Tanner's time at RAGOM

FROM RETRIEVE A GOLDEN OF MINNESOTA (RAGOM) WEBSITE:

September 20, 2012 Welcome to RAGOM sweet Tanner! Tanner’s age is approximated at 10 months to one year old. This lovable gentle guy is a 60 pound GR mix, un-neutered male with a winning GR personality and smile.

He arrived at our house very tired but very happy to be with us. Tanner has had a rough start in life. We wish he could tell us his whole story. This is what we know. He was left with a friend who promised to return for him. They never returned. Tanner was passed around to different homes before finding a GS to care for him. When this GS took him in, he was exhausted, dehydrated and starving. The GS gave him to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue because she could not afford to buy him food. RLRR sent him on to RAGOM.

Tanner, FM and FD send their thanks to all who helped him find his way to us (including RAGOM temporary foster Nicole and her husband who helped with transport).

As of today, Tanner is UTD and micro chipped. His neuter surgery is scheduled in October. Tanner was diagnosed with two tick borne diseases, Lyme’s Disease and Anaplasmosis, both treatable. He was prescribed Doxcycline to fight both conditions. Tanner came to us with sores and bruises (FM shudders to think of their origin). All are healing fine. His pads are well worn from roaming the highways and byways (looking for a home). They will heal over time.

Tanner was a big hit at the vet’s office. Several staff members came to check this guy out and they said, “He is so gentle and handsome.” Tanner has been with us for four days and this is what we have learned about him: he has the sweet temperament of a GR; he’s a calm and loving young guy who is 100% housebroken; sleeps through the night on a dog bed; loves to be near his people; has free roam when someone is at home; respects baby gates; is a quick learner; knows his name and comes when called; loves belly rubs; walks nicely on a leash without pulling and loves car rides, except he insists on riding in the front passenger seat. Sometimes he is shy when men approach him, but he recovers quickly and accepts their attention with enthusiasm.

Tanner’s fur is the texture of a German Shepherd’s coat and the colors of a GR. His constantly wagging tail has a unique color combination of black, gold and white. His ears are tipped with black. It’s worth saying again, he is an extremely handsome guy!

Tanner settled into our household within five minutes of his arrival. But, this gentle guy, who is so adaptable, deserves to find a permanent loving home. More updates to follow soon.

Tanner is dreaming about his forever home.

09/27/2012: Thank you to all of you who stopped by to say “hi” and give hugs to sweet Tanner at Goldzilla. Tanner did great with all of the new dogs and people that he met.

Tanner was unexpectedly reunited with his brother, Niji, a RAGOM alumnus. Yes, it's true!!! Niji’s owners thought we were holding their dog, when in fact it was Tanner. Tanner’s unique coloring on his tail caught their eye. Niji used to have the same black arrowhead shaped splotch of fur on his tail.

Thanks to Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue, they both found their way to RAGOM. Based on Niji’s age, Tanner is 14 months old. Like his brother, Tanner does not bark. We were told that Niji howls. "Not so with Tanner", we said. No more than five minutes later, when a few GR fosters were synchronizing their barking , Tanner began to softly howl….note the word, softly. J
Tanner’s coat has a top coat that is fairly coarse and an undercoat that is much softer. The texture of his undercoat is not as soft as a GR’s but not as coarse as a Labrador’s coat. Because he is now getting high quality food and is groomed every day, Tanner has “blown” a lot of his undercoat. His shedding has decreased substantially. Tanner’s water drinking technique is a bit goofy. He uses his tongue to lap the water up, but then bites at the water in the dish at the same time, splashing water all over the floor. (His brother drinks water exactly the same way.) To keep some of the water off the floor, FM put down a plastic dog tray that catches most of the water, but not all of it. Expect the floor to get very wet when Tanner’s drinking water.

