What a Handful. Photograph, 7 x 5 in. Copyright 2010, Tania Nault.
Today I drove out to Charmlee Goldens to meet the puppies. And what can I say, it’s 10 hours later and I’m still grinning like an idiot. I don’t know how Lianne’s getting any work done ’cause I could sit there all day and watch them. And stroke them. And pick them up and breathe in their wonderful puppy scent. And tell them they are the cutest puppies ever.
They’re 12 days old today: they each weigh about a pound and a half (although Tan Collar Boy is substantially larger), their eyes are opening, and both Green Collar Girl and Tan Collar Boy could lift their stomachs off the ground for a few seconds when they stood. They’re funny to watch, switching between nursing and milk-induced narcolepsy in the blink of an eye. And are they ever determined if they find themselves on the “wrong side” of Jade. While Jade lay prone on the floor, Lianne picked up Tan Collar Boy and placed him along Jade’s back and in less than 45 seconds he had navigated his way around to her stomach. No small feat, particularly when you consider that he’s practically blind, can’t hear, and the movements his paws make have more in common with swimming than walking.
Another couple came out while I was visiting – they’re getting a female puppy, and for a while we discussed puppy names. The couple have an adult female Golden with a floral name and have chosen to continue the floral theme with their puppy. Lianne is searching far and wide for a gem or mineral name (Jade is Topaz’s daughter, who is Charm’s daughter). And I’ve chosen “Grover”. Why Grover, you ask? Well, a short while after we decided to get a puppy I had a dream that we already had the puppy and had named him Grover after the muppet character from Sesame Street, the children’s television series. And now that I think about it, the last three dogs I’ve owned have been named after television characters:
- Kato: assitant to the Green Hornet, a superhero from radio, comic books, and television series – Kato was the Hornet’s wheelman
- Casey: a boy on Mr Dressup, a Canadian children’s television series that ran on CBC when I was a child – Casey lived in Mr Dressup’s back yard with a little grey dog named “Finnegan”
- Mack: my son named Mack after one of the Rescue Heroes, Matt Medic; when I pointed out to my then seven-year-old son that “Mack” and “Matt” were actually two different names, he responded, with unwavering childhood logic, that it was okay that the dog’s name was different, after all, Mack was a dog
Grover is described as a ”valiant, caring, and exuberant blue monster”, and I think Grover is the perfect name for a Golden Retriever… a valiant, caring, and exhuberant breed.
