Toby Saves His Mom!

I jump on MY mom all the time,
but Toby really knows what he's doing!

Photo by Adelma Gregory-Bunnell / Cecil Whig via AP. Thanks!

Toby, a brilliant 2-year-old golden retriever, witnessed his Mom choking on an apple. She tried to perform the Heimlich on herself but wasn't successful. After she began beating on her chest, Toby sensed an emergency at hand, and took matters into his own paws.

He stood up on his hind feet, put his front paws on her shoulders, pushed her to the ground, and began to jump up and down on her chest. The apple dislodged and Toby licked his Mom's face to keep her from passing out!

For the record, I would do anything to rescue MY Mom, and I would have reacted the exact same way... except I would have also scarfed down the apple bite.

No need in letting a tasty treat go to waste!

Golden News - Mountain Lion Got Some Nerve!

Legal Question... Can A Golden Retriever be prosecuted for discussing a scarey news story?

I'm a little scard by the following language: "Copyright 2004 by TheDenverChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed."

File Photo in the article I'm not supposed to publish, broadcast, rewrite or redistribute, on 7 News, The Denver Channel. Please forgive me?
No harm intended!
Honest!

Strictly Comet's Commentary:

Oh my... a mountain lion walks in the front door of a house in Summit County, Colorado, steals a sandal, stares down a human in the woods and returns later to jump over a fence and attack a golden retriever... and I'm not supposed to say anything about it???

The golden escaped, along with his family, with only a scratch on his side... thank The Good Lord!

So now I can focus my worries on the report that the golden weighed 55 pounds... providing Mom an excuse to possibly reduce my rations! Yikes!

Golden News: Brady Attends College with Shiloh

Brady helps his best friend attend college!

Photo of Shiloh and Brady
By Alyssa Schukar, Daily Nebraskan

You see, Shiloh Hobelman can walk, but lacks the muscle mass and stamina to travel across the campus and attend class, without the assistance of a motorized wheelchair... and his best friend, Brady!

Brady is trained to push open doors, retrieve dropped keys and other times and to offer devoted protection. As a plus, and true to the nature of all of us goldens, Brady is also an awesome icebreaker and a conversation starter!

Shiloh and Brady share a single room together on campus, and Brady is welcome everywhere. Class is his favorite part of the day... beginning with a lot of attention and heavy petting from classmates... and ending with an hour and a half nap!

You gotta read this story of two motivated com-paw-dres!

Golden News: Sasha "Trucks" a Mountain Goat

I've tree'd many a squirrel in my day.
But Sasha trucked a mountain goat!

Photo by Scott Root

It seems that Carol Probst returned to her Midway, Utah home to find her golden retriever quite excited about a new hood ornament on the family truck... and no, it wasn't a Dodge Ram.

The Probst family quickly closed the garage and contacted the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Not to worry... wildlife experts were able to administer a tranquilizer dart and loaded him onto a horse trailer. While he slumbered, one year old Billy received an ear tag, a general health check and a reversal drug... and was on his way back up the mountain, home.

Golden News: Golden Runs Mountain Cat up Tree

Browsing through the doggynet on a rainy morning, I found a new hero. Stanley, a golden retriever, who saved his mom from a mountain lion.

Stanley's mom and a friend were out hiking with their "kids" when they walked up on a mountain lion, about 5 feet away.

Stanley, being a brave and protective golden retriever, charged the 150# cat. It retreated to a tree some 30 feet away, allowing the moms and the other dog to run to safety.

About a minute later, Stanley returned to his family and friends unharmed. Stanley... he good!

Golden News (Update 2): Jake beats 428!

I just love a boy who can swim!

Credit under Photo: Chronicle / Shelley Eades

And this is an another story about my hero, Jake!

With a stomach full of scrambled eggs, Jake dog-paddled his way into history, leaving most of the serious - and human - swimmers in his wake.

Organizers of the South End Rowing Club's 10th annual Alcatraz Invitational - a 1.2 mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shoreline - say the 65-pound golden retriever is the first canine known to have made the crossing.

The crowd cheered as the 4-year-old pooch made his way onto solid ground, shaking sprays of water and dodging a woman who tried to put a medal around his neck.

"It was colder and rougher than we thought it would be," said Jeff Pokonosky, Jake's owner and swim partner. "Jake amazed me. He was very focused. He started out really fast. I was trying to slow him down. He increased his pace to stay with the pack."

Bill Wygant, president of the South End Rowing Club, said he was more than happy to allow a dog into the race, a first for the more than 100-year-old group.

"This swim is about personal challenge," Wygant said. "Whether you are dog or human, it's whatever you can achieve that counts."

Golden News: See Ya Later, Alligator

Cooper, a 5 year old golden retriever takes on a 700 pound alligator!