Tanner is a quiet guy in the house but when he gets outside watch him go. He wants to run and explore. Tanner has a high prey drive for squirrels and chipmunks. Be aware that he can cover a long distance in a short time. His recall is phenomenal and he will come back on command even when he is “hunting”. Good boy! He leaps and bounds like a gazelle when he is running. At times, he bounces and jumps like a fox. He has shown no desire to jump our 4 ft. fence though. One thing is for sure, Tanner needs to have plenty of daily exercise. Off leash daily exercise is a must for this energetic boy.

This happy guy does not know how to play. FM is still trying to find an off leash activity that Tanner likes to do….besides run. FM has thrown a Frisbee, a tennis ball, a squeaky ball and a stick. Tanner showed no interest. This morning he tried to play tug with GRanddog, Bella. He was unsure how to do it, but he tried! Having a playful dog in his forever home might help Tanner learn how to play. Tanner was a good passenger on our 7 hour round trip to Goldzilla, except that he thought he should be sitting in the front passenger seat.
It just looks like I'm driving!

10/04/2012: “A wonderful family picked me out of the crowd at Goldzilla. I think it was love at first sight. One week later, they drove a long way to visit with me. When they were leaving, I jumped into their van, ready to go home with them. I was a little sad after they left. Foster Dad said let’s go fishing (he thought it might help me feel better). It did, even though I almost fell out of the boat into the lake a couple of times. I didn’t know that you can’t sit on the outer edge of the boat, silly me. Once I settled in, I enjoyed the wind in my face and the sun on my back.

On Monday, Foster Mom told me that this wonderful family wants me to live with them forever! I’m adopted!” Note from Foster Mom: We are all thrilled that Tanner has met the family of his dreams. He will be loved unconditionally and he will return their love tenfold. His neutering is scheduled for October 18. His family will pick him up after he has recovered. (I am going to miss this sweet guy!)

Homeless Tanner

Tanner was dumped on the Red Lake Reservation by a girl who asked the Red Lake family to keep the dog for a couple of days----but---she never came back.

Since that time Tanner has been passed around various homes on the reservation, and when the last lady got him, he was hungry and very tired. She kept Tanner for a month and fed him and then brought him to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue as she could no longer afford to buy food for him.

We were rejoicing when RAGOM (Retrieve A Golden Of Minnesota) once again stepped up and accepted Tanner who is a golden mix and he went off to foster care in their program.

Now we have heard from RAGOM:

"A big thank you for surrendering Tanner (Golden Retriever mix) to RAGOM a couple of weeks ago. I am currently fostering Tanner (RAGOM#12-313). He is such a sweetheart.

"RAGOM had their annual fundraiser (Goldzilla) on Saturday. Quite by accident, Tanner met one of his litter mates, Niji, at this event. We all were thrilled! Niji was surrendered by your Rescue to RAGOM last October and was adopted out as a pup."

And, today we hear of this good news on Tanner:

"Tanner, the 10 month old GR/lab mix that recently came into RAGOM from Red Lake found his family and is being adopted after his neutering! Thought you would be happy to hear his update!!"

We are so thankful to have RAGOM as a partner which has never turned down any golden or golden mix we rescue!

Thank you - Karen and RLRR

Tanner is adopted!

UDPATE FROM RAGOM WEBSITE:
05/22/2011:
It's been a good news, bad news sort of week, but the good far outweighs the bad.

First, the "bad" if you can call it that. Tanner had his neutering surgery this week (Sorry, Pal I feel for ya). It went just fine and he's recovering quickly.

The good news is that we found a forever home for Tanner. We think it's a perfect match from folks who will be giving this boy lots of Love and daily attention he deserves. He'll be living on a property with lots of room to run and he's going to just love it. We are probably like most foster families in that we have mixed emotions. We are thrilled for Tanner, who we know is going to be very happy, and sad for us, as we've grown so attached to him. We are so amazed at how just after a couple of weeks, he's fit in and knows every routine of our family, every inch of our house, and has been such a great dog.

