APOLLO-Soon after I turned 18 years old, my friend Rich asked me to move in with him. I said yes almost immediately because he said I would be able to get a dog. It was Thursday night, a day before I moved in with Rich. We were walking downtown and stopped by the local pet shop where I would buy my puppy (This was 1973 before I knew anything about puppy mills and the owner did not buy from them. All the dogs they sold were mutts and under $25.00 or so). I saw a dog which looked like a German shepherd. I made up my mind to buy that one. However, I could not take my eyes off of a playful puppy. She was pawing at another dog. When Saturday came, I went to the pet shop. When I asked the owner if the dog I looked at a couple of days earlier was a German shepherd and to my disappointment he replied no. Then I asked him about the playful puppy I noticed days before. The owner replied she was mostly sheep dog. She was so playful, I decided she was the dog for me. When I asked the owner of the pet shop how much he wanted for her he replied $18.00. I paid him $18.00 and took her home with me where I named her Apollo. For the next 18 years and except for two or three months, Apollo never left my side.
APOLLO-1973-1991
DYLAN-It was six months since Apollo passed on and I wanted to get another dog. My landlord suggested either a Golden or a Labrador retriever. I decided on getting a Golden retriever. My landlord knew of a couple that raised Golden retrievers and he gave me their phone number. It turned out I knew the breeder's wife quite well. When I got to the breeder's house, I was taken to the basement where ten Golden retriever puppies were kept. The breeder opened their cage and all of them jumped on me pulling and tugging at my clothing. The breeder put eight of the puppies, who were already spoken for, back in the cage and showed me two of them that were still available. I did not know which one of the two I wanted until the breeder told me about one of them. It seems that this one puppy had his leg stepped on by his mother causing excruciating pain. The breeders were taking the puppy to the veterinarians every day and using warm oven mittens for his leg. At one point he was in terrible pain for 24 straight hours. The veterinarian did not think he was going to survive, but this little puppy fought through his pain and was soon able to join his brothers and sisters. Although he recovered fully from his leg injury, I assumed correctly no one wanted him because of his leg. Because I know what it is like not being wanted, I knew this puppy was for me.
When I first joined this site, I wrote a story from Dylan's point of vie on how he was chosen. For those who have not read it, enjoy.
A Dog's Tail, uh, I Mean Tale
Hi! My name is Dylan. I am a seven-year-old Golden Retriever and this is my story! I was born in late November in 1992. I had four brothers and five sisters. I don't remember how old I was at the time, a few weeks I think, but anyway I was lying close to my mother and she rolled over and landed on my leg. The result was I started howling in pain and my leg was severely bruised. My mother's masters picked me up and took me to the veterinarian. I did not know what was going on at the veterinarian’s office but I saw him shaking his head. I did not realize it then but I guess he did not think I was going to live. But the veterinarian did give me some shots to ease the pain.
When I got home, my leg started to hurt again and I started to howl in pain. My mother's masters spent the next 48 hours warming my leg with a heated oven mitt. But the pain was still so intense, I did net think I was going to survive. But after a few days, the pain started to go away. Pretty soon there was no pain at all. Finally after a week, I was able to go back to my mother and my brothers and sisters.
I had a great time. I was with my mother who was feeding me, bathed me with her wet tongue, and boy I tell you that felt good. She was also careful not to step on my leg again. I also had a great time playing with my brothers and sisters. We got into everything. We would fight over clothing, playing tug 0' war with it. We were teething and were chewing everything in sight. We would chase each other and have mock fights. When we tired and got hungry, there was always mom around for comfort and a good meal.
One day when our mom's masters took her out for her walk, we waited, as usual, for her return. But we waited and waited, but she did not show up. When it was time for us to eat, instead of our mother's milk, we had this strange food in our dish. Well, we were hungry and if you will excuse the expression, pigged out. Pretty soon we got used to the idea mom was not coming back, but I still miss her.
Well, I thought to myself, at least I still have my brothers and sisters. But soon after mom left, a bunch of strangers started showing up in the basement where we were kept. They started to play with us and we chewed at their clothing. Then after a while, these strangers started to take my brothers and sisters away. The way I figured it out was that these Strangers were taking us home as pets where they would play with us all of the time. I anxiously waited my turn. I put on my best show so I would be picked. But as more and more strangers came, no one was anxious to pick me. I gathered it was because I had a bad leg!!!. I was getting really depressed. .A week had passed and there was only my brother and I left. I had given up all hope of somebody taking me home with them. Then on a Friday night, a young man came down to look at us. He played with us, but I figured he would choose my brother. Then I saw this strange young man talking to my mother's master and then he looked over at me with a sad look on his face. All of a sudden a big grin came across his face and the next thing I knew this young man was picking me up and taking me home with him. I was so happy, I started licking his face or in dog terms, giving him kisses. When he would address me, he kept calling me Dylan. It took a while, but I figured out that was my name Hmm, I thought. Dylan! I liked that. I saw my reflection in the mirror and I do look like a Dylan. I found out later that I was named after a famous musician, Bob Dylan. I felt really honored. My new master took me into his jeep. As he prepared to take me to my new home, I felt sad that I was leaving my birthplace. But at the same time, I looked forward to living with somebody whom I would have all to my self. To show my appreciation to my new best friend, I sat on his lap on our way to my new home.
DYLAN 1992-2004
Tramp-Six moths after Dylan's passing, I decided to get another Golden retriever. Since the breeder's where I got Dylan from were no longer in business, I had to find another breeder which I did after researching on the internet. When I found a reliable breeder, she said she had 4 males and 4 females, but the females were already spoken for. I said I wanted one of the 4 remaining males. She said if I put down a deposit, I could have the pick of the four males. I asked her to mail me a picture of the 4 Golden retriever puppies and she said she would when they were old enough. I waited on pins and needles for those pictures to arrive. One night, I dreamed I was going to look at the puppies. As I was walking to the breeder's house, I noticed my late dog Dylan, was walking along side of me. I felt he was there to help me pick out a puppy. In my dream, when the breeder showed me the puppies, I saw the one I wanted and told the breeder which one I wanted. When I woke up the next day, I checked my e-mail and guess what? The puppy I chose in my dream was in the picture the breeder showed me. When I called the breeder and told her which puppy one and why I wanted that one, she was relieved because other people seeking Golden puppies did not want the one I chose because he was the runt of the litter and much darker than the other ones. Again, I know what it was like not being wanted so I was very happy choosing the runt of the litter.
TRAMP 2005-
