’s the vet said “I rarely say this to pet owners, especially people with Golden’s, but Spinnaker weighs 85 pounds, and it would not hurt if gained another 15 or so pounds.” We fed him, exercised him, and yes, he eventually got to be about 105 pounds. The vet also said that while he certainly looked and acted like a Golden he might have a bit of Mastiff, St. Barnard, or Shepard in him. Later another suggested he might have a bit of Lienenberger in him. It did not matter. He seemed like a true golden, he leaned against people, he was friendly to everyone, and always well behaved. He did have a few strange quirks. The first one was that he never tied to eat table food. There could be a chees plate on the coffee table and he would ignore it. Of course we did not give him cheese or other “people” food, so he did not learn what he was missing. We moved to New Bern, North Carolina in the fall of 2004. Maybe he was born to be a “Southern Dog.” He was certainly laid back and in no hurry, unless someone said “Road Trip” and then he was the first to the car. He had a few strange points. He did not retrieve. If we threw a ball, stick, etc. he looked at us as if to say, wow, you can throw. If you want that back you better walk over and get it, don’t expect me to. And he never did. He also never swam. He would walk out in pond near our house until the water was just touching the tip of his fir that was hanging down from his stomach, then stand there and drink. Swim, I don’t think so. That was for the geese that would come up to about 20 yards of him in the pond. Not for him. The only time he drank from his water dish was if we were traveling. Otherwise he drank from the pond, and we had to go there every day, or from the birdbath on the deck. He gave us just over 10 wonderful years before his back legs gave out and he headed off to the Rainbow Bridge where he is today.
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