Welcome to Wagging Tales!

I have a very high opinion of dogs, and by extension dog-owners too, for our furry friends have trained us well. Every dog-to-human bonding is unique, but the unconditional love is universal. Who can come home to a joyous dog and not feel a heart-lift? And who can see a person interacting with their dog, and not smile? In our family we have known and loved Bonzo, Sissy, Heidi, Kim, Bandit, Lady, and we now have Charlie. In this blog, I will tell you some of our favorite dog tales – and I would love to hear from you as well. For if you are here, we, too, have a bond.

Choosing Charlie

Our golden retriever, Charlie, is now six and a very good boy. But it seems like only yesterday that we were picking out an adorable but wildly mischievous puppy.


After our beloved Lady died, I cried for three weeks and then a severe case of puppyitis crept into my soul. I was drawn irresistibly to the internet in search of golden retrievers. I had to conduct my illicit surfing in the middle of the night so my husband Jerry wouldn’t catch me. (He said we “weren’t ready”.) My nightly sojourns became more frequent and then came the phone calls. Finally I was asked to take a long car trip. At this point, it was only fair to let Jerry in on my secret life.


Luckily for me, my mother-in-law, Elsa, was visiting. When Jerry said, “Over my dead body” and other spicy epithets, dear Elsa told him to button it, “Carolee NEEDS a dog!” Right!!!


The breeder had advertised reddish-gold golden retrievers – like our precious Lady – and he had four females. So we drove 150 miles from Palm Desert to Palos Verdes, through L.A. rush hour traffic. This definitely did not improve Jerry’s view of our errand -- but what could he say in front of his mother? After five hours of stress-filled stop-and-go (during which I could picture the four females being adopted at the rate of one per hour), we arrived. Our reward? Twelve adorable puppies, yes, all still available, romping across a beautiful lawn overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Jerry tried a feeble, “We don’t have to pick one today, you know.” Right, we could pick TWO!


We zeroed in on the four girls, and found one to be particularly appealing. She was smart, athletic, and energetic like our Lady had been, but perhaps a bit more independent, not quite as willing to be held. Then I started noticing a playful, blond doggie that kept dancing around my feet, darting away from us and then back, as if to say “Look at me, Mommie!” I picked up this little guy and he nuzzled me, licked me, gently chewed on my hand, and immediately stole my heart. Suddenly I could see the wisdom of not getting a female – the poor dear could never compare with Lady. We needed a whole new doggie experience – a blond boy! – it felt right.


Elsa echoed my thoughts and said, “This is a precious dog. Why not try a boy this time?”


Jerry, ever procedural and not quite with us yet, said, “If you aren’t sure, we could go think it over.”


“Honey”, I replied, “Who needs to think?”


Who knew these words would come back to haunt me?

Please come back next week to hear about Charlie’s unusually lengthy puppy training. In the meantime, check out a terrific blogsite about Max, a very talented golden retriever.  http://maxthegoldenretriever.com/  Thank heavens he is not in the dog show with Charlie on March 6. More later.