I don’t think Maria has met too many animals she doesn’t like – I can’t think of one – or met too many animals who don’t like Maria. One of Linda Reece’s English Golden Retrievers almost came home with us for a visit today, these two seemed to settle in well with one another. It was a good first day in our process of looking for a dog, (see below) which we will share with you. Come along for the ride.
Linda Reece, the Moonbeam Meadows breeder we meet with this afternoon (see below), is an animal lover, as is Maria. She had several of her English Golden Retrievers on hand, along with cats, fish, rescue dogs and a wounded chicken living in a crate in the living room while she heals. We were impressed by the dogs concern and gentleness with the hen.
We sat with Linda for an hour, getting to know each other. I have never met a good breeder who does not want a good look at the people who might get her dogs, if we want to know what they are like, a good breeder wants to know the same thing about us. Linda loves animals, but we knew that.
We are looking for a dog. This dog will be different. It will primarily be Maria’s dog, we are looking for a dog together, we will train it together, we will share our lives with him or her together. That will be a beautiful and important thing for us, we are both excited about it. The things we do together seem to work out very well, from our new home to the animals we care for.
Dogs can be replaced, but Frieda and Lenore cannot, this is separate from them. Maria is ready for a different kind of dog, she can protect herself these days, Frieda did her job very well. She wants a “nice dog,” as she puts it, a dog that can hang out with her in her studio and walk through the woods with her in all kinds of weather. The dog will be a family dog, of course, but primarily her dog.
I want to share the process with you – my experiences, thinking, life with a new dog, training, all of it. Maria is comfortable with that. I will be transparent and honest with you, I am looking to share the process as always, not to turn it over to anyone else.
Shortly before Frieda died – and after – I called Linda Reece, a friend, a highly-regarded local breeder, and former veterinary assistant at the Cambridge Veterinary Clinic. I’ve known Linda a long time. She has been breeding for more than 20 years and has a lifetime of experience with dogs. She is also a human being I admire, she is honest, conscientious and very direct. She runs a boarding and kennel business called Moonbeam Meadows.
I first saw one of her dogs at the vets five or six years ago, I was struck by how grounded, calm and beautiful the dog was. And how nice. Linda breeds English Golden Retrievers, they are Golden Retrievers only bred differently: their coats are most often white, they are smaller, calmer. They are gentle dogs, duck-hunting dogs, they love hanging out with people and tearing through snow and woods.
They can sit for hours inside as long as they get the exercise that hunting dogs require – several good walks a day.
Today, we began the process of seeking a dog, we are committed to life, not the memories of life. Linda invited us out to her kennel in Argyle, N.Y. so we could see the two females (bitches) that she plans to breed when they come into heat. If we end up with one of these dogs, the process could take from four to six months. Price is a consideration here, Linda’s dogs cost $2,000. That is a lot of money, but the dogs are worth it. I know that is startling to the many people I meet who do not believing in paying for dogs at all, or who cannot afford to.
(I should say that people on social media do not always have good manners, many of them like to tell other people what to do and how to live. I began to get messages right away from well-meaning people begging me to get a rescue dog or demanding that I get one, or advising me what rescue animals were. Of course, I know what rescue means, there are many rescued animals here on the farm, including my border collie Red. I imagine I have many more rescue animals on the farm than the people urging me to get one. I will endeavor to be patient and gracious about this, it is part of this curious and fascinating new world.)
Dogs are my livelihood, a good part of my life. I need to make good decisions about them. Maria feels the same way. I take them to readings, photograph them, write about them, books and blogs. Maria also takes a lot of photos and videos of animals on the farm and dogs as well. I believe Linda’s dogs have enormous potential for therapy work, if Maria wanted to pursue that.
There are so many different ways to get the right dog, I celebrate them, I do not care to tell other people what to do.
I also believe that people sometimes have to pay for things that are worthwhile, from good books to dogs. Getting a dog is nor a moral statement for me, nor is it an emotional one. It is very practical.
I have always been puzzled at the reluctance of many people to pay for dogs. I am not one of those people who believe it is foolish to pay for a dog. Sometimes, you do, in fact, get what you pay for. I don’t take chances with the dogs I get or guess about their lives and health and disposition. You can actually know what you are getting.
This philosophy has worked well for me. I have been very fortunate in my dogs. Good breeders have sold me wonderful dogs – Rose, Pearl, Izzy, Red (he was not bought, he is a rescue dog), Lenore. Linda’s dogs are well worth it, whether we end up with one or not. People get dogs with less thought and worry than they buy washing machines or toasters, and I see much conflict and confusion in the lives of many dogs and their people. A dog is an animal coming into our home for many years, he or she will be around children, will meet many people, do many things.
I need to know the temperament and health and characteristics of the line going back five or six generations, I need to be sure, and Linda can do that for me, insofar as it is possible. Like any good breeder, she is available to deal with any problems, should any arise.
I do not leave these things to chance, getting a dog is not a crapshoot for me. I do not believe the right dog will find me, I believe I should do the work to find the right dog. I need to work hard and be thoughtful to get the dog I want.
I have gotten dogs both ways, for free and by paying a good breeder. I do not tell other people how to get a dog, ever. Linda is a special kind of breeder. She breeds for health, temperament, coat and appearance, she lives nearby, she knows me and Maria. I trust her to match us with a puppy that will fit in with what we need, should it come to that.
