RONALD REAGAN

The caption read: Ronald Reagan looks on as his wife Nancy holds a golden retriever puppy, presented to them by Carol Schaidler, March 26, 1980, during a campaign stop in Neenah, Wisconsin. The Reagans named the dog Victory.

A devoted Dad, he was initially concerned when he won the 2003 election for Governor. You see, he was intent on finding a place to walk his Mandy, as she loves open fields. And while there is a park right across the street from the governor's mansion, he feels a more open area is needed.  "I have to find a place where we can play toss with this ball-and-rope toy she chases," Rendell says. "I need a flat spot."

RYAN REYNOLDS

In 2009, according to Kelli Perez, Celebrity Dogs, this is how Ryan came to adopt Baxter.

When Ryan Reynolds saw the big, dopey-looking pup, it was instant attraction. He was in love. He whispered to the dog that they should get the hell out of the
shelter, and Baxter jumped up and was ready to go home with the Hollywood actor.

Reynolds hadn’t planned to rescue a dog for himself when he visited a Houston, Texas animal shelter. He was doing a favor for his friend, Steve, who had lost his service dog. Steve is paralyzed, and his dog he had assisted him with everything. For him, Reynolds selected a chocolate
Labrador.

Two pups were saved during Reynolds’s animal shelter trip, and Baxter is probably tickled pink that he got the Sexiest Man Alive as a friend!

The actress, who divorced Charlie Sheen, tells Animal Fair magazine that she bunks regularly with her five – count 'em, five – pooches, two Boston Terriers, a French Bulldog, a Pug, and a Golden Retriever.

ELISABETH ROHM (actress from Law and Order fame) has a Golden Retriever named Homer. Check out this August 7, 2008 OK Magazine article about her wanting to make room for her guy in her upcoming wedding.

Elisabeth Rohm is feeling pressure to pull off a wedding in October, but being a new mom to daughter Easton, four months, has changed her focus. The actress, 35, is set to wed Easton’s dad, entrepreneur Ron Wooster.

“We are still in the midst of putting things together because the baby has taken so much time,” she tells OK! “We’re trying to get back on track with it. We are a little bit behind the eight ball, and we need to hustle. We’ve been on the vortex of starting a family. We have to become organized very quickly.”

Elisabeth wants her golden retriever Homer to be part of the ceremony. The actress is a national celebrity cabinet member for American Red Cross campaign Dog Days of Summer, which promotes pet safety.

“I absolutely would love for Homer to be the flower dog,” she tells OK! “He’s sharing center stage with the baby. She’ll be the flower girl and he’ll be the flower dog.” Luckily, dog and baby get along great. “He loves her and he sleeps outside her bedroom door every night,” she tells OK!

Raising Easton, who loves to laugh, puts life into perspective.

“I always have the same mantra everyday. I say ‘you come first, and anything that doesn’t get done because I’m taking care of you, doesn’t need to get done.’ It’s so easy to become like ‘I’m taking care of the baby all the time, but I have all these things I want to do.’ It’s easy to get overwhelmed as a new mother, and I decided from day one that I wasn’t going to get overwhelmed as a new mother. I was going to make her the top priority, and whatever else I could do, I would do.”

Amazingly, they have actually rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. As you can guess, their home became a sanctuary for those rescued dogs that were too old or sickly to be desired or adopted by others. Here are some photos showing some of these wonderful rescued Goldens.

The 8 books (as of 2010) that David has written in his Andy Carpenter Series follow a lawyer and animal lover named Andy Carpenter who is quite busy saving both dogs and humans from Death Row. In these works, Andy "adores Tara, a Golden Retriever clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County."

Check out the following Golden themed books by David:

DOG TAGS — A German Shepherd police dog witnesses a murder and if his owner – an Iraq war vet and former cop-turned-thief – is convicted of the crime, the dog could be put down. Few rival Andy Carpenter's affection for dogs, and he decides to represent the poor canine. As Andy struggles to convince a judge that this dog should be set free, he discovers that the dog and his owner have become involved unwittingly in a case of much greater proportions than the one they've been charged with. Andy will have to call upon the unique abilities of this ex-police dog to help solve the crime and prevent a catastrophic event from taking place. Click here to read an excerpt.

