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Patou, who we're told is a Golden Retriever even though he looks like he might be part Chow Chow, greets me with his dog bowl in his mouth. He wants to take it with him for his walk. I suggest to him that it might not be such a great idea and give him a plush football instead which he happily takes.

He gently carries it with him for the whole walk, dropping it only once. When I get him to stop for photographs, he discovers that the football squeaks. Suddenly, he's down on his belly ripping into the thing, pulling out the stuffing and releasing it to the wind. I spend 5 minutes chasing fluff, trying to contain the mess. Patou finally gets to the squeaker, pulls it out and, afraid that he might swallow it, I grab it out of his mouth. He looks at me like I've just ruined his day. So, instead of throwing it out, I squeak it a few times, feed him some snacks and he's happy again.


For adoption information on this dog and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.



5 Comments to “Patou - Golden Retriever”

  1. Kaylen says:

    Adorable!

    I save the squeakers and put them in old jean legs tied at the end or kongs. Drives the pups crazy!

  2. Lynn says:

    I am in love with him! That's my kind of dog.

  3. Alas, many show-bred goldens do appear to be part chow these days. They aren't, but they've been bred big, blocky, blunt-muzzled, and squinty-eyed for some reason.

    Patou is significantly darker than the typical show-ring golden, but his "chowish" features are the same. I bet he's purebred.

  4. c's mom says:

    He's gorgeous! Fingers crossed that he finds a loving new family.

  5. Vida says:

    I see the photos of Patou and I'm grinning ear to ear! Such a happy, joyful expression, be it golden retriever or chow this guy has some happy genes in him!

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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