Linda is also open and transparent, she discusses her breeding techniques and procedures, she showed us photos of the male involved, she insisted on a healthy and “nice” dog for the father. Breeding “nice” dogs are a major element in Linda’s breeding program, and a major requirement for Maria and I. We could not have felt more comfortable, I was happy to note that Maria was easy with the dogs, and very easy with Linda.
When I get a dog from a breeder, it is a kind of marriage, I expect to be in touch with the breeder throughout the lifetime of the dog, consulting, sharing and learning.
We had a good visit, a good first day in our search, we liked these dogs a lot, they are sweet and calm – there were cats and a chicken running around, the dogs were appropriate and affectionate, but not all over us or in our face. I liked the size and grace of Linda’s dogs, they were not as strong or blocky as Labs, we never had the feeling of being overwhelmed or bowled over. There was a gentleness about them we both found appealing.
Their coats were smooth and soft and tight. These are very grounded dogs, they are trustworthy but highly biddable, they pay attention, make eye contact, which means they will be easier to train They shed very lightly. They are beautiful dogs as well. They can be taken anywhere and will also love the environments of upstate New York – streams, ponds, woods. We love those things as well.
As working dogs, they are bred to be around people and to be quiet when necessary.
It felt good to both of us, but lots has to happen. Linda’s dogs have to go in heat, there have to be enough healthy puppies to go around, we have to get in line, put ourselves on a list and take our chances. Linda’s dogs are in demand. Linda invited us to come and see any part of the process, including the days after the birth and the immediate aftermath.
We will continue to explore our options, and open our minds to possibilities, but this was a very good and hopeful start. Linda will notify us if and when her dogs go into heat, we will then be given the option of sending a deposit and committing to one of her puppies. We can visit her dogs as often as we like. Then, there is some luck involved, things even the best breeders or the most eager animal lovers cannot control. I will keep you posted.
I often squawk and bitch about getting gifts, I tell people not to do it. Today a friend sent us in flowers, in part because of Frieda’s death and also, I think, because the winter here has been so long and grim. Two more storms coming in the next few days (I will get my reading and talk in at the Williamstown, Mass., library at 1 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, the first storm isn’t coming until early evening). When the florist came up the driveway with flowers, I thought, oh, how beautiful, color and light in this Siberian winter.
I used to get so many presents from people I could not handle and process them, and many had to be returned or given away. Some were not welcome or appropriate. But this gift was, I have to say, welcome, I took it out into one of the snow mountains behind the house – they are getting higher every day – and took a photo before Maria got worried the flowers would die in the bitter cold. They are doing all right.
I wouldn’t be surprised if a helicopter flew over the farm and dropped food supplies for us and the animals. The snow is getting that high, the cold so wearing.
Light and color is powerful medicine right now, it is wonderful to have colorful and living things in the house. It was the perfect gift.
The forecast is unrelenting, more snow, cold and ice. Another good friend invited us to come out to California for a few days to soak up some sun and rest in her beautiful guest home. Just say yes, she said, we have plenty of room and lots of frequent flyer miles to offer.
We would both love to go, for sure, but I can’t abide her giving us her frequent flyer miles to get us there, it just doesn’t seem right. We already had a trip to Disney World in January that other people paid for.
But it is wonderfully generous, and the very idea of it made me warm and happy, it touched me. it is nice to have friends who would think of that. Sometimes you have to look at a gift and just say thank you.
For those of you who are new here, and there are many, I am happy to report that the “Saving Simon” Orphans book tour resumes tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Williamstown Public Library in Williamstown, Mass., a neat town where Williams College and a whole block of neat restaurants (and an independent movie theater) are located.
Last October, my book about Simon was published by Random House, my long-time publisher (27 books). Because I am leaving Random House for another publisher, “Simon & Schuster”, Random House decided to not spend a single dollar on the marketing of this book – no book tour, advertising, nothing. In publishing, it is called “orphaning” a book.
It was a shock to me, the least amount of support and attention I have ever been given in my writing life. I loved my time at Random House, they have been very good to me, I am deeply grateful for them buying and publishing my books and giving me a lifetime as a writer who could earn a living by writing books.
But they are a big corporation now and while they do many good things, loyalty and sentimentality are not important, although I was taken aback, angry and hurt. Then I decided to grow up and move on, my own ideas about loyalty and commitment are not in fashion. I’m not into whining and complaining, even when I do it.
I launched the “Saving Simon” book tour since we are both orphans in different ways, and it has been successful. The book has gone into three printings, although the amounts are small and I have been invited to a number of places this Spring – Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York. It’s a fun book tour in it’s own right, I am grateful for it and excited about it. And flattered, my ego was battered, it is restored by all the interest in my work.
Tomorrow, the “Saving Simon Orphans Book Tour” resumes after a break for the holidays and interruptions from Mother Earth. We have two more storms coming in the next couple of days, but they will all skip the Williamstown, Mass., Library at 1 p.m. Red is coming with me, Maria too. The library appearances have been great fun, this tour is turning out to be one of the best, and isn’t that how life works?
The library website calls me a “famous” author, so there, I must be somebody. I’m excited to kick off the book tour again.
