We've decided that Gucci was named after Italian designer Guccio Gucci. He has a silky soft fur coat and can walk the sidewalk (runway) as if he's the star of a fashion show.

Gucci's second day with us was good. Grandma comes over during the day while we're at work to care for him. She took him for a walk and he got away from her in the yard and ran straight for the cockleburs in the trees and romped and played. Needless to say the rest of the afternoon was spent on the porch in an intensive grooming session. He loved every minute of it and practically purrs when you brush under his chin.

He doesn't respond quickly to his name (maybe he'd like us to speak Italian) but if you hunker down and say it in a soft whisper he comes right over. He doesn't appear to like toys or chew-bones yet but hasn't done any inappropriate chewing on anything else in the house.

He is a gentle, loving Golden boy and will soon be ready for a forever family.

Gucci (left) and Toby Ed (right) sharing the window seat. 

Gucci went to the vet on Friday and is up to date on everything, fecal was good and his ears were clean too. Yea Gucci! He had a microchip so he is set to go. He could put on a few pounds but is basically a good weight.

He has turned into such a funny boy. He now LOVES a certain chew toy and likes to have it nearby everywhere he goes. It’s an orange octopus with a squeaker in it. He adores taking it outside but always brings it back in.

He hasn’t had any accidents since we figured out his schedule. He will not do any dog business when he is on a leash. I let him off his lead and he heads down the hill to the tall grass and looks back to make sure no one is watching. He happily comes back and then we play. He does not run away but he has accidentally romped into the neighbor’s yard and did not come back until I held up a treat and the orange octopus. He doesn’t respond all that well to his name. He does know some basic commands – ok, actually maybe he just knows one, “sit”. We’ve not asked him to do a lot because he is a little shy and I think he needs to feel safe and loved before we ask for too much performing. He loves it if you whisper in his ear, “You are a beautiful boy”.

He practically jumped out of his skin when he heard the air popper popping corn the other night. He ran away to behind the living room couch and didn’t come out until it was complete quiet, then he settled in to watch “Psycho”. He doesn’t beg for food at all and we’ve asked Toby Ed not to teach him that bad habit!

This morning when Zac went to school Gucci looked out the window and cried until he could no longer see him on his bike, then he curled up on the sofa by the cat. He has gotten very attached to Zac over MEA vacation and loves to sit at his feet no matter what he is doing. He let Zac try Halloween costumes on him and I think he has settled on the “skunk” because that only involves a fake tail. I’ll take that photo tonight!

He is not an unnecessary barker. We don’t have much traffic flow, but if the UPS man knocks, he’ll give him a bark or two – very appropriate. He’s just a sweet golden boy wanting a home and family that he can call his own. Because we’re “up north” we are certainly willing to take on a road trip and meet folks halfway because Mr. Gucci adores car rides.

"Scusi, ce stato un incidente!" said Gucci this morning. "Excuse me, there's been an accident." We told him not to worry, everybody poops, it's just that most people/dogs don't pick the living room floor. I'm sure it was my fault though and we just have to fine tune our day to give him enough supervised time outside. He felt really bad and I felt bad that he felt bad. I told him that all fosters know it's hard to adjust to a new place and everything is still ok, that's why they make disinfecting Mop and Glow. You can tell he is a dog who really wants to please. No matter what the situation was in his last home (and we don't think it was very good) he is a resilient gentle boy who just needs to be loved. He deserves to be someone's very best friend.

Last night we had a stray fly in the house, not even thinking, my husband got the flyswatter from a hook in the laundry room. Gucci whimpered and took off for upstairs. We, of course, assured him that he was a RAGOM dog now and no-one would ever hurt him again and we agreed that we would have to have any fly extermination when he was out for a walk. I told him to look in the mirror and repeat after me, "I am a RAGOM boy, I am good, I am strong, I am beautiful and I deserve a wonderful Golden life."

I'm running for joy because someone wants to meet me on Saturday!
Yippee!

