Description:
I was born under the porch of a cabin in the Ocala National Forest — well,
actually Salt Springs, Florida. My name is Rex — sometimes my humans call
me Rexie. I was staying with a family that had two boys when I met another
family that was visiting the area, from Oviedo, for the Fourth of July
holiday. I’ll get to them later. Let me say, I’m very grateful for my Salt
Springs family that rescued me from being captured by Animal Control.
Animal Control got four of my brothers and sisters. My mommy and another
sibling are still living under a vacant house at which Animal Control has
placed a trap to catch them. They’re smart like me! So far, they have
eluded Animal Control! My mommy is very pretty — I hear the humans say she
is a “Golden Retriever or Golden mix”. I’m not quite sure what that means
but they think it means I will be a very good doggy. My daddy — he might
have been a Boxer. I don’t really remember him.



My Salt Springs family was feeding me and giving me water — and I
appreciated that very much. Although, I had these black little bugs all
over me that would not leave me alone! They gave me little red marks and
made me pretty darned itchy. I had so many sores from scratching where
those fleas would bite me. I also had these little white things; again, I
don’t know what these humans are talking about, but they said they were
tapeworms. My family did provide me a roof over my head. That was very
nice of them; however, I was living on the family’s porch where maggots were
crawling around my family’s trash can. My family has two other dogs; it
made me really sad that one of my adoptive brothers was permanently tied to
a tethered cable, which allowed him to go under the porch or under the
family truck for shelter. We weren’t on a flea or heartworm preventive and
we didn’t get baths. Needless to say, the fleas loved us!



The boys of my family would put me in the pool and let me go to the bottom.
When that family from Oviedo heard this they gasped in horror. The boys
said, “Well, he came back up”. I think that was the beginning of my travel
plans to Oviedo. I will never forget that day! As soon as my new Oviedo
family got a hold of me, I got a bath before we even left the Ocala area.
Geeeezzz! Then, before I even got to see my new home they’d stopped and got
me puppy food, a new collar, and before I knew it I had an appointment to be
back at the store in two hours for my vaccinations! I was ready for a nap.
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention I had to have ANOTHER bath right when we
got home! They even trimmed these sharp things at the ends of my toes. I
was thinking “What have I gotten myself into?!”



Well, I sure have done my best at being cute and showing them how good I can
be. When I think I have to go potty, I go and sit by the door. They let me
back in and pet me and say that is “so good”! I hope I keep doing that!
Also, this family has children, dogs and cats. I love the kids and large
dogs. The dogs look pretty big to me! All I can see are their chins and
bellies when I look up at them! They are monsters! They have to range
between 25 and 80 lbs. Oh, and how about this? I haven’t even chased a
cat!



Let’s see, what else can I tell you about me? I love people! I love to
snuggle up with my family. I love playing with some of the big doggie toys
that my new family has lying around. They got me special little rawhides
all of my own on which I can chew. They put me in this box (they call it a
crate). I don’t like it much. They seem to think it will be good for me.
I’m not so sure about that.



I know this family loves me and would love to keep me for their own. I sure
would love to be theirs forever. They have a lot of love to give; however,
they have adopted all that they feel they can provide a loving home to at
this time. That makes me sad but I sure do love them and thank them for
wanting me to have a better life than what I was destined for in my previous
situation. They have the utmost respect for Judy and her staff and knew
that they only wanted Pet Rescue by Judy to find a new home for me. Since
they love me so much, they have told Judy that I can stay with them until
the sad and happy day comes when I find a forever family to love me and
protect me.



According to www.dogbreedinfo.com, the Golden Retriever was first developed in the British Isles, probably from crosses between a yellow Flat-Coated Retriever, light-coated Tweed Water Spaniels, other spaniels, setters and even the Newfoundland and possibly the Bloodhound. In fact the breed was first shown as a Golden Flat-Coat. The Golden is one of the world's foremost family companion dogs. Many of the top obedience competition dogs in the country are Golden retrievers. The Golden is also a fine bird dog on both land and in the water. He has an excellent nose and has been used not only for hunting and tracking, but also for narcotics detection. Because of his great desire to please and capacity for love and learning, the Golden Retriever is also used as a guide for the blind, therapy dog, and service dog for the disabled.
These are lovable, well-mannered, intelligent dogs with a great charm. They are easily trained, and always patient and gentle with children. Loyal, confident, sweet and eager to please. It is active, loving and an outstanding family dog. Golden Retrievers enjoy pleasing their masters, so obedience training can be fun. They excel in obedience competitions. Friendly with everyone, including other dogs, the Golden Retriever has very little, if any, guarding instincts. While unlikely to attack, Goldens make good watchdogs, loudly signaling a stranger's approach. This breed needs to be around people to be happy. If isolated from human contact, or left alone for long periods of time, the Golden Retriever may become mischievous. They can be over-exuberant and distractible. Some of the Golden's talents are hunting, tracking, retrieving, narcotics detection, agility, competitive obedience, and performing tricks. These dogs also love to swim. They have a life expectancy of 10-12 years.