He's Sexy and HE KNOWS IT! I love a POTUS with a sense of humor - BUT - I don't think he made this video.
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Angels - a Doggie Photo Album

My Golden Retrievers

My dogs are really Angels.
Recently, a friend called me in grief. Her Labrador, Jake, is ill with terminal cancer. He is nearing the end. It struck such a cord with me.

Why, I wonder, do people have to outlive their dogs?
Amidst the sadness, however, it is the joy they bring to our lives that we must celebrate to honor their spirits. There is nothing like a dog.

Marcus and Eliza, 1983

MARCUS
Marcus was my first Golden Retriever. This is Marcus with my daughter Eliza when she was a wee one, probably around a year old. He was remarkable. A gentleman, Marcus would have been Topper if he were a man; a top hat, a cane, spats, bow tie, tails - a martini and a cigar to complete the picture. That was Marcus. He was with us from 1981 to 1993. . .  we got him in Lake Tahoe, during the winter. Our neighbors had a Samoyed; Snowball. Snowball taught him the ropes - how to dig a hole into the snow for warmth, how to pee outside . . . As the snow melted, he was frantic, looking for a patch to pee. He finally figured it out, but it was cute.

My stepson, Darin, Bill and Baby Marcus, ca. 1981

We moved from Lake Tahoe to Hawaii and he did four months in the Joint (quarantine). He owned Kailua Beach. We ran every morning and he knew everyone. He was beautiful.
We returned to the mainland, Malibu, and shortly after that my husband left me for a two-year separation. It was a horrible time. I had been married only five years, with a small child. I felt like a failure. I was too young and too dysfunctional to know a better way to handle my situation. I almost fell apart - but I couldn't. I had to take care of Eliza . . .

So - I ran every day with Marcus, on the trails or on the beach. He guided me to sanity. Eventually my husband and I actually patched it up and stayed married. But it was Marcus who was my rock.

One day, he couldn't walk. His front legs were paralyzed. He had a tumor on his spine that had been undetected. There was nothing they could do.

When he passed away, I felt like the world had ended.

I searched very hard for my next pups. I knew what I wanted. I read and talked to breeders and show-dog owners. I studied everything I could get my hands on. I never wanted to be without a dog again, specifically, a Golden Retriever. So I got two, and we had puppies; it was joy, pure joy.

CHICO

Chico the Man

Chico and the ball

Chico and his baby girl, Ginger

Chico was a gentle giant. He weighed 115 pounds and moved like a tank. He never, ever growled in his life except in play with JoJo and his puppies. He was the most gentle dog that ever lived. His head was as big as a house, with kind eyes and a polka dot black nose. He smiled all the time. His soft golden fur was my halo. His gentle head would tap me on the back of my calf as I worked about the house or at my desk to let me know he was watching over me. He loved stinky stuff and cat poop, dog parks and ladies. My panties were never safe. He was horrible when JoJo was in heat, directed by an other-worldly instinct that brought out the beast in him. Chico would go crazy. He would prowl around looking for a way to get to her. He would run back and forth across the yard, try to take the door down, crawl through a window, smash his way in - anything. He would jump in the pool to cool off and go traipsing about all wet, dripping around the doors and howling.
He was all man, but a gentle man. He was the man I wished I had in my life. If he had been human I imagine he would be the guy who would have loved football and golf, beer and women. He was my man.

JoJo was so beautiful; she was a Saint.

JoJo jumping in after a ball

The way I will always remember JoJo and Chico

JOJO
JoJo was born on my birthday. She was simply a saint. "Saint" JoJo resurrected my husband when he came home after months and months in the hospital with a brain aneurysm. He had been in a coma for a long time, and partially paralyzed on one side. He was in rehab for months to relearn everything, from feeding himself to speech. He lost all of his hand and eye coordination. JoJo forced him to throw a ball until it hurt, made him walk her, attached herself to his thigh and never left his side. She adopted him as his nurse. She made him her purpose. She knew and understood that he was disabled, and when she went through dog training class with him, she made him look good. She was a star; she passed all her show trials with flying colors, except one -

Bill and I watched as the handler took her through her paces. But when she was recalled from a sit-stay, she ran out of the ring to Bill. Same on the down-stay. That night, Bill had a relapse; his eyes stopped tracking. Abnormal activity in his brain showed another aneurysm was active. He was admitted to UCLA again. She knew. She wanted him to know.