Gucci didn't find his forever family this weekend. I'm not sure of the exact situation, but he reportedly growled at a 3 year old, so he should only look at a family without young children. It's hard to guess what he has been through before coming to us but perhaps there was a reason in his head that he is anxious around little ones. No toddlers in your future, Gucci.  I can tell you, that at our house many times a day, a 14 year old ruffian sneaks up on him and turns him over and rubs his belly in a surprise attack. He appears to love it. He lets a cat (Skeeter) eat from his bowl of food at the same time he is eating and he lets us grab his stuffed toys out of his mouth and run away without giving us so much as a snarly face.  Two ten year old girls walk Gucci three times a week and he gets SUPER excited to see them coming. He practically giggles.  So Gucci Poochy is still dreaming of his future home ~ and he knows the perfect family is out there waiting for him.

Gucci loved Halloween. He sat by a rocking chair in the entry (on a lead of course) with the door wide propped wide open and greeted funky- dressed trick or treaters most of the evening. Since our town is very small, almost all of the kids knew him by name already. He was really enjoying the anticipation of the kids walking down the long sidewalk and up the steps. He didn’t even care that I had a scary rubber mask on. He appeared to think that the kids were going to give him treats. When I thought he had enough excitement I brought him upstairs to watch tv with Larry but he just whimpered at the door to come down where the action was. A teenager dressed like Ellen Degeneres went upstairs to get him again and he wasn’t even scared! All in all he was a brave guy.

"Is no-one out there looking at me? I really need my own kid, my own
family. Could you hurry up and email someone at RAGOM about me because
I'm ready to fall in love here. I'm thinking about placing an ad in the
local singles page. How does this sound? I mean every word."


SINGLE GOLDEN MALE seeks long term commitment. I'm a very good boy who
LOVES to play. I adore long walks in the woods and peeing on stuff. I
dream of camping trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire and the
friendship of my very own cat. Just watching TV with your feet
scratching my tummy is the best night I can imagine. Please call if
you'd like to talk more. Woof. I'll be waiting.

We gave Gucci the ultimate growling test – TWO YIPPY POODLES – and he passed with flying colors. He even liked them when they nipped at him. If you can put up with neighborhood poodles there’s nothing you can’t take. Goo Goo (Gucci Goo Goo) is getting sweeter by the minute. Something that is interesting about him is that he never wants to come into the kitchen! Our favorite room. I think he may have some bad experiences in kitchens. He stands at the doorway and watches but it is very hard to coax him in. If he does come in – he runs right out again. We put his dog bowls in the dining room and he seems alright with that. We scheduled Xmas card pictures Thanksgiving Friday and he is ok with going in (we’ll see how he does in the studio) but he’s dreaming of his own Christmas card with his own forever family.

Gucci went to Sand Hill Lutheran Church on Sunday and sat in on Sunday School classes and was the perfect gentleman. When it came time for the Annual Lutefisk Dinner, he did turn up his nose and ask to go home.  No-one blamed him; as fish soaked in lye is an acquired smell, even for a dog.

What he'd really like to be thankful for next week is if someone would want to meet him over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Gucci "GooGoo" enjoys balls and other toys but is also
content to just sit in the sun.

“I love my dog as much as I love you. But you may fade, my dog will always come through. Na,na,na,na,na,na,nana. I love my dog, Baby, I love my dog.”

This is a Cat Stevens song that I sing to Toby Ed and Gucci 07-603. I guess it dates me, but I don’t care – I love my dogs.

This was Cat Steven’s first single, it became a hit on pirate radio stations in England and helped launch his career. The Yusuf Islam stuff came later.

Are you thinking?... “What is this?.... her diary? Get back to the stuff about Gucci.” Well it is about Gucci… sort of, because I love him.

Anyway, Gucci wanted me to tell whoever reads this, that, even though it’s not important, he is a purebred Golden Retriever and he has the papers to prove it.

But he wants you to know that it’s what’s on the inside of a dog that counts – his heart, and he will love his new family from here to forever if they just give him a chance.

Gucci had a visitor a few days ago and I'm happy to say that it was a match made in heaven. After thinking about it over the holiday, she came back today to get him and bring him to his forever home. He's going to a small town in North Dakota where soon everyone will know his name and they're going to be really glad he came. Tears are rolling down my face as I write this because every once in a while a foster dog really tugs at your heart strings and Gucci was one of those dogs. Goodbye Gucci Goo. Have a wonderful RAGOM Golden life!