NEW TRICKS — Andy Carpenter gains possession of an adorable Bernese puppy whose owner was brutally murdered. Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs, and he will do whatever it takes to insure that this little pup doesn't fall into the wrong hands. However, his playful new friend is valued by several people, many of whom are willing to resort to violence to get what they want. It will take more than Andy's usual courtroom theatrics to save this dog, including a little help from his beloved Golden Retriever, Tara. Andy soon discovers that anyone around him is in danger, including his long-time girlfriend Laurie, and he will have to muster all of his wits to save those he holds most dear. Click here to read an excerpt.
 

PLAY DEAD — Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara. After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another golden's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years before. Andy pushes the boundaries of the law even further as he struggles to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take canine testimony seriously. It will take all the tricks Andy's fertile mind can conceive to get to the bottom of a remarkable chain of impersonations and murder, and save a dog's life-and his own-in the process. Click here to read an excerpt.

DEAD CENTER — Trading the refineries and factories of Paterson for the frozen pastures of Findlay, Wisconsin, Andy soon finds himself in a small town handling a big-time double homicide case. He looks into Jeremy’s romance with one of the victims…and the possible involvement of a bizarre religious cult—one that may sanction the most unholy, and vicious, of acts. While Andy tries to save Jeremy, make sense of his love life, and find a decent pizza for his beloved dog, Tara, the secrets of an ultra-religious community begin to rain down on him like bricks from a cracked fortress. Click here to read an excerpt.

BURY THE LEAD — His streak of murder case acquittals made him a regular on cable talk shows. His recent $22 million inheritance bought him a dog rescue operation named the Tara Foundation after his own beloved Golden Retriever. Yet after turning down cases left and right, Andy Carpenter thinks he's facing a midlife crisis. He knows he needs to get back to some real work as fast as a felonious world will allow. Click here to read an excerpt.

FIRST DEGREE — An unabashed animal lover, Andy Carpenter has established a fast reputation as that rare lawyer who saves both dogs and humans from Death Row. Lately, with his newfound fortune, he has given up his home in the fashionable suburbs and returned to the house in which he grew up in the asphalt heart of Paterson. These days his office is eerily quite, except for the scraping pen of his secretary, Edna, as she navigates across and down the New York Times crossword puzzle. Though his wallet isn't hurting, Andy's soul hungers for a case to sink his legal teeth into. he's about to get his wish. And it'll be a first degree kick in the head. Click here to read an excerpt.

OPEN AND SHUT —. Attorney Andy Carpenter's legal maneuvers are legion in and out of the courtrooms of Paterson, New Jersey. A talented lawyer who knows how to play all the cards, he is torn between mending a marriage that no longer works and growing attached to a beautiful, no-nonsense private investigator. Besides his love for sports, Andy also adores Tara, a golden retriever clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. then one day the fun stops. Click here to read an excerpt.

KEVIN RUDD

"What do I enjoy? We've got a really closely-knit family and we spend a lot of time at home on the verandah. We've got this crazy dog, whose name is Abby, she's a golden retriever. She's our guard dog and ever since our security detail arrived from the Australian Federal Police for this campaign she's licked them all to death and regarded them all as members of the family."

It is a shame that the Prime Minister was ousted from office only into his first term [6-24-10], as he just had penned a delightful children's book, Jasper & Abby: And the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle. Although already published down under, it will not be available for folks in the US until sometime in October 2010.

The book follows the adventures of the Prime Minister's cat and dog, as they try to avert one disaster after another during Australia Day celebrations at The Prime Minister's Residence.

The Prime Minister receives many letters and emails from children asking about Jasper and Abby, and he often tells his friends, colleagues and staff stories of their antics. Having heard these stories, Rhys Muldoon encouraged the Prime Minister to write a children's book.