JoJo at attention over a ball

She had five litters, each one perfect. She was an awesome mother. In between births she jumped into the pool. She would throw her own ball in - just so she could retrieve it if she couldn't get someone to do it for her.

She was the most beautiful dog in the world to me.

Puppy pile!

Puppy stand-off

JoJo weaning and her puppies

JoJo with her litter

Puppies

I have often been asked if it was difficult to give up puppies to their new families. Never. I can't think of a more joyful thing.

I know that these dogs ring the same joy to their new home that they have brought me. I have never been disappointed. Everyone who ever had a puppy has been delighted. Their lives have been immeasurably enriched, changed for the better. Each puppy has its own doggy-destiny, to be that dog, in that family, and to give that family love. It is the cycle of life and love repeating itself. I had it, and I was passing it on to a new family, who would gain and give love anew.

I learned by my second shot at it that puppies can begin to learn in the fourth week; by then, I began with the basics.

By the time they went to their new homes, they were socialized and prepared for the fundamentals. I mean, by eight weeks old,  in my puppy classes, we were doing "sit," "down" and some "stay" and "come." Using the parents (Jojo and Chico)  as a resource, the pups would do what mom and dad did. In several cases, for various reasons, some puppies stayed with us longer than the eight weeks; one for four months, one for six, and so on. By the time they went to their new families, they were pretty well trained.

Latte and JoJo

I was in heaven. I loved every minute of puppy-breath.
I became dog-lady. All the kids in the 'hood hung out at my house.
My puppies had a ball.

Chico, Latte and JoJo

LATTE

I finally kept one little girl from the last litter JoJo and Chico had. Latte is the pup on the left, looking boldly, right at the camera. She has such a face! She is the perfect combination of mom and dad, but all her own. She is calm and intelligent, sweet and demonstrative. She loves everyone, leans against people she meets on the street, pushes her way into the hearts of strangers who are in distress. She is a healer; she is intuitive.

Like Chico, she has a blocky head, a short stop (nose) and wide-set eyes. Like her mom, she is full-coated with a vanilla undercoat. She is bulky and gentle, sweet and smart. She has the most amazing way of communicating...

JoJo purred. She taught all of her puppies to purr. When they are happy, they emit a little friendly growl. But in recent years, Latte has taken it a step or two further.

When she is really happy, really content, safe and secure - she talks. I swear. She makes noises in her throat that I am sure sound the same to her as human speech. She intones and converses. I speak, she answers. She even asks questions and makes statements. She always talks when we get in bed. She starts the minute I get under the covers. She is always there first, right where I am going to get in. I have to lift her up to get under her and then, her head rests on my shoulder. She grunts like a bagpipe when I lift her up and then she starts the talking. I imagine she asking me how the day went, telling me she loves me and I know, without a doubt, she is reiterating that bedtime is the best time of the day, when Latte, Chai and I are all together and everything is good.

After Latte was born, my husband and I moved around a bit until he moved to Hawaii. It was Latte, Chico and JoJo and our Australian Shepherd Pesky. I had four dogs and one cat, Whitey. We rented a tiny house in Thousand Oaks. It was a difficult time, but the house was full of love.

JoJo, Chico, Latte and Pesky in the background -
 he always took the back seat.

Latte at 7 months

My dogs motivated me each day, made me walk them, made me take them to the dog park every day. I made friends. I got along and found a path. They guided me. 

In 2004, my daughter graduated from USC. She left right after graduation. I had never felt so alone. Separated from my husband, my daughter gone, thank GOD I had the dogs. 

Latte

On the day after she left, I took Chico with me to do errands. We went to the dog park and he sniffed and peed. We had lunch with a friend. Then I came home and he jumped out of the car. A few minutes later I was feeding the dogs - and he wouldn't eat. 

I knew right away that he was really sick. I lifted him into the car and ran to the emergency vet. 

He died that night. He had a myocardial tumor on his heart that bled out. I was devastated. 

It was so sad. I am still sad about it. 

I fell totally in love

CHAI
A few months later, Eliza handed me a present. It was all wrapped in blue tissue in a blue bag. I opened it up and there was a photo album in it. It was a baby album. I freaked out. It appeared she was trying to tell me something . . .

But it wasn't a baby human; it was Chai, my baby boy. Chai, my baby boy. . . 

