|
 Learn
about some special Goldens on the go, and then check out more
Dog Friendly
Books and Dog Friendly Sites. These
two Golden babes peering out are Maggie and Jerry. Don't they look so happy
aboard Chandler Rudd's 34 footer SummerPaws?
 And, these two super cool dudes come
to us from Blaine
and Janet Parks. At one time, they were writing from their Charbonneau sailboat.
Their sails were never complete unless their Golden boys, Bailey and Max, were
along. Now, how handsome do they look with their Hawaiian shirts and
goggles?
Check out some of
Bailey's and Max's past fun nautical adventures below.
Fluke & Rumba love kids.
Their motto is, 'You pick 'em, we lick 'em!'
Cruising 'Queens' of
the Pacific, The Californian, February 22, 2003 "I only have one question," the
caller said. It was gray whale season, as it is now. "You want to know if you're
really going to see whales and dolphins on your cruise with us," I replied.
"No," she said. "Will Fluke be on board?" That was back when we just
had one dog, Fluke. Her full name is Doxie's Amazing Grace Fluke because
she appeared 10 hours after we had tearfully put down our 17-year-old Chesapeake Bay
retriever, Doxie. We were a wreck and couldn't have considered another dog yet. But there
was the golden retriever on the side of the road. Dirty, matted and skittish—it was
clear she'd been abused and dumped, but she won the dog lottery when Steph scooped her up.
Fluke's vet estimated her age at about 8 back then. She took to the boat immediately and
was comfortable in any seas and, although she enjoyed the attention lavished on her by
passengers, she showed no interest in whales or dolphins. A year or so ago, I suggested we
get a companion for Fluke. Steph scoured the SPCA, but the candidates he liked weren't
good with cats, and we have three. We got Chigger as a feral kitten when she wandered onto
Highway 1 at the grand age of 30 days old. Possum moved in after being dumped in Moss Landing, where our dock mate Vicki ministers to abandoned
cats and had decided we needed another one. We found Tater on the Arroyo Seco River. Most
likely dumped as well (what is wrong with people who do this?), he was a weak little bag
of bones near death.
 I
hoped for
a younger and smaller dog—one who didn't shed as much as Fluke. This explains why we
adopted Rumba from NorCal Golden Retriever Rescue.
She was overweight, 10 years old and in heat. But she adored Steph from the beginning and
soon was trim, spayed and shipping out with us. Because both are now on our Web site, it's
common to field calls about their presence on the boat.
It's not uncommon to be with whales as we were yesterday and to have a few kids curled up
with the dogs. But when we discovered a thousand common dolphins as we were heading in,
Steph took Rumba to the bow because she loves dolphins. As they jumped and raced ahead of
our boat, Rumba watched, transfixed. She talked to them, softly murmuring,
"Rowr-rowr-rowr." The passengers got as much of a kick out of her as they did
the wales and dolphins, which is saying something. See you out there. Heidi Tiura and Steph Dutton are captains with Sanctuary Cruises on the Monterey Bay at
Moss Landing.
Heidi Tiura writes a weekly column for the Travel page in the Saturday Living Section. The
two can be reached by e-mail at sanctuary@montereybay.com.
For cruise details or directions, see the information page at
www.sanctuarycruises.com.
  We contacted Heidi (of course) to learn more about her Golden girls and get some special
photos to share with all of our fellow Golden lovers. Sure enough, those photos came back
in a flash (a proud Mommy for sure!). The one above with Fluke and her rescued kitty buddy
is so touching. And, we just love these river shots of the
girls swimming in the warm water, which is so good for their old bones. Heidi does not
know why Rumba feels she has to tow Fluke to shore, but that is just what she does.
Obviously, Fluke believes she is Queenie Cleopatra on her barge, crossing the Nile.
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