The Prime Minister's wife, Therese Rein, is very committed to promoting children's literacy and the Prime Minister shares this passion. It is hoped that in writing a book for children, the Prime Minister will be able to highlight the importance of books and reading for children. Proceeds from this book are going to The Centre for Community Child Health, at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

Paws for Thought as PM’s Dog Looks for Cover Despatch Box Blog | May 17, 2010

IN these dog days, even Kevin Rudd’s psychic golden retriever, Abby, wanted to do a runner from the political hustings. The canine inspiration for the Prime Minister’s children’s book, Jasper & Abby and the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle, whimpered her way through Mr. Rudd’s speech before deserting her master at the RSPCA’s Million Paws Walk fundraiser in Canberra yesterday. Turns out she’s such a sensitive soul that the Prime Minister revealed Abby is attuned to his movements, mysteriously standing at the door before he arrives home at The Lodge. “She knows,” Mr. Rudd confided to fellow dog walkers on the RSPCA walk. “And I get home at different times. She’s out front 10 minutes before I get home.” All the juicy details of the Prime Minister’s psychic dog were laid bare in this month’s edition of Dogs Life magazine, with Mr Rudd’s wife, Therese Rein, telling readers Abby greets Mr Rudd with a “dog smile”. “Ten minutes before the phone rings to signal he’s on his way, she will go and wait at the door for him,” she revealed, not that Abby is much of a sounding board. “Although Abby likes a chat, I don’t think she is really into politics,” Ms Rein told Dogs Life. Before being spirited away yesterday from the crowds to the back of a commonwealth car, Abby the wonder dog wasn’t feeling so wonderful. She was publicly accused of sniffing the bottom of the event’s master of ceremonies, while the Prime Minister kneeled to cuddle and comfort her. “It’s the dog—not me,” Mr. Rudd muttered. The Prime Minister, who was also introduced to a bichon frise named Kevin in his honour, told the crowd “animals love us without question”. “This little one of ours, Abby, a golden retriever, she makes up so much of our family life at home,” Mr. Rudd said. “Animals love us without question. The big question for us is: how do we care for animals without question?” Last year the event attracted 9000 walkers, 3500 dogs, five ferrets and one alpaca. “Hands up, the alpaca, this morning,” Mr Rudd addressed the crowd yesterday. “Can’t see the alpaca this morning. Anyone bring a ferret? No one’s brought a ferrett. “Jasper, our cat, has decided wisely to stay at home.” http://bit.ly/jasper-and-abby http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/samanthamaiden/index.php

MORLEY SAFER

"After Goldie came Dora, another Golden Retriever, who is now five years old. Morley says, "Jane and I take Dora everywhere with us. When we visit friends they usually tend to be people who are comfortable around animals. She's a bit of a food thief but is otherwise quite well behaved." . . . "Whatever he has seen, wherever he has been, Morley Safer has had, for the last eighteen years, Goldie and then Dora to come home to. He sums it up perfectly: "Both are constant reminders of the transient nature of work and the permanent verity of love."

This photo on the left is a more recent [1/2005] photo of Morley and his best girl, Dora. Only five years of age in the above photo from Caras' 1997 book, she is still looking mighty fine at a now very senior 12 to 13. According to a CBSNEWS.com article, Dora is making her 60 Minutes TV debut on January 9, 2005 at 7pm, in a truly remarkable story about dogs that can sniff out cancer.

Although Safer's Golden Dora can't smell cancer, she and other dogs may be able to do so if properly trained. Researchers in California and in Cambridge, England, are successfully training our canine friends in this endeavor. They believe dogs can actually be more accurate than current cancer tests, so representing a breakthrough in cancer detection.

Every Sunday, Dora watches 60 Minutes with her dad, and is known to react to television on occasion. The big question will be whether she notices her cameo (lol).

DR. ALLEN M. SCHOEN (celebrated veterinarian and author) has a Golden Retriever named Shanti. He recently published, Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans & Animals Can Change The Way We Live in February 2001. It is a book that cannot be put down as it is both heartwarming and packed full of useful information. Dr. Schoen believes animals have feelings and emotions, and treats them accordingly. His vision is for a society in which we cease to be owner and pet, human and animal, but are simply respected companions connected by a special unique bond.

In an April 2001 personal correspondence with Dr. Schoen, the following piece of Golden wisdom was shared: "G-d made dogs and then when he perfected them . . . . he created Goldens."

