OUR BEGINNING: Our love affair with Golden Retrievers goes back 17 years.

We got our first Golden in the summer of 1991. Our son Michael was seven at the time and wanted a dog. The local animal shelter had posted a stray Golden as “Awaiting Adoption” in the Saturday paper. We rushed down there bright and early before they were open and Michael was excited with anticipation. “Open, open, open!” The doors opened, and since we were the first ones there, we asked to see the Golden from the paper. They let us take him into an area to get acquainted… needless to say it was love at first sight for all of us! The Love Affair began! We had found the dog we wanted ----only to be told that there was a waiting list of over eight other people for that particular dog! Young Michael was crushed and quite upset, as were we all.

Ahhh, but, we knew we had to have a Golden Retriever. Not knowing where to look for a reputable breeder back in 1991 we went to the pet section of the local newspaper and found a breeder with AKC registered Golden’s in Modesto. It so happened that they had one female left and she was the runt of the litter. Into the car we piled one evening after work to see the cutest little ball of fur who had just finished dinner. SOLD! We brought Gretchen home with us that very night. Michael and Gretchen sat in the back seat of the car for the hour long drive home. About half way home little Gretchen had an “involuntary personal protein spill” (thank you George Carlin) – the first of many times a Golden would have in one of my cars.

We learned a little bit about responsible breeding with Gretchen. I worked with someone who also owned a Golden and we both wanted to breed them. So, I spoke with my veterinarian about breeding Gretchen and he said I should have her hips checked for dysplasia. Well, the results were not what we wanted to hear. She had the worst hips he had ever seen in his career! In her later years she would be quite uncomfortable without medication.

Gretchen was spayed; that was the end of our thoughts of a breeding program. We may not have knownmuch, but we DID know we didn’t want to pass along hip dysplasia! Shewas a true Golden, full of love and energy! Her mission in life was to be a loving companion to Michael and the rest of the family – which she did with humor and grace - until she was fifteen years old. The last few years were made more comfortable with the help of medications as predicted by the vet. Sadly we helped her across Rainbow Bridge  in July of 2006.

We knew we would get another Golden Retriever sometime in the future, but Pam was reluctant to do it too soon. She thought we should wait until the following year. Eventually, Pam began to miss the greeting from an excited Golden. We got the ‘gold light’ from her to begin looking again. We wanted to have a Golden by Christmas! So much for waiting a year. This time I swore I would do a proper search and interview for my next Golden and try to minimize the chance of getting a pet with hip dysplasia.

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FOUR FURRY PAWS FOR CHRISTMAS

HA! We only managed to wait two months. Searching the internet we found Judy & Ron Inman and Promise Kennels in Sanger (click on the picture to go to their site). We arranged to go meet Judy in Sanger and see for ourselves what Promise Kennels was all about and meet the beautiful dogs she had in her breeding program since the litters listed on their website were already spoken for.

During that visit we fell in love with Pete, their foundation male. “Big Daddy” Pete wasn’t just a handsome boy with several Champion titles, he had brains to go with his beauty and was Judy’s Service Dog until he was retired in 2008. We waited (patiently? NOPE!) on a couple of litters only to fall just shy of getting the male we were after. NO PUPPY FOR CHRISTMAS!  The next litter available wouldn’t be born until November, so puppies wouldn’t be ready to go to new homes until January.

But, all was not lost… it just so happened that Haley an older female puppy had been returned as incompatible with its previous owners. Why was she returned??? We will never know. But, one thing we will always be grateful for is that she was! Judy called and offered Haley to us as we waited for a male in the next litter.

So,we would have our Golden for Christmas after all. We were excited at the thought of having two Golden’s, let alone of having a male and female.

Haley came home and immediately became the joy of our household; she is a loving gentle soul who is happiest in your lap or at your feet. Her bone structure is fine - very feminine and is so well proportioned she floats around the show ring. She is an IABCA and UKC champion. We’ve recently completed the OFA certification process for Haley; to view her OFA certifications  click here-> Haley's OFA results,  you can go to Haley’s page by clicking on her hiding place.

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AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

That litter I mentioned above that was due in November was born on November 4th, 2006. Our boy Jake was in that litter! Also known as “Green”, the color collar he wore to help identify him (and because he was born a green puppy, not an uncommon happening during the birthing process). We were able to pick him up in early February of 2007 and he has been our “party” boy ever since; always in your face and ready to play, swim, lay at your feet or, God forbid, on your lap. He is definitely ALL boy.

Jake’s registered name is “Promise’s Golden Lucky Charm”. He is TRIPLE Registered with the AKC, UKC and IABCA. Jake is a VERY well put together boy who has excellent front and rear angulation, good bone and is a substantial dog. In addition to all of his body parts being “just right” he has dark pigmentation and perfect teeth. Jake is also a champion in the IABCA and UKC and won his 1st Best in Show at the age of 17 months! He also participated in his first AKC show July 12-13 in Carmel, CA and won his first blue ribbon in his class. We look forward to many more such blue ribbons and hope that he’ll also take a few more “Best in Shows” as we continue to show him in conformation competitions in the IABCA, UKC and AKC venues. He has yet to go through his OFA certification process, but rest assured, if and when he IS certified he will be a big part of our breeding program. Click on his throne to go to his page and check out his pictures.