Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Brandy's Update From Her Ohio Bed and Breakfast

I am the Golden Retriever that lives at an Ohio bed and breakfast.  The bed and breakfast is called Garden Gate Get-A-Way Bed & Breakfast and is located in Amish Country Ohio.
This past week one of the regular guests from Elyria came to stay for a couple of days.  She remembered me and commented that things were so quiet that she thought that I no longer lived here.  She invited me to come to the Breakfast Room after the other guests had left the room.  I just love it when guests want to see me and they pet me.
We have a house guest right now.  Her name is Cinder and she is a mix of Lhasa Apso and Shihtzu.  She's going to stay with us for a while while her parents go to Florida.  I'm not sure what to do with another dog in the house.  Sometimes I try to steal her food and I don't like it when people pay attention to her.
I've been missing the nightly campfires.  We went from below freezing temperatures to such high winds that my parents couldn't light the fire at night.  In the Spring, Summer, and Fall I usually pace the floor for about 30-60 minutes each night because I know that it is time to go outside to the campfire and I'm ready.  While I'll wander around the yard for a while and check out the bunny rabbits and birds, I like to make my rounds to each guest at the campfire hoping that they will pet me.

This past week we had a touch of Spring and a lot of the snow melted.  Last night was a different story!  We had about 10 inches of snow.  When they put me outside my feet and legs sunk in the snow.   I see horses pulling sleighs outside when it snows like this.   I definitely like the Spring weather better.
If you are reading this blog I hope that you will come and stay at my bed and breakfast and visit me.  Check it out at www.garden-gate.com
(If you click on the Contacts page you will learn more about me.)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Bed and Breakfast Gone to the Dogs

My name is Brandy and I'm a Golden Retriever that lives at Garden Gate Get-A-Way Bed & Breakfast in Millersburg, Ohio.  I used to live in a puppy mill inside a cage.  They used me for breeding and I never got to walk or run, play with a toy, and interact with people.  In March 2008 my owners sent me to the Humane Society because they didn't think that I had enough puppies.  Due to over crowding at the Humane Society I almost lost my life.  A wonderful group of people in northwest Ohio rescued me!  They have an organization called Planned Pethood.  They put me in a foster home for dogs, gave me a bath, took me to the vet, and began to find a permanent home for me.
After losing their Dalmatian, the owners of Garden Gate Get-A-Way Bed & Breakfast reached a point where they were ready to welcome another dog in their home.  Carol, my new "mother", said that she has always wanted a Golden Retriever and set out on a mission to find one.  She found the Planned Pethood website on the Internet and sorted through the dogs.  As soon as she saw my face she said, "That's my dog".  She contacted Planned Pethood only to find out that someone else was trying to adopt me.  She said that she would have to start her search all over because her next dog had to be a Golden Retriever.  It turned out that the people that wanted to adopt me were going to put me in a small apartment and go to work all day so that wasn't going to work.  Planned Pethood contacted Carol and worked with her to adopt me.
When I first arrived at the B&B I was scared!  I wasn't used to being around people, there were no cages, no other dogs, and all of these guests that would start coming toward me saying, "Oh what a beautiful dog!".  I didn't know what to do.  Carol and Herb (my new Dad) bought me some toys but I didn't know what to do with them.  The squeakers scared me.  I would always find a coffee table to hide under or another place to try and hide.  Outside there were horses and buggies with Amish people passing by our yard.
Today I'm a different dog.  I realized that living at a bed and breakfast is really neat!  The guests all want to pet me and hug me.  They ask to see me.  Some of the returning guests bring me presents!  I have received bones, rawhide chews, and dog cookies and they are really good!  My 'parents' offer a campfire each night at the bed and breakfast.  That is my favorite part of the day.  I love sitting outside and watching the bunny rabbits in the yard and horses in the field next door.   Last summer I saw this really weird looking animal that my mother said was a cow.  I stared at the cow for a long time.  If you should come to visit this Ohio bed and breakfast I would love to meet you.
BRANDY'S STORIES TO BE CONTINUED...