Pup! Pup! Pup!

What’s better than having one dog? Having two dogs! My wife and I happily added a new member to our family. Meet Navi, who is now an 11 week old Golden Retriever. Our neighbors told us their friends had a pregnant Golden. I saw how exited my wife got. She said “don’t tell them we are interested, but we’re interested.”

It is extremely hard to get a Golden Retriever. People are put on wait lists and have to travel to breeders in other cities and in Hawai’i’s case other islands, the mainland US and even New Zealand and Australia. As it turns out, the female who was giving birth lived about 10 minutes away.

Our neighbors gave us updates of the pregnant Golden. They were on the fence about adopting one of the new pups. They have a Husky/Golden mix who keeps them busy along with their three children. They decided that one dog is enough. At that point we sheepishly said that if the breeder had trouble finding owners, we have a nice home. Plus our dog is lonely during the day when we are working.

Gopi is the pregnant dog’s name. She gave birth to 10 pups. They were all spoken for even before birth. The breeder wanted to donate the pups to Fi-Do, an organization that trains and provides service dogs for the disabled. Our neighbor told us to contact the breeder just to introduce ourselves anyway. We felt awkward giving them a call, seeing that there was no chance to get a pup.

We called and they asked us to come see the litter. Nothing is cuter than 10 Golden Retriever pups. When we arrived, the Gopi the litter’s mom greeted us with a wagging tail. One little pup came up to us and peered her head over the barrier. Our hearts just melted.

As it turned out Fi-Do only selected one dog of the ten after a home assessment. The owner said all the dogs had back up owners interested, but would consider us if someone backed out.

A few weeks went by and I got a text. “Would you still be interested in one of the puppies,  a couple who wanted one back out because the house they were going to buy fell through and their landlord does not allow pets.” This was a week before Valentine’s Day. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t call him back fast enough. He said that one of his other friends was interested, but because Gopi didn’t like him, he passed and considered us.

Sparing a lot of details, Kinako now has a little sister to play with and my wife had a wonderful surprise. My mother-in-law is also on board with the new pup. Aside from being on constant pee and poop patrol, my life feels even more enhanced. Having two Golden Retrievers licking your face when you get home is worth more than gold itself.

Kinako turns one!

Our beloved Golden Retriever turned one this week! In Hawai’i, the first birthday for kids is a big deal and usually involve parties with scores of friends. My wife and I are those type of dorky dog parents who celebrate such occasions for our pet knowing we will get eye rolls. To celebrate, we dressed her up with a lei and a kids birthday hat. We bought the fancy treats at the fancy dog store and gave them away to all the dog park dogs during our nightly play outing. During her annual vet visit, at sixty pounds she has a clean bill of health. Looking back at the past few years, our family has had some tough breaks, and I can’t help to think that she was brought into our lives by some type of divine intervention.

When things were really bad, I would often practice the Narasimha mantra. I felt this mantra gave me protection and wisdom to solve impossible dilemmas. At a time when my health was declining and there was a lot of tension, this golden dog manifested out of seemingly nowhere and had encompassed almost all aspects of my family’s life. Shortly after her arrival, my health improved and the tension decreased. Even when she was non-potty trained puppy, she was still brought immense joy to us. Could this be a manifestation of Narasimha’s good will? Let’s just say I still practice the mantra daily.

 

 

 

 

Diploma Dog

After thirteen weeks, our puppy obedience class is over. The class started off with nine dogs and finished with six. Through the course our dogs learned how to heel (walk beside you without tugging the leash), sit, lie down, stay, stand, and recall. They also learned how to socialize with other dogs.

In last week’s final test we were nervous. All that training, all those hours of teaching Kinako how to sit and stay, came to the final moment. I was standing waiting for the judge to start the exam, and Kinako immediately grabbed her leash in her mouth and started dragging me through the course. I could sense the points being docked as she would not let go of the leash and growled at me for resisting her. But what I really heard was the chuckling of the other dog owners. It must have been a funny sight.

The next portion of the test went no better. All of the dog candidates lined up and were asked to sit for two minutes. If your dog got up, you had to leave the ring. After five seconds, Kinako was the first one up! The walk of shame ensued as I led her out. The other dog’s owners were kind and had a sense of humor, stating that Kinako led me through a nice course and that I performed well at her command.

This week was the graduation ceremony. After all that mayhem she still got the pass. In a strange way it reminded me of getting my Junior Intermediate I certification. The important lesson is not to quit, no matter how badly you think you did. We are often our worst critics. As for Kinako, she was just happy to do puppy things with her fellow puppy friends.