Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon

Adopted June 2010

From Mel (#1977)

On an overcast Saturday in mid-June, I woke up and found my trainers smiling down upon me. In their hands was a new leash, a shiny new collar, and a new tag inscribed with my name, Mel. Not sure what this all meant, but the leash told me I was going for a walk -- yay!

Hopping out of my kennel I was greeted by a scruffy looking guy with tattered jeans and a dingy tee shirt. He tried to coax me over to him, but he didn't have any yummy treats so I just ran around hunting for new smells and tennis balls. Don't worry, he called me over and eventually I went -- he borrowed some treats from my trainer. It turned out this guy wanted to take me home with him! This had me worried. This guy was quiet and calm! Me, I'm crazy, especially about food, squirrels, smells, tennis balls, licking, and running. How is this guy good for me?

Well, after a few quiet and rainy days at home, this guy figured me out. We started our adventure with a hike up to Eagle's Rest in the Columbia Gorge where I played in the creek and chased chipmunks! Next, we checked out all the dog parks and found the perfect one -- I went off-leash and made so many friends and found so many tennis balls! Then we went up to Mt. Hood and hiked in the woods, slept in a tent, and had a campfire; it was like summer camp!

But then we did the coolest thing yet. We drove a long way in a packed car where I made some new friends through a place called "Montana" until we arrived in a place called "Wyoming". There, we spent two weeks in the woods with deer, cows, coyotes, SQUIRRELS!, and rock climbers. Apparently, my new owner scales rocks in his spare time and told me I'd have to tag along now and again -- every weekend in the woods, YAY! Wyoming was wonderful and full of SQUIRRELS! I loved Wyoming. My owner made me promise to eat less tennis balls so we can save some "moola" and go back next summer.

Nowadays, we're starting all our days on the right foot, my right foot! I wake up my new friend very early so he can feed me, let me out, start his coffee, take me to the park, and then go for a run. He grumbles about something called the "snooze button" but likes our early morning runs. I like my runs too, they're long and scenic with lots of SQUIRRELS! I never thought I'd run so much, so far, and so often without any trouble. Though I'm 7 years old, I feel like I'm 2! I may be the fittest dog on my block!

The eats are good too! My new friend likes to hide fresh tidbits in my food bowl when I'm not looking, bacon, hot dogs, nibbles of cheese, and frozen peanut butter bits! I eat like a king. Maybe that's why we run everyday? He also washes me; maybe too often. My friend tells me it's good to get washed so I'll have "girlfriends" always petting me. Whatever those are, I just wanna be pet!

Life is good! We're leaving now for Smith Rocks and on to Bend for some trail running. We're going to stop by Mt. Hood and play in the snow -- YAY!

From Bob:

Mel is a good boy and has been a "dream come true" kind of dog. I didn't think owning my first dog could / would be this easy. The roommates and neighbors have all taken to him in short order and he's well-loved everyday. Moreover, I haven't introduced him to a single person yet who hasn't been jealous, awestruck, or willing to dog-sit. It's a real delight to see him florish and to see the positive change he's made in my life.

Yet, Mel has his "things" that we're working on -- like his killer sense of smell, oh man can he track! -- but I figure let a dog be a dog and it'll be aok. And yes, we do run a lot -- I found the cure for antsy, energetic dogs is a good, long morning run. We've done 8 miles at our peak and now we average about 24 miles a week.

More to come I'm sure; Mel wants to join Facebook to stay in touch with his girlfriends. Stay tuned....