One can surely see this Golden love in the cover photo to Dr. Schoen's latest book. This Golden paw, cupped in a human hand, is so simple, yet so moving. Here are some more Golden thoughts from the April 17, 2001 USA Today article, "Emotion Runs Deeper than Wagging Motion," by Anita Manning:

Formal education notwithstanding, Schoen says one of the most important and powerful teachers in his life was Megan, a very special Golden Retriever. A stray, Megan found her way to Schoen just in time. She was hungry and sick, infected with heartworm. Schoen helped her to recover, and the two bonded as kindred souls. Megan accompanied him on his veterinary rounds and soon displayed an uncanny, even spooky ability to empathize with other species. Megan became his medical assistant.

He describes, in his book, one cold night when they were called to a farm where Jesse, a cow, was having trouble delivering her calf. ''When she sees Jesse starting to strain once again, she approaches carefully, as though to make sure that the cow, who has met her many times before, recognizes her and accepts her presence. Once Megan feels she has a clear signal, she starts licking Jesse's face. The contact seems to have both a calming and a revitalizing effect on the struggling animal.''

Even during her last days, when she was dying of cancer, Megan seemed to know how to care for herself. She would go to a nearby spring and soak her tumorous leg in mud, a time-honored way to reduce inflammation. When it was time for Schoen to put her out of her misery, Megan lifted her paw so he could inject the needle. Schoen struggles to understand how Megan developed such insight and sensitivity. ''When they're in our presence, animals develop consciously to a different level,'' he says. ''If they're out in the wild, they're just a dog. But when they're with us, they study us, mimic our behavior patterns. Megan, by watching me all the time, started developing herself. . . . And there's part I can't explain. I think as she watched me take care of other animals, she started doing that in her own way. That, combined with her maternal instincts, being a Golden Retriever . . . '' He trails off, unable to fully explain the unexplainable. What he does know, though, is that his current dog pal, Shanti, is cut of a different cloth: ''I did a brain scan on him, and the only thing in there was a tennis ball. Shanti teaches me to lighten up.''

LISA SCOTTOLINE

"Any visitor to Lisa's home quickly discovers they are sentries, a welcoming committee and sponges for affection. All three of them. A knock on the door brings them running. Inside, you'll be jumped on, licked and nuzzled by the bunch. And your favorite author is something of a pied piper: the dogs follow her every move.

One is more lovable than the next, and each has a personality of its own. Lucy is the mother of all Golden Retrievers, and the mother to one of Lisa's other goldens, Penny. She enjoys her food, and when she decides to lie down, she is not easily persuaded to change spots. Lucy is the most likely of all the dogs to be found lying right inside the front door. She is about six years old.

As half sisters, Penny and Angie are a tag team of trouble. Penny is the baby at 1½ years old and is a car dog. If Lisa even motions toward the car, Penny is right there. She will go anywhere. And when she can, Lisa takes her along. The above photograph of Lisa . . . includes Penny.

At the photography session for her portrait, Penny at first was thrilled by all the attention. Then, she associated the strobe lights with thunder (a terror) and hid in the bathroom. The other young golden, Angie, is 2½ years old and is lighter in color. Her greatest love is chasing a tennis ball. If you throw the ball, she will chase it. Endlessly. If you don't throw it, she will bother you until you do. Tirelessly."

MAURICE SENDAK (children's author and artist of Where the Wild Things Are) has a Golden named Io.

JANE SEYMOUR (actress in movies Live and Let Die & Lassiter, TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) has a Golden Retriever named Crispin. Here, during a Fit & Trim National Rib Check Day, Ms. Seymour felt her Crispin's ribs to see if he'd put on excess weight.

You do this check by placing both thumbs on your dog's backbones, and running your fingers along the ribcage. If you can't feel the bony part of each rib easily, it may be dieting time! (Call 800-558-8555 for more info.)

Actress NICOLETTE SHERIDAN is suffering from a bout of the flu - which was exacerbated after she jumped into her cold swimming pool naked to save her dog. The DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star has been struck down with the ailment for more than a week, and she blames it on her ignorance about her 12-week-old golden retriever OLIVER's swimming abilities - and the fact she was cleaning her home in the nude.

