Retriever Rescue

Not sure I am going to be able to do this but here goes



Hopefully this may or may not be a picture of our two girls, Flossie is the lighter of the two and is 7 years old Dora is 3 years old and their friend is Daisy.

Flossie (Eveninghill Maid of Honour! there's posh) came with us from the UK when we moved to France in 2005 and Dora is a rescue. She was bought from her breeder, a lovely French lady, by a couple who decided they were going to get divorced after two weeks of owning Dora. She was put in an outside run with Chasse (Hunt) dogs at 10 weeks old. Her breeder got to hear about her plight and went and fetched her and then looked for someone to have her. The network knew we had Goldens so asked if we knew of a suitable home for her and we offered to have her. She arrived with us and immediately settled in helped by her two older friends Tilly (who we lost to cancer 3 years ago) and Flossie. It took Dora a while to show affection she was really quite stand offish for a puppy but after a few weeks she started to thaw and now she is as affectionate as anything. We think her stand offishness was due to her time with the hunt dogs, even now she does not like men in flat hats with sticks.

Dora the Explorer! - her name suits her well, after a heavy snowfall of about 6 inches last year she got out of the garden (husband left the gate to the stables open thinking the dogs would not be out in the garden!) and took herself off exploring, I tracked her through the snow for an hour and a half, falling into ditches etc I was almost hoarse with calling her when she came over the horizon bounding through the snow with a huge smile on her face probably saying ' Hello Mum isn't this fun' - the relief. John meanwhile had been out on the Quad bike going round all our walk circuits.

We live in the Limousin in France with these two girls, our two horses and an adopted barn cat who Dora would love as a friend but Thomas thinks not!

Regards

VickiC

What a wonderful picture. They look amazing!
It sounds like you live in a wonderful area. When we get snow my dogs pick it up throw it then try and catch it.
Amy, Stephen
Coco and Mazy

What a lovely photo of your girls and their friend, they are gorgeous. Love the colour of Dora, a lovely old fashioned colour in Goldens.
A poor start in life for Dora, but I'm sure she's repaid your love a thousand fold.

Lovely picture . and heartwarming stories. Dora would just think it was all fun and whatever were you worrying about I am O K see.

Great photo ... you can't help but smile at that one

Thank you for the kind comments.

Yes Dora (not our choice of name but it definitely suits her!) is very much an old fashioned colour. I remember well falling in love with golden retrievers when I was about 5 and a neighbour had a beautiful boy dog, the same colour as Dora, called Rusty.

She has a few habits that we have never had before in our goldens, she and Flossie are our 5th and 6th, she talks to us from deep in her throat, a real raspie sound which has earned her the nickname of Asthmatic Annie! She also does olympic running in the garden as soon as her collar goes on - we call it 'self exercising' but really it is limbering up for her DAD, which is short for Drag a Dad!

Flossie is altogether different, she likes to carry things on her walks, she has an extending lead which she likes to carry and did have a blue bunny (plastic with a squeak) which was another favourite but which sadly she dropped in a fast running stream earlier this week. Blue bunny was last seen bobbing merrily away downstream despite lots of encouragement to Flossie to 'hold it' etc he was one that got away!

Regards

Vicki

Thankyou for sharing your photo vicki your doggie friends look adorable. Dora reminds me of Katie my favourite colour is the darker retrievers but they are all beautiful.



Audrey

What a lovely photo, I'm only guessing but I think there may have been food involved when that photo was taken?

I really enjoyed reading the story as well, apart from the sad demise of blue Bunny.

I hadn't realised until you said it but now that I come to think of it Goldens were generally much more, well, golden, when I was young. Well, you live and learn, who knew that that dog colours went in and out of fashion?

I'm sooooo envious of you living in France, we used to spent a lot of time in the Charente Maritime as we had friends there - who have since moved to Spain. We looked into moving to France a few years ago but ditched the idea when grandchildren came along, darn those family ties!!

We love living in France, we live in the Limousin which is definitely a huge change from living in the overcrowded and very busy South East - Camberley in Surrey.

Hope Jan will forgive me this is a picture of our boys not Golden Retrievers but our two horses and rescue cat.



Frenchie is the nearest horse, then Giggles and then Thomas

Regards

Vicki

They are lovely too. Frenchie & Giggles look like they are smiling but maybe it is just the sun in their eyes. We wouldn't know what that is over here.

It looks absolutely idyllic. Good for you for being brave enough to make the move. I'm dreaming I was there and not in a wet and windswept Lancashire.

Welcome to your other "boys" , how lucky you all are. As Jan said, we could do with some of that sunshine here.
Thanks for posting Vicky, lovely to see everyone elses hairys.