Jumper

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Sponsored by:Jill Handley
~ In honor of Chris Lambeth and Dave Handley ~

When I went to pick up a dog named “Jumper”, I was not quite sure what to expect.  There was no real bio for this dog to help us prepare.  All I knew was that she was an ex-breeding dog, and based on my last experience with a breeding dog, I was wondering why I felt the need to “jump” into this situation again.  Well, I am glad I did.  This 7 yr old female, purebred golden retriever captured my heart from minute one.  I went into the visitation room at Stone Mountain to meet her and experienced the only “jump” I have seen from her.  She would be more appropriately named “Thumper” or “Bumper”.  Her tail wags all the time and she is very affectionate and will bump my arm to get my attention.  But at this very moment, she is doing neither.  She much prefers to lie next to my chair and sleep or just watch me as I work.
 
Jumper has been with us nearly a week.  It seems as if we have always had her.  She has fit herself into our routine and is happy to just be part of the pack.  She has learned quickly what “kennel up” means, but has earned the right to sleep outside the kennel now if she wishes.  She knows “night night time” and will happily follow us to our room and settle in for the night.  She has learned “go potty” and does her business outside on demand, once she of course sniffs around and finds that perfect spot to present her “gift”.  She is learning “down” and “sit” and is already familiar with “no”.  All this in less than a week!  I have never heard her bark, which is quite refreshing compared to our resident dog.  She has no problem sharing us with our resident dog, and has been very tolerant of the resident’s irritating need to play and nip at her.  Only one episode of snarkiness but I think she just needed to set her boundaries.  Haven’t seen any of that behavior since, even though the behavior of the resident dog has not changed.  Still a pest.   She is the cuddliest dog I have ever had.  She snuggles up to you and assumes the pillow position.  You can lay beside her, on her, just about any way you want and she will revel in it all. 
 
Jumper is on the smallish side for a golden.  I would say that if she wasn’t slightly overweight, she would fit in the 50-55 pound range She is a deep red with curly hindquarters and tail.  She has a lovely, expressive face that displays slightly crooked teeth as she “smiles” at you.  She is slightly gray on her muzzle. She shows evidence of her difficult past life with hair loss on both sides of her body.  Not sure if it will come back eventually or not.  My rose colored glasses see nothing but her sweet personality and adoration for her human.
 
So far, she has not shown any of her breed’s tendencies toward actually retrieving.  Don’t think she has had many balls thrown for her.  She is much more impressive with her drunkard’s path walking tendencies on leash.  But she doesn’t pull and there is no need to torture her with the gentle leader….  We dispensed with that very early in the game.  Maybe walking and retrieving will be emerging talents for later updates.  For now we are just happy to let her “chill” and learn that there are good things for her in this new world she has found herself in. 
 
Can’t wait to show her the lake!  Future headline!  “Dog is learning the dog paddle”!