A CHRISTMAS STORY
     
      This is from a column I wrote for the GRNews a couple of years ago, but it's a true story and I think it's still relevant.  I've tried to follow up on these pups but have had no success.  This happened right before Christmas in 2009.  The story began as many do these days,  with a request for help on one of my doggy email lists.  I’m quoting it verbatim with the author’s permission. 

 “Husband.... was at the farm today and found
 in the equipment shed, 2 very thin, cold, and 
frightened 

The puppies shortly after they were found

puppies - look to be
golden retrievers! It took a little convincing but they decided he
was a friend. So, he put them in a box and called me to bring a crate
and some food. Just what we need, now that we're taking care of my Mom's boston

terriers, as well as our shelties. Still, they are safely in her warm
basement, with water, and some food - we're afraid to feed too much at
a time as they are quite thin. Tomorrow, I'll take them to the vet
for a checkup, worming, shots, etc. 

They must have been "dumped" 

as there is no one nearby who has a golden.
We are calling them Merry and Chris. They are adorable!!!!
Still, what are we going to do with golden retriever puppies??
Any suggestions? ”

Interestingly enough, the puppies were given a clean bill of health by the vet, not even any parasites.  It makes us wonder where they came from and how they ended up in the shed.  No one was living on the property and there are no close neighbors.  We wondered, were they Christmas presents for someone who didn't work out, were they part of a litter that didn't get placed so were just let loose?  We sure wished they could talk and tell us how they got there.  Our weather had been extremely cold and icy, had they not ended up in the shed, I don’t think they would have survived.  

The woman who wrote about the pups has her own ideas as to what happened.  Again, I am quoting her post verbatim: “I like to think that someone got 2 golden retriever pups and something went wrong.  Maybe not a popular decision with the entire household or maybe the pups chewed something valuable.  Like you say, we will never know.  We've checked several times and found no signs of other pups - tho we can't be 100% certain that there weren't others somewhere.  It worries me to think of the coyotes in the area but then I think I would have seen some signs of a struggle - blood hair etc if the coyotes attacked.  I just don't know."  She goes on to say that this had been a very sad time for her as she had recently lost one of her old dogs and had been dealing with her mother's severe health issues and recent placement in a nursing home. She goes on to say that her husband felt that the pups were "....just the pick me up I needed at Christmas.  My priest believes dogs go to heaven.  I've read that maybe dogs come from heaven to aid us.  Silly, I guess.  But then how did those 2 pups appear in our shed?? “

 We will never know how the pups ended up on her property.  But, thanks to some intervention by my friend Sue and golden retriever rescue (www.GRRAND.org), the pups were adopted soon afterwards by a young couple in Nicholasville, KY. I’m hoping that they are having a nice, warm Christmas this year.

Happy holidays to all!