GOLDEN TRIPLETS

Trust me, I had a million things I needed to be doing this morning. There is no shortage of work for me, and it'll remain that way until at least mid-September with our big trial coming up at work.

But, today, I needed to decompress. I really did. When I tell you that my brain was shutting down and the mental process was beginning to go numb, believe me. So, I needed to do something completely unrelated to work or stress or obligations or responsibilities.

Other than the obligations and responsibilities that I owe to my new Golden Triplets. We decided to get up nice and early this morning and head on over to Ocean Beach Dog Beach. We had to introduce Laverne & Shirley properly to their new life in sunny San Diego.

It was a bit of struggle getting the Golden Girls and Milo Da Bear, simply because the girls were never given any basic training. So, it was kind of like herding kittens as I tried to get all of them ready and packed up for the beach. Given their weight challenges, we decided to just kind of watch the girls at the beach and determine by their body language when they've tired out and are ready to go home.

Can I just say that they are ENERGIZER BUNNIES! Holy Moly! They RAN, CHASED, PLAYED, SWAM, SNIFFED, EXPLORED, AND S*W*A*M some more, for 2 and a half hours. We were more exhausted than the pups afterwards.

They literally spilled out of the car with excitement, chubby little butts wriggling with excitement, Milo the older brother telllin' 'em to hold their horses and behave. It was a riot! Without any basic training, it was a challenge keeping them in line with us because they wanted to run off on their own, which is no big deal, except they've got to come when we call, something we'll have to help them master. It is sad that their prior owners couldn't do these basic things for their dogs and their dogs' own safety, but that doesn't matter anymore. The Girls are here now.

Here are some fabulous pics of their first full day in their forever home with their big bro Milo Da Bear.

They were a hit with 3 lady cops out for a morning bike ride. The lady cop in the red is petting Laverne, who looks like she's about to drool with happiness. Shirley is with the lady cop in the pink shirt, and up front are my boys, Ed & Milo---


Our neighbor's dog Maggie, the little white doggie in the middle of the picture, joined us at the beach to help welcome the Golden Girls---

See this here? This is Milo, cheek pressed to my thigh, my little velcro boy. This is pretty much where he wants to be ALL the time, whether in the sea, at home, on a walk, you name it. I'm glad Laverne & Shirley are taking a liking to Ed, since all of our male Goldens have been the biggest mama's boys you've ever known!

My handsome man-boy with the "G-Unit"...a name we came up for ourselves after our first Golden rescue...---

The Girls took him ALL OVER the beach, up and down, back and forth, to and fro...for over an hour straight. They couldn't get enough of it. Overall I'd guess they walked about 4 miles all over the beach, if not more. My own calves are sore right now, so I can imagine how worked out they'll feel by tomorrow...

Adriana's doggie, Ally, also came to the beach to celebrate our new additions. She taught the Girls how to "splash skip" through the low tide---

Did I mention the Girls went swimming? Yah, they sure did. And they made friends everywhere they swam. Here is a nice lady they met who waded out far with them. Laverne is still pretty heavy and wide, and Ed says she looks like a battleship floating through the water. It's so funny because she does!

My Golden kids, making friends with other doggies, BIG and small.

I can see why the rescue didn't want to split the Girls up. They literally are inseparable. It is the darndest thing watching them because they move lock-step together in everything they do. When Milo comes up to them, they quickly surround him and the three of them become one giant Golden pillow.

Jumping the waves together..

Ed with the Golden kids, way out there chattin' it up. With low tide we could walk pretty far out into the ocean and still only be in a couple of feet of water.

Here is my Belov-Ed crankin' at me to "put the camera down!" because he lost his shoe...he obviously doesn't get that the master film director is hard at work!

Laverne & Shirley running up ahead, with Milo and I bringing up the rear...

This video makes me giggle because you can tell how quickly they just disperse and we've got to run them down before they get too far away...and again, you can hear my man-boy crankin' again, this time for a poop bag... :-)

Lo and behold, Milo left his mama's side to run over and see papa and his new sisters!

So, even after the exciting and exhaustive day at the beach, mama had plans for the G-Unit upon return home. Bath time! Wahoo! Each of them got hosed down and shampooed clean.

Funny story, as I was washing Laverne I had a momentary memory lapse while rinsing her belly off...I gasped when I thought her doinker was missing! Then, I remembered she is a female after all, she has no doinker to rinse off, and those little "skin tags" on her belly are in fact nipples. We've had three male Goldens in a row, so this will take some getting used to!

After all that, plus a hearty breakfast/lunch after the beach, this is the end result (listen for the Laverne the Lion's roaring snore)...

In case you missed the roar...


They are happy and tired. I am most happiest because Laverne & Shirley got Milo engaged and active again. They're not all best of pals yet like Achilles and Milo were, but hopefully they will get there. For now, Milo is at least showing promising signs of coming out of the funk he's been in.

Here's a little lion at rest.

Shirley at rest couldn't resemble Achilles more. It's uncanny.

Laverne the Lion again.

And here is my bestest boy, my Milo Bear, damp and tired, napping the afternoon away. After I took this picture a wave of love and affection just washed over me so strong that I had to smother him with kisses. He was in a deep sleep and I scared the crap out of him, but I didn't care. I just love him so.

Tonight I'm going to try and take them down to see Lynney and Amos and Katie, and then it is time to start the work week.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!