Travel Companion II: Buttercup joins the family

I am a dog person.

I have always been a dog person.

Me and my childhood dogs Tara and Kari, Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

So is Elsie Holmgren, age 14, from Viroqua, Wisconsin. Elsie is the oldest of 6 kids and very responsible. So when she asked her parents if she could breed their family golden retrievers, Taffy and King Cooper, and raise a litter of puppies, they said yes.

King Cooper and Taffy

That was last summer. And it went great! Elsie and her family raised an amazing litter of puppies, nurtured them with love and care, and Elsie found loving homes for all of them. It was a total success.

And that was (meant to be) the end of that. But...

Taffy and King Cooper had other ideas.

Lo and behold, another litter came forth - in the middle of a harsh Wisconsin winter..

So the project started again! Elsie and her family cared for a litter of 7 this time - nurtured them and began looking for loving homes.

(This is where I come in.)

I had been thinking about getting a dog at some point in my adult gap year. I kept telling people that the right dog would come along when it was meant to be. A dog tends to find its people.

I've been casually looking on Petfinder since October. Then I started following groups on Facebook with names like "Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin (GRRoW)". I started following the nonprofit animal rescue Paddy's Paws which operates in a nearby town. I even visited a litter of available German Shepherd pups in December. But nothing felt right.

Lucky for me, Elsie had started a Facebook page called Joyful Goldens and I happened across it. I commented that I would like more information, and Elsie sent me a message the very same day. She also sent me my first picture of "Light Pink" - the puppy that would become Buttercup.

We set a date for a video chat, so she could show me the puppies without me having to drive 2.5 hours to Viroqua on icy roads. She also sent me the name of their vet, and a reference from someone who had purchased a puppy from them previously.

Everything was looking good, but it was definitely the video chat that made me realize just how "meant to be" this was. Why? Because the video chat was the first time I learned that Elsie was only 14! She was handling all communications with such professionalism that I never would have guessed she wasn't an adult! Then on the video chat she introduced herself and introduced her mom, who was behind the camera.

It was immediately special to me that a young person was behind Joyful Goldens, because when I was young, our family did the EXACT SAME THING!

Me with Kari and her pups, July 1981.

When he was 15, my brother Paul was given permission to breed our golden retriever Kari. She had two litters - a litter of 10 and a litter of 12. The whole family helped to take care of them. I vividly remember seeing them born. I can still smell the grainy, earthy smell of the mushy dog food we fed them on giant sheet pans. I spent every moment that I could out in the pole barn with them.

Paul did the work of selling them - but I got to play with them!

Me with two pups who looked so alike we called them Teddy and Bear.

So as soon as I learned about the special way that these puppies at Joyful Goldens were being raised, it seemed like kismet.

On Monday, January 22 I drove to Viroqua. There were three females left (my preference), and when I arrived Elsie had all three waiting in an indoor playpen. The mama dog, Taffy, was also inside. I was invited into the home and I sat on the floor for more than an hour playing with all three and trying to decide which one to take home.

They were all beautiful! My head was swimming. What if I chose wrong? Is rambunctious good? Is fluffier better? What color do I want? Lighter? Darker? I played with each and waited for a lightning bolt of recognition.

I can't say exactly what it was that made me pick Buttercup. She just felt good in my arms.

They gave me her paperwork and I paid them - and we were on our way. As we sat in the car in the driveway, I was overcome with emotion. It felt huge! Like the beginning of something I could hardly fathom - charged with meaning and excitement. Buttercup rested calmly in my arms. As I composed myself I lowered the window - and immediately her nose went in the air.

Trotting around the side of the house came King Cooper - who I hadn't met yet. He didn't jump on the car, he didn't bark or whine. He just sniffed at the open window, then sat back and watched me.

King Cooper says goodbye. January 22, 2024

The puppy smelled the air and whined toward the window. I promised Cooper I'd take care of his baby.

And off we went. And eventually "Light Pink" became "Buttercup". And I became a dog mama again.

Sojourn on!

P.S. I messaged with Elsie, and she still has two females and one male left. Below are their photos. As you can tell from my other post, Travel Companion, I am deeply in love with my puppy from Joyful Goldens. Buttercup makes me laugh and fills me with love every day so much I can hardly believe my good fortune. I highly recommend you get your hands on one of her siblings, who Elsie and her family have raised to be the best of the best of dogs. What do you think...has your next dog found you?

P.P.S.

Besides the puppies of my youth, a series of other Goldens have also enhanced my life: Roxanne, Billie Jean, Puffin, and last but not least, Speed.

Speed was the dog that we brought home to teach our boys about responsibility, loyalty and love. He came to us as a 2 year old rescue from a shelter in Waterloo, Iowa. He was a miracle of energy and devotion and, well, speed! He helped us through some very tough times and I am tearing up now just thinking of him. I could not write a post about my new dog without a loving tribute to the ones that came before. As my friend Ruthanne wrote to me this week, "Dogs are the best people".