Thank you to everyone who has followed his updates. Hooray for Tanner!


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06/03/2011:
Tanner was officially adopted last night.

Our friend Tanner went home last night with his new family. It was very sad for us to say goodbye, but we are so happy for him, knowing he has a great life in front of him with a wonderful couple on a great property to romp around on! He's so lucky that RAGOM located him, and is in such a great situation, a far cry from where he came from, wondering around a Reservation in Northern Minnesota. We feel blessed to have been able to play a part in all of this.

Tanner charms RAGOM

Retrieve A Golden of Minnestoa, better known as RAGOM, has taken their first dog from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue and Tanner is one popular boy!

RAGOM UPDATES ON TANNER
May 9, 2011

We cannot believe what a handsome, (just look at his pictures and judge for yourself!), good natured, sweet, well behaved, and overall amazing dog Tanner is. He arrived on Friday and was greeted by my wife and I, our two daughters, and two resident dogs. We were of course a little nervous how Tanner would react to our dogs, but he was just thrilled to see them. He wagged his tail, and quickly took a liking to both of them. He must have been around dogs before, because he follows them around like they are his long lost buddies. The resident dogs have taken to him as well.

Tanner enjoyed walking around the yard and getting to know his surroundings, both with our dogs, and sometimes just on his own.

Tanner arrived pretty dirty, so we gave him a bath in our laundry room tub sink. He was such a good boy---he didn't exactly love the bath---but allowed us to lather him up and scrub him to get some of that dirt and smell off of him. (You can see he's still a little wet from the bath in some of the photos).

Things are never perfect in these new situations, and Tanner was a little nervous about coming inside the house. The doorways were a little scary for him, and even things like a shiny floor took some time to get used to. But by the end of the weekend, he became perfectly comfortable not only coming in and out of the house, but going from room to room as if he lived here his entire life. We've gone away and left him home with the dogs, and even by himself for a few hours and he was a perfect gentleman. No accidents, no chewing, no barking, nothing. Just quietly sat by the door and waited for us to return.

Many things are still new to him, but you can just see that smart "Golden" in him, and he's taking in everything and quickly learning the ropes. I've taken him for a couple of walks on a leash and he's already a better leash walker than my two resident dogs. But the resident dogs have been great trainers. For example, Tanner wasn't quite sure about how to get into the car, no matter how many times we tapped the seat or lifted his paws up. But then we called our other dogs, who jumped into the car as they normally do. That's all it took for this smart boy, who proudly jumped in by himself. He rides great in cars too! He likes all of us, but has taken a special liking to our girls. He snuggles up with them, and puts his paws up on their lap when they are sitting in a chair.

We don't know much about his past, only that he was found on an Indian Reservation, and then later to Rosie's shelter up North. Other than being a little shy and unfamiliar with some things---given his incredible good nature so far, we know he's been well treated, been around both adults and children, and appears to have been well fed. Hard to guess his age--he's not a puppy, I'm guessing maybe 1- 2 years old? We'll ask the vet on his visit in a few days.

We've fallen in love with this guy in just our first weekend. Tanner looks right into your eyes and just has that special way about him that's difficult to describe, but you know it when you see it. We are happy for him, but a little sad for us already, because we know he's going to be a very quick adoption and make an amazing part of someone's family.

05/12/2011:
If there's one thing pretty universal about dogs, it's that they don't like going to the Vet. So, we figured this was going to be the first "acting out" experience for us with Tanner.

We took Tanner to the Vet on Wednesday, where he was met in the waiting room by barking, nervous, squirming dogs, creating all sorts of noise. But Tanner simply wagged his tails and seemed genuinely happy to see these other dogs. He didn't even bark and after greeting the other dogs, sat calmly next to us. Amazing.