After returning from a Christmas trip to Aspen, Colorado, Sheridan cleaned off the puppy in her swimming pool after he got himself dirty in a rose pot - and her actions gave the pooch new ideas on causing mischief. She says, "The next thing you know, he goes outside and he's right back in that pool again. Now I think he's drowning! I run naked into the cold pool.

"I was cleaning (my house) naked. It's (a normal thing to do) when I'm feverish... So I saved the dog, but little did I know at 12 weeks old they can swim. "But you know what, I'll fall for all of his tricks because I'm madly in love with him."

Not one, but two special guys were there when Nicollette Sheridan got engaged: fiancé Niklas Soderblom and her "son," Oliver. "It was very cute. It was a very happy family moment," she says of the golden retriever that joined the couple for their romantic trip to Aspen last winter. "He was already 10 or 11 weeks old."

And the pooch that Sheridan calls "my son" has been growing by leaps and bounds since Soderblom gave him to her on her 41st birthday last fall. "I used to carry him around my neck," she says. "Now I need to go into traction." But she has no regrets about all the heavy-lifting. "I think animals are very healing. You learn a lot about love."

January 2006 Update (romance now off): Solderblom said the blonde beauty - who plays man-eater Edie Britt on the hit show - paid more attention to her pet puppy than to him. He said: "She seemed to prefer cuddling up to her golden retriever puppy, Oliver, than cuddling up to me."

Nicollette's 10-31-08 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live was truly bizarre. Oliver pays her very little mind, that's for sure.

MARC SINGER (actor in the movies Beastmaster and Watchers 2 and in the TV series V and The Series) has a Golden named Rufus.

DAVID SOUL (actor in the movies World War III and The Key to Rebecca and in the TV series Starsky & Hutch) has a Golden named Dublin.

HENRY STERN (NY City Parks Commissioner) has a Golden named Boomer. One of his recent goals was trying to get Boomer into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most petted canine ever as noted in the article below.

When I married Gloria she already had a German Shepherd named Bello. He loved her a lot and, after a while, he and I got along. Gloria really loves German Shepherds best of all, but sometime after we lost our second one, she decided that they weren't the breed of dogs that I needed. Anyway, she went out and got me this Golden Retriever named Simba, and its been Goldens ever since for me. We actually have three dogs now. Kelly and Judy, are Golden Retrievers. . . .

The truth is that it's just really hard for me to get to sleep without a dog in my bedroom. It's funny about that. I once had a dog named Beau. He used to sleep in a corner of the bedroom. Some nights, though, he would sneak onto the bed and lie right in between Gloria and me. I know that I should have pushed him off the bed, but I didn't. He was up there because he wanted me to pat his head, so that's what I would do. Somehow, my touching his hair made him happier, and just the feeling of him laying against me helped me sleep better. After he died there were a lot of nights when I was certain that I could feel him get into bed beside me and I would reach out and pat his head. The feeling was so real that I wrote a poem about it and about how much it hurt to realize that he wasn't going to be there any more.

MARTHA STEWART (TV host) has a Golden Retriever. And, she has this special Gold Ribbon by her name because of her noble support for childhood cancer awareness. This Gold Ribbon is the symbol for childhood cancer, and has become the unifying symbol for childhood cancer awareness, symbolizing the precious nature of all children and the Golden flame of hope that burns brightly for childhood cancer patients, survivors, families and caregivers. As a mother of one young patient said, "Our children are our Gold . . . and we should honor them."

The very popular "Martha Stewart Living" Magazine gives kids with cancer special attention. The magazine donates many pages of Public Service Ads to the Foundation for the Children's Oncology Group in order to raise public awareness of childhood cancer. A beautiful advertisement has appeared often in the magazine. It features a winsome child with a Golden Retriever, with the caption, "Her first steps were in the hall of a cancer treatment center. Her biggest steps were out the door." The message beneath reminds millions of readers of the magazine that cancer still kills more children than any other disease. The ad also offers readers a Free Metal Gold Ribbon Pin if they call the Foundation, and encourages tax-deductible contributions for research into cures for kids with cancer. Just click on the Gold Ribbon Pin link today for your pin!

ERIC SZMANDA (actor on CSI Las Vegas) has a Golden Retriever named Dax.