Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Daphna Creek


This beautiful girl is my companion, our family dog.  Her name is Goldie, but she rarely hears her name as such.  I have a hard time just calling her Goldie; so it's often "Piggy" or "Schlep" or "Chuckie" or even "Libby"...and I'm not sure why.  It just is.  Could be related to why I sometimes call my youngest son, "Bob", which incidentally is not his name. 

(Note:  inconsistent use of names is not recommended for training a dog.  However, as long as green beans are accompanied by any name, training is not needed.)



Really.  How could you resist this mug?




Since I work from home, I don't have a lot of human interaction during the day.  Who needs it, when you've got a loyal golden by your side?  A lot less complicated.  Unfortunately, along with the total package comes the hair.  Oh my word, the hair.  Yes, it is true....golden retrievers shed.  Sometimes, after brushing her, I could make a whole new dog with all the hair that comes off of her! 

A couple months ago, I was presented with a chance to return my loyalty to her.  She was laying in our family room, and I thought she looked strange with one of her legs bent at an odd angle.  I went over to her to make sure she was okay, and quickly realized she was not okay.   She started flopping around uncontrollably, and lost control of her bowels and bladder.  This went on for nearly 10 minutes.  I was crying and feared that she was dying.  Nearly the whole time she was doing this, I didn't leave her side (except to run for the phone to call my husband and the vet).  Goldie kept eye contact with me as best she could, as if to say, "please don't leave me."  It was terrifying. 

I began to make sense out of what had happened, when she slowly came out of the bizarre activity.  I realized that I had just witnessed a seizure.  She quickly rebounded and has been fine ever since.  After doing some research, I have learned that goldens are more prone to having seizures.  I upgraded her food, hoping that will make a difference.  And we keep a more watchful eye on her now.  We don't know if she'll have more seizures, but we'll hope for the best. 


Presenting... Her Royal Highness, Duchess of Daphna Creek

~Loves most dogs and humans (except for men in trucks)~
~Loved by most dogs and humans (except men in trucks)~
~Loves green beans and cheese~


5 comments:

  1. Reading this was like simultaneously attending a support group and fan club for owners of Golden Retrievers!!! Chock full of humor and truth, this post was. Especially:

    "Oh my word, the hair. Yes, it is true....golden retrievers shed. Sometimes, after brushing her, I could make a whole new dog with all the hair that comes off of her! ".
    I am telling you, it is SO true. I also have come to vacuum AT LEAST once every day. How else could I keep this place from being covered??

    And our Bingo, she is truly a dear...and considers herself one of the children. She really does. Your HRH, Duchess of Daphna Creek/ Piggy/Schlep/Libby is absolutely beautiful...too bad she is a 'she', we are looking for a 'he' for our 'she' (since we're running out of things to do...)

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  2. What a beautiful dog. We adopted a mutt, Miss Molly Ann, who definitely has LOTS of golden in her. They are treasured gifts aren't they. Hoping the best for Goldie right along with you.

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  3. Poor sweet girl! I can't even imagine seeing one of my girls go through a seizure. How scary.
    Hoping that Goldie doesn't have anymore!

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  4. Oh, I'm so happy to have found your blog again! We had a beautiful Golden for 15 years...Alexander's Ragtime Mischief! aka Alex! I miss him. Wish I had a dog now!

    Blessings,
    Dianne

    www.mysouthernheart.com
    http://mysouthernheart.blogspot.com
    and our new farm blog: www.campbellkidsfarm.com

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  5. What I also meant to add was that I hope Goldie is doing just fine now. I'll try to keep up with her progress...

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