When it was Tanner's turn to go into the exam room, we figured the shoe was about to drop once and for all. Surely, he wasn't going to keep up his good manners, when being pricked and probed by the Vet, thermometers inserted you-know-where, and so forth. All I can tell you is what the Vet said. "I've NEVER seen such a good natured dog". Tanner not only let the Vet do her thing, but she passed all of the tests with flying colors and was pronounced to be in great health! The Vet also presumed Tanner to be around a year old.

Meanwhile, Tanner just continues to flourish at home. He's a fantastic walker on a leash. We're also amazed that this dog which was found roaming around an Indian Reservation and clearly hadn't spent much time indoors, has now come to love being a homebody with our other dogs, and seems to genuinely love being around people.

We do not kennel him at night, or even during the day. He seems perfectly happy to just stretch out and lay on the floor if there isn't much going on, or if we go away. We set up a little room off our bedroom for him to sleep in at night, which seems to work great for him. If you are looking for a dog to sleep on your bed, he would gladly raise his hand (I mean paw) for that option.

We are very attached to Tanner as he's become part of our family in such a short time. This dog is really special.

KAREN SAYS:
I am so happy RAGOM is very impressed with their first RLRR dog Tanner. This is so great.

Karen

Every rescued animal has a story...

A community member was at the garbage dump in Redby and a man came with his puppy that he was going to shoot. The community member told him not to shoot him and said she wanted him--so Pretty Boy Floyd was spared and came to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue 3 days before the transport.

PRETTY BOY FLOYDHe is about 14 weeks old, about 15 lbs. and is very sweet. I checked him and he seems like he has been neutered, so perhaps he was at our March clinic. I am so sad the guy was just going to shoot him and throw him in the garbage. He left Saturday enroute to a foster home through St. Francis of Assissi.

TRANSPORT TRAILEROn Saturday, May 7 we had a major transport of 6 large dogs and 16 puppies all to foster care. Also, as a part of this transport, a large truck and trailer load of food was also picked up for delivery to the RLRR shelter.

TRANSPORT TEAMGeri and Karen met the O'Sullivans in Bemidji with the dogs and puppies where they were transferred to Tom's Pickup and also Nancy's car. Terry also came along to help.

TRANSPORT CREWKristin and Barbie met in Little Falls to take the precious canine cargo, and Eric from The Shed also met there with a load of donated food. Tom's truck and trailer were loaded full of much-needed food for Red Lake animals.

BATMANBatman, a pure bred German Shepherd, went with DeeDee to Second Hand Dog in Claremont.

TANNERWe are happy that Tanner is our first dog to be sent to RAGOM (Retrieve A Golden Of Minnesota).

SIX SHEP PUPS2 sheps went to Act V; 2 sheps went to MARS; 2 sheps went to Metro Mutts.

ROCRoc went to Pet Haven.

PRINCESSPrincess is a Australian shepherd mix that came injured from White Earth Reservation about 90 miles from RLRR. We had previously helped by getting Princess spayed, however now that Princess is injured the owner requested we take her because she has no way to get her medical care nor keep her safe. Princess was a model well-behaved quiet dog at the shelter during her brief stay. All Dog Rescue took her on May 7th into foster care.

JONASJonas had been at the shelter for some time and went to All Dog Rescue.

FOUR SHEP PUPS4 shep pups (Casey, Tara, Thor, Bella) went to TLC Canine Rescue.

HUSKY PUPS3 husky pups wer to MUSHR; 2 husky pups went to Secondhand Hounds.

SHAMUShamu was a very special needs boy that went to Liz, RLRR foster home. Shamu was neutered at our October 2010 clinic, and was since kept in a pen and developed some behaviors including jumping up on people and very hyper behavior. Being a very large dog he could easily knock people down. He is very friendly. The owner finally decided to surrender Shamu to RLRR where he spent a month. Thankfully, now Shamu will get one-to-one training and there will be hope for his adoption in the future.

It was a great relief to have the many dogs and puppies on to their new foster homes with a chance for a new life as well as getting the food supply not only for the shelter but for the many community people who come to the food shelf for pet kibble.

Karen