"I thought he was dead," said 14-year-old Chase Kierspe of the family pet. "The alligator was huge. I didn't think he could fight it. He fights me, but that's all."

Cooper escaped from the backyard for a swim across the canal and apparently attracted the gator. Chase was cutting the grass when he saw the alligator spying his pet. He threw a cup and a lawn chair at the gator, but it didn't budge.

Then Cooper leaped and the gator followed. Chase ran and screamed for help.

After it was all over, Cooper (search) had lost a few teeth and had flesh and muscle torn from a front leg and chunks of skin missing from both haunches. The gator suffered bites to its snout.

"I never heard of a dog getting away from an alligator in the water," said Tom Kierspe, Chase's dad. "You always hear that they grab them, go under and do the 'death roll.' "

The state doesn't keep records of alligator size, but this was "one of the largest if not the largest" the Department of Natural Resources (search) has seen in some time, said Walt Rhodes of the wildlife agency.

The gator's head and hide sit in Kierspe's freezer. He has contacted local museums and parks
about getting it mounted and is considering applying to get it certified as a state record.

As for Cooper, Kierspe said, "we changed his name to 'Lucky.'"

Golden News (Update): Jake's Ruff Alcatraz Swim

Jake makes my heart flutter... seriously!

Credit under photo: Chronicle / Shelley Eades.

Do you realize he finished that swim in 41 minutes and 45 seconds? Why... that's quicker than my mid-morning power nap!

And who wouldn't fall in love with a handsome athlete that cares enough to send text messages!

I just love this more personal account of his athletic paws... or rather, fete, I should say... and I think you will, too!

Reaching the shoreline next to the Hyde Street Pier to chants of "Jake! Jake! Jake!" the 4-year-old canine appeared to take his celebrity in stride. He trotted onto terra firma, evaded a lady trying to put a medal around his neck, and let out a full-body, water-flying shake. He proceeded to roll in the sand and make a quick detour to the nearest grassy area.

His tail was wagging.

The swim was behind him. A tennis ball was in front of him.

Jake made the swim in the frigid waters with his human dad, Jeff Pokonosky. The two live in San Diego and swim 2 miles twice a week. They also bodysurf together, and Jake is known for doing sprints every day -- generally after tennis balls. Before a big swim, Jake eats scrambled eggs. He stands 2-foot-1 and weighs 65 pounds. He
has a weakness for carbohydrates, particularly bread.

"It was colder and rougher than we thought it would be," Pokonosky said after the race. "Jake amazed me. He was very focused. He started out really fast. I was trying to slow him down. He increased his pace to stay with the pack."

Entering Jake in the invitational was motivated by fun -- and business. Pokonosky runs a company called WiggleWireless that delivers text messages and news to cell phones. Subscribers to the service were able to receive live updates on Jake's progress. A portion of the money raised went to Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Updates from Jake -- a kind of dog blog -- ranged from, "I checked into the Hyatt and took a drink from the toilet bowl," to "I'm standing in line for the Alcatraz swim. I don't see any other dogs." Several messages were sent mid-race. One read, "The
water is ruff. I mean ruff-ruff."

Bill Wygant, president of the South End Rowing Club, which was established in 1873 and draws a hearty group that prides itself on swimming without wetsuits, said he was happy to allow a dog into the race. It was a first, he said, but he hopes not the last.

"This swim is about personal challenge," Wygant said. "Whether you are dog or human, it's whatever you can achieve that counts." Lynne Cox, an open-water swimmer who has broken men's and women's records for swimming the English Channel and was the first person to swim between Alaska and the Soviet Union, was on hand to support the event. She said when she met Pokonosky, she asked whether swimming in the race was something Jake truly wanted to do.

"He said Jake would be upset if he saw him swimming and he couldn't swim," Cox said. "I have a yellow Lab at home. Maybe next year the club will have a dogcategory."

By midmorning, as swimmers continued to stream onto the beach in front of the rowing club, Jake began to unwind. He rolled onto his back, welcoming any and all congratulatory belly rubs.

Golden News: Jake's Alcatraz Swim Record

Thank you to my good pal and reporter in the field, Shy-Knees who sent me this story about Jake, and awesome golden swimmer!

One of the swimmers in this weekend's Alcatraz Invitational swim has dog paddled his way into the record book. Jake, a 65-pound golden retriever, was the only non-human in the 10th annual 1.2-mile swim from the infamous prison island to the San Francisco shore.

The 4-year-old pooch swam across the cold, choppy water in just under 42 minutes, finishing 72nd out of the more than 500 swimmers. Organizers say it was the first known crossing by a dog.

The crowd cheered as Jake made his way onto solid ground, shook himself and dodged a woman who tried to put a medal around his neck.

Jake's owner, Jeff Pokonosky, said the two swim four miles a week and bodysurf together. They live in San Diego.

His training secret? Jake always gets scrambled eggs before a big swim.