We adopted Fergus on August 3, 2007.
We changed his name to Chance, in part because it was chance that
brought him into our lives after he was initially adopted by someone
else. He has been the most wonderful addition to our family -
more than we could ever have imagined.
Chance has a
wonderful calm disposition. That much was apparent as soon as we
met him. He's a golden doodle (poodle/golden retriever cross),
which gives him a combination of brains and loyalty. It also
gives him a bit of the poodle independent streak. His first days
with us were not totally without challenges. He lacked self-confidence,
he didn't like being on the leash, he didn't know how to go up or down
stairs, and he was not just un-housetrained, he actually thought he
was supposed to go into the house to go to the bathroom. All
these difficulties were worked through together. We worked hard
to be calm, consistent and patient, and it paid off.
He was freshly
clipped when we got him and kind of long and lanky. He has since
put on about 12 pounds and a lot of curly fur. He doesn't
even look like the same dog.
Chance
loves children, other dogs and people - in that order. He
is great with kids. When he hears a child's voice he is
immediately attracted. When he meets a child he is very calm and
gentle and children love to touch his soft curly fur.
He gets to
play (off-leash) with a group of 8 - 12 other dogs every morning in a
fenced area close to home. This is his favourite thing and it
has been so good for him. He adjusts his play style to the dog
he's playing with. He can be gentle or rambunctious, bouncy or
sedate, whatever works best for the other dog. He gets tons of
exercise, both from his play sessions and from his other pleasure
walks with us. We are able to have him off-leash most of the
time and he listens very well most days -- unless he is having a
"poodle day" and needs
to think about everything we want him to do. On poodle days, if
we call him he stops and thinks about whether he wants to come or not.
Sometimes the decision is not. We went to obedience class
(basics) and he did great. I think we learned more than he did.
He loved the
summer, and started to learn to swim. We got him a wading pool
to cool off in. Every day we walked down to the beaver pond and
he got to see geese and bunnies and frogs and once in awhile a beaver.
He also loves the winter and especially the snow. It sticks to
him like crazy and he ends up looking like a snowball, but it doesn't
bother him a bit.
He brings so much
joy to our lives and we can't imagine life without him.
Thank you for being
the ones who brought us together.
Update January '09 ...
We just wanted to give you a brief update on Fergus (golden doodle -
adopted in August 2007 and renamed Chance) and Lucie (grey domestic
longhair - adopted in March 2008 and renamed Diamond). They have
become very good friends and it is hard to believe that they haven't
been together their whole lives. I am sending a picture of the
two of them doing what they do all day long (I'm jealous).
I'm
also sending a picture of Chance at the pond where he likes to chase
frogs - Diamond doesn't get to go there with him.
We are seriously considering expanding our family once again. Chance
would like a stepbrother or stepsister - so you may be seeing us again
soon.
Thanks for all your great work.
Maryka &
Ron N.
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