Visiting Chai at his breeder

I visited him several times at his breeder, Bob Rados in San Pedro. He was the most adorable little fella ever! I took him two days shy of his eight week. He came to my house a little cutie-boy with a little case of Coxidia when he came home, a common parasite puppies pick up. It made it very hard to crate train him. He couldn't hold it until morning.
So, we took a page from some of the puppy-owners I had. We put him on the bed with me. That way, he would wake me up every time he needed to go. And he did.

What a little cutie. 

To this day, Chai sleeps on my pillow. As a little guy he slept as close to me as he could. He still does, but he weighs 95 lbs. Chai follows my every move. He is a woosy little Momma's boy, and I love him for it. He makes himself as tiny as he can to get as close to me as he can wherever I am. He has a long nose and a long, slender body, the opposite of Latte. He has golden fur and it is straight as can be. He has a huge ruff - a mane - around his handsome face. One day we were walking down the street and a little boy in a stroller pointed at him. "Look mommy! A lion!" That is my boy. Chai is afraid of chihuahuas and small dogs that bark. He loves everyone and every dog, even though they don't love him. But he tries anyhow, and usually, he wins everyone over.

Chai and Latte in my house in Thousand Oaks

Chai sleeps on my pillow at night

When Chai was little, I had a small park across the street from my house. I would take him late at night to play on the climbing structure. He loved to climb and slide down the slide. It was so cute.
I never imagined he would develop a life-long tree-climbing habit, which he has. He climbs trees. They just have to have low-hanging branches and be strong enough to hold him.

Eventually, we all moved over to Hawaii to join my husband and daughter. Every day we went swimming. I shaved the dogs so we didn't have a hassle with the sand and the heat and the long hair. It was so much fun. JoJo was reunited with my husband. She became his mistress once again, and the two of them grew old together. 

Latte, JoJo and Chai in Hawaii

Although Bill was not really "old," his illness made him weak and vulnerable. He suffered from a lot of illnesses. His life was difficult, but he had a remarkable attitude. He never felt sorry for himself. 

Latte and Chai on my bed

(L-R) MyKey (Front), Latte, Chai and Golda at Peets in Brentwood

But our marriage didn't survive and I moved back to the Mainland with Latte and Chai. It kills me that I didn't bring JoJo with me, but she seemed to want to be with Bill. He certainly felt she should stay with him.

I was in no position to argue, being absolutely broke, so I took my two with me and here we are.

JoJo passed away two years ago in April. She was 13. I think she knew that Bill was terminally ill. He died last January. She had done her job well.

TODAY
I live in Brentwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. We share a condo with my 90-year-old mom. Latte is no longer a pup. She is slowing down. But she is a happy old girl, and she lives a good doggie life with me. I walk my dogs four times a day, at least, and over the last five years I have come to know my neighborhood very well. We run into our neighbors every time we walk.

In the morning I wake up with some really happy dogs, anxious to get a bite to eat and go for a walk. And its not just any walk - its a walk to Peets, the coffee place on the corner.

Peets means other dogs, like MyKey and Golda (above), or Henry and Mollie. It means treats and pets from all the neighborhood dog lovers and kids. Its incredibly important to my dogs! On days when I have to run early I know they feel ripped off. But what can I do? They are, after all, dogs.

Through this constan motion, this walking every day, I have learned so much. Small dogs cause problems, most of the time, especially when they are on retractable leashes. Some people hate dogs. Everyone has entitlement issues and most people who hate dogs will try to make other people accomodate them through angry intimidation. Nut-cases exist everywhere.

One night, at 1AM, I was walking my dogs off leash and Chai started sniffing in the flowerbed in front of an apartment building. A woman was standing in the entry of the building eating something. She began to freak out, literally, screaming at me at the top of her lungs. "Get the F-g dog out of here! He's killing the flowers! I'm calling the police! Put him on a leash!" Lights came on throughout the building. I didn't say anything, I just gathered my pups and ran. I don't think she was sober. . .

But there are nice people too. And there are great dog owners. I have come to love my neighbors so much. I often know the dogs before the people. One of the most important lessons I have learned is that kindness matters. Tolerance, patience and love win. My dogs give so much love - and it never fails that they get so much in return. Why can't humans be the same?

Latte and Chai posing at the Laurel Canyon Dog Park.