JEWEL'S PUPPIES!!!

Jewel has her puppies 2 days later, on August 26th. She had 4 females and 7 males! The father of her puppies is Captain.

RUBY'S PUPPIES!!!

Ruby has had her puppies! The pups were born on August 24th. She had 5 females, 7 males. The father is Lochnivar.

STATE FAIR UPDATE

We will be at the State Fair in the Purina Pet Building both week-ends, August 26,27 & September 2,3 from 8:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m. Stop by and see us! We will be benching with Captain and Jasmine. We hope to see many of you there!

WHY I LOVE MY JOB!

It has been a very busy summer. First a litter of 4, then 6, and now the last litter of 12 will go to their new homes in a few days. You must think we are crazy to have so many puppies. The truth is, there were so many people wanting a puppy this summer, and we knew we would have the extra help with our children home, that we decided we could do it. When we bred Lilly and calculated when her puppies would be ready to go, it was the same week most of my family goes up to Lake Vermillion for a week of fun in the sun with all the cousins. Knowing all we do with the puppies the last week, it was impossible to go on vacation with everyone else this year. Typically this would be very hard for me, but today, what I experienced made it all worth while.

Our married daughter Kelly came home to help us take the puppies to different places. You can imagine taking 12 puppies into a nursing home or pre-school! When we walked into the foyer of the nursing home, a lot of residents were anxiously waiting for us. Greeting us with open arms, and huge smiles. As we placed the puppies into their arms, their eyes lit up! As I walked the hall and saw each one of my children handing puppies to residents, smiling and explaining how old the puppy was, yes, it is a golden retriever, no they are not available, they are all spoken for, there are 12! Yes, all from one mother……my heart melted as I could see how much ministry was going on in the hearts of the residents. One man in particular stood out to me. He could barely raise his head, and as I put the puppy on his lap, he wrapped his arms around it and began to cry. At first I thought he was distraught, but then I realized he was crying tears of joy. This man could not speak, but his face showed all the emotion he was feeling as he held this little bundle of love. Ironically, the puppy laid in his lap and did not try to wiggle out. I stood there for 10 minutes while the man and puppy snuggled. The power of love is the greatest force on this earth. As I watched my children, the puppies and the residents, I was overwhelmed with love. Love for my kids, the puppies, and the joy we brought into this place.

Last night as I placed one of the puppies on my chest to see if she would lick my face or run away, she snuggled up and gave me a few sweet kisses, then got down and started exploring, coming back to me for reassurance. I smiled thinking of the dog she will grow to be, and the blessings she will bring to her new family. Through all the early mornings, late nights, tons of laundry, book work, phone calls, baths, vet visits, interviews, poop scooping and brushing…it is all worth it. I love my job!

TROOPER

I received this message this week regarding one of our former puppies:
Trooper is THE best!  As I've mentioned before, he is everything we could
have hoped for.  He is a favorite at Gillette Children's hospital as a
therapy dog and we have had some pretty touching moments there with
some kids who really struggle in life.  Just last week there was a little boy
on a cart lying on his stomach who had to pull himself around to build
strength in his arms. ( and both legs were in casts).  He LOVED Trooper
and was not real fond of trying to pull himself around so the therapists
used Trooper as an incentive.  The little boy would have to pull himself so
far, and then as a reward, Trooper got to sled-dog him the rest of the way.
There wasn't a dry eye in the place as the boy screamed with delight!
You must feel such satisfaction breeding such lifechanging companions!

SAYING GOODBYE

I have mixed emotions saying good bye to the puppies. I am happy for the families and relieved that all the puppies are healthy, safe and going to their new homes. After all the time we have spent, we are ready for a little break when they leave, but those first mornings when there are no puppies to care for are a little sad. We are looking forward to our August litters when the farm has new life again.

CHLOE

This is Chloe, one of Lily's puppies.

VACATION!

We just returned last week from a wonderful family vacation at Wisconsin Dells. It was the perfect place for the Rolling Oaks staff to beat the heat! The day we left it was 102 degrees! (left to right: our daughters Amy, Christie, Kelly, and Anna)