Gibson was born on March 14, 2000 in Jordan, MN. We bought him from Tipperary Golden Retrievers located in Jordan, MN. His parents are: Carlin's Last Happy Valentine (Sire) and Worthing's Katie Deneuve (Dam). They both are AKC registered and so is Gibson. He came from a litter of six, 4 females and 2 males.

The Prelude
We had just recently fenced in our yard in Bloomington, MN and decided to take a break from performing household chores. It was May 6, 2000. We decided to take our boat out on a lake to enjoy the sun on a beautiful spring day. Loretta had decided to bring a Saturday newspaper along to pass the time in case the fishing was slow. Lucky for us it was slow. She decided to look and see if there were any Goldens' that were ready for sale. It so happened that an ad read there would be a litter ready that day. The puppies were 8 weeks old. When she read the ad to me I was overwhelmed with excitement. I had a really good feeling about our soon to be Gibson. I coaxed her to make the phone call and inquire about the ad. (Of course, I was busy fishing) After the phone call, we decided to come off the lake immediately. This was a first. It has to be something very important to get us off the lake any time, let alone the first time of the year.

After we had gone home and put the boat away, we sought off on our journey. Jordan was about 50 minutes (drive time) away. We were both very anxious during the whole drive, thinking about what questions to ask, and trying not to get our hopes up. After we had made our way through the countryside of Jordan, we located the house. We met the breeders and made our way through the house to the basement where we met Gibson's Mom. She was a very pretty girl. Her coat was very red in color. I couldn't help but feel a little sad for her because we were about to take away one of her pups.

We ventured outside and were met by 6 of the cutest puppies you will ever see. (Anyone who has seen Golden pups knows what I mean.) We knew we wanted a male so the task of narrowing down our choices was made somewhat easier. We had two to choose from. I told my wife that she would have to be the decision maker. After watching them react outside and inside, Gibson was taking a liking to Loretta and Loretta taking a liking to Gibson. I liked them both. (I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision.) After an hour and a half, we picked out Gibson. We filled out the paper work, listened to some breeder advice and got in our truck to show Gibson his new home.

The First Days
When we arrived home, we had to get a lot of things "puppy-proofed". Granted he wasn't going to get into anything too serious quite yet, but it wouldn't be long. I stayed with Gibson while Loretta went out to buy dog food, bowls, toys, collars, leash and so on. I started making phone calls to my sisters and parents. Loretta and I both grew up in families that owned dogs and I knew they would be excited to see him.

Gibson adjusted very well. He was very cautious about his new yard. He would only explore a very short distance, get scared, and then come back. But it wasn't long before he was exploring every corner of the yard. There was a lot of excitement that day. Not only did my family come and see him, but Loretta's parents were coming to stay with us that weekend. He had plenty of company. He was surprisingly comfortable at night. He didn't cry at all. This might have been in part that we slept on the floor with him. At any rate, we all slept pretty well during the first days.

Potty Training
As far as potty-training, that went pretty well too. We decided not to kennel Gibson. I realize that is somewhat surprising, but we didn't feel we had to. The room we kept him in had very old carpet that needed replacement. He had a few accidents but soon began barking when he wanted to go out. This process took about 6 weeks.

More Currently
I initially made this Web site for Gibson. He was a little under a year old when I built the site. In 2001, we moved from Bloomington, MN to Nebish which is North of Bemidji, MN. Gibson adjusted well; after all, this is where he would visit quite often. It's practically a dogs paradise. He has 15 acres to run around in and there is always something to chase or smell.

It's hard to imagine that Gibson is going to be 6 years old on March 14, 2006. He is starting to slow down a little bit and the grey beard is starting to show. But he is a such a wonderful and caring dog. He does have some moments where he will show his obstinance. But those are few and far between.  
 

Gibson's Parents
Bear (Gibson's Dad) comes from an extremely healthy line of dogs. Both parents are group winning dogs (this means they beat the winners of all the breeds in the sporting group at a dog show), and his mother also is a specialty winner (that means she beat all the Golden Retrievers entered in an all Golden dog show). His father is still being used for stud at the age of 11. People like to breed to him because he passes on a lot of good health. He was originally purchased as a show dog, but the person who purchased him had some terrible health problems and the dog spent two years tied up outside with no play or attention. The owner found him through an ad and it did take some time for him to recover from the mental stress he had been under. Under other circumstances, I am sure that he would have completed his championship. He is a wonderful dog. He loves attention and is so sweet!