In early March, AGR was contacted by a Goldendoodle breeder who had a litter of
7-week-old puppies she wanted to surrender. One of the puppies obviously had megaesophagus, so she suspected that his four siblings, who were asymptomatic, had this condition, too, and knew she could not sell the puppies. A previous litter of
9 puppies by the same Golden and Poodle parents all had megaesophagus and 8 of them had to be sent to the Bridge. The breeder had had X-rays done on the current four that showed no symptoms but the results were inconclusive. So, we took the entire litter knowing we would have some significant vet expenses (we might have to have all of them go through extensive testing to have megaesophagus confirmed)
– but that’s what Rescue does a lot of the time. The five puppies all needed deworming (twice), a full set of DHPP vaccines (every three weeks for three doses), leptospirosis (two doses), bordetella and rabies vaccines and will eventually be spayed or neutered. An exam was done on four of them and a full diagnostic work-up was done on Guinness, the one who obviously has megaesophagus (he would regurgitate food or water if he did not ingest it in a fully upright position).  AGR transporters drove to  pick up the puppies. There were two black ones (one male and one female) and three gold ones (one male and two females). For names, they were given an Irish theme for St Paddy’s Day:

Keely - “Beautiful” red and green collar
Kiera - “Black-haired girl” red collar
Aiden - “Fiery One” dark blue collar
Charm - “Lucky Charm” black collar
Guinness - I just like the name and it’s Irish; light blue collar
All the puppies met their prospective families at our foster's house before they were moved to their forever homes.

Keely, now Kona, is one of the three blond Goldendoodles from the litter of five. She has been adopted by an adoptive couple. Our AGR transporter reported: The ride from [the foster home] was pretty loud – Keely was in good voice and did not hesitate to show her displeasure at being in the travel crate by herself. When I got to the [adoptive home] and opened the lift gate, she looked like Cujo with all the drool! She did not, however, regurgitate or vomit. A first! The family was thrilled with her and she was remarkably self-assured about exploring her new digs. It looks as if she will have a wonderful life! She will get to spend time in her new summer home in Flagstaff.

The adopter wrote: Kona has started her life as a  mountain dog. She loves to go for walks in the woods, ride on the mountain trails in the Polaris Ranger and look at, and sometimes bark at, the wildlife. Her favorite game is fetch, although tug of war is a close second. She gets so excited when it’s time to play. She enjoys daily belly rubs, lots of hugs and kisses, training treats, spa music when she goes to bed or if she just needs a little relaxing time. She likes to be with mommy, especially in the kitchen, as she is hopeful something will drop on the floor. She is a great guard dog, as she will alert to let you know something is out of the normal. However, she loves and adores everyone she meets. So, she might tell us a robber is in the house by barking, but then she will make them a cup of tea and show them the silver! (Joking, of course.) She has a beautiful, gentle temperament and always wants to be a good girl. She likes to play with other dogs, children, and adults. When we are not living in the mountains, Kona gets to be a city girl. Hanging out by the pool, having BBQs, going for walks in the neighborhood, and she likes to watch Netflix. Her favorite show is pup academy. She is a silly girl!! She brings joy to our elderly parents, grandchildren, and friends. We are so thrilled to have such an exceptional dog who brings so much happiness and love to our family. Our Kona girl!