Goose was four weeks old when he found me. Not Maverick's trusty co-pilot from Tom Cruise's 1985 summer blockbuster film, "Top Gun", and not from a literal flock of geese either. Goose and I met in an apartment complex I was living at in college, by way of a fellow student and neighbor with who I would later become roommates. After hearing a strange outburst coming from downstairs I ventured to see what was all the rage. Of course, it is everyone's personal favorite; a litter of puppies! We played for hours with four-week-old puppies that could fit in the palm of your hand. I wanted a dog so badly, but I talked myself out of it because the situation posed the typical implications; buying food, taking him to the bathroom, training, etc... I was involved in fraternity life that had me excelling in leadership positions, working part-time, and taking fifteen credit hours. How was I supposed to take in a new responsibility with hardly any free time? You make it work. Now, try not to misunderstand that; it took quite a bit of work and I'll give most of the credit to my girlfriend who is incredibly gifted with dogs. This was a gargantuan learning curve because I had small, thirty-pound dogs at home with my parents. My experience was not rich in handling a dog that was going to be twice the size and whose energy levels could compare to a well-known battery bunny's long-lost cousin.
Long before learning about the personality of my Goose, he was just a homeless puppy living in a bathtub, hundreds of miles away from his original home. At about four weeks old, weighing about the size of a brick, "Goose Kronk", made his debut. We made a vet trip and received the proper vaccinations, but the poor puppy had some parasite issues. Not to worry though, modern medicine is awesome so he was back to normal shortly after diagnosis. So far so good right? Right?
If your dog has an affinity for eating strange things on the ground, join the club. At about 3 months we were doing a nightly routine bathroom trip. Nothing came across as strange until about twenty minutes later there was a noticeable decline in appearance; he could not walk or stand up straight, needing to go no. 1 like he was attached to a fire hydrant, and lethargy started to set in. A few words of advice in that situation; try not to have a panic attack and once you're calm enough to not be experiencing one, call a vet! After a bit of deductive reasoning, this one was chalked up to "consumption of a cigarette butt", due to his symptoms which were thankfully not fatal. He would've needed to consume five full-size cigarettes to be in the danger zone. Within a few months after we took a family vacation with my girlfriend and Goose to Florida over winter break. Being wet and playing in the sand is not the ideal getaway trip for this fur baby. When we got back life slowed down as we were settling in as dog parents in my spring semester at school.
Of course, I had to go shake things up as I moved into a five-bedroom house with four other roommates for my final semester at college. This ended up being fine, Goose had his littermate join us in the fun (fun fact: we ended up having four dogs in the house at one point, but that's a story for later). Fast forward a year later after some job and life changes, Goose, my girlfriend, and I are bundled up in a one-bedroom apartment. Yes, we are having a blast!
After learning about the young life of a dog, there might be some questions about what else he likes to do. If you like long walks while getting your arm pulled off the entire time, play keep away (he has the ball the entire time), and wrestling, you are in the market for a Goose. What kind of dog is he? In the world of dog breeds, he would be informally classified as a "Heinz 57". Again, modern science saved me the trouble and he is quite the pooch! Through genetic testing, we discovered he is mostly Australian Cattle Dog (think Blue Heeler) and Border Collie, with smaller hints of Labrador Retriever, Australian Shepherd, and Great Pyrenees. Dear reader, you read that correctly, finding that he was going to be a big, stubborn, energetic dog from a few months of having him was an early sign we were in for it. Although there are only mentions of his crazy and playful side, at heart, he is incredibly sweet, loyal, and intelligent. When it's raining and snowing? He curls up between our legs for warmth. He knows how to sit, stay, shake, place, spin, etc... If you want a "sour patch kid" for a dog, where all the unwanted behavior is equally matched with the best puppy love you can find on this side of the Mississippi, come find me!
