The english Cream Golden Gus

They were introduced as Red and Green. The smartest of the bunch and the most loving.

Their names matched the string of yarn tied around their puppy necks as a sort of collar. It struck me as an ingenious way to discern which puppy was which in the litter or 10.

We came for 1 puppy. We could have easily loved all ten but life is filled with choices, no? But the brains and the heart of the group were just plopped into our arms with that pungent puppy-coffee breath. Wriggly in a cute way, the heart was enthusiastic from moment 1 with us, while the brains was nonchalantly indifferent to us – though he didn’t outright ignore us.

The heart eventually became to be know as Winston, and the brains is known as Instagram’s most famous English Cream Golden Retriever Gus.

We drove 90 miles to bring home a single beautiful puppy. But if you find both the head and the heart, you don’t chose one.

You take them both.

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If you like this style of writing, the author would like you to consider his audiobook: A Quiet Murmuration – A Public Journal of Private Thoughts.

Also, please consider this leash for your dog at AWellRunLifeGear.

The Modern Revolution is about the drastic need we have in this country to change how we grow food, prepare food and take care of our bodies.

But nourishing our physician bodies sits within larger context of health and wellness context. The heart, spirit and mind need attention too. The need to love and be loved in return is central to the human experience. Our pets (we have 2 turtle as well – including Instagram Famous ElChapoTheTurtle – who we will talk about on Sundays found on Instagram here).

And so, every Saturday, I am going to briefly tell you about our English Cream Golden Retrievers named Gus and his brother Winston.

This is Chapter 1.

Before Gus and Winston we purchased a Saint Bernard and named him Olympus. This extraordinarily cute dog came to us via an unknown breeder who we foolishly met in parking lot of a local Mexican Restaurant. I am not an experienced dog owner, but what few dogs I have had in my life came to me via people who loved dogs.

This is Olympus.

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I did not think anyone could be in the puppy business without a pure heart.

Olympus came with full blown Parvo. He was a lethargic from the moment we received him. Chalked up to the change in environment, we fully expected a vibrant puppy to emerge. Sadly, our family spent 10 days fighting to keep him alive as he deeply suffered the ravishing effects of the Parvo virus.

At the end, it was he and I on my bathroom floor of a tiny house in Central Phoenix. He died right in front of me, his body releasing with life it had in a difficult to watch conclusion of a very short life.

I describe this experience in more detail at my Podcast: Puppy Love.

The hole Olympus left is permanent. The experience’s scar won’t fade. We are grateful for the short time nonetheless.

We found a Gus and Winston through a family that truly loved their puppies and the way they cared for these puppies was similar to the greatest spas in the world. They opened the garage to introduce us to the litter and there has never been a Disney scene that could rival the cuteness of 10 Golden Retriever puppies ferociously licking and tackling us.

We went up to find a single puppy.

We came home with two.

This is Gus and brother Winston.

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The story began this way. I will tell you of our lessons Gus and Winston teach us, the love they amplify in our family and tales of how we manage to keep 5 children, two turtles, and four chickens nourished in all their various and demanding needs.
We do our best.

You can read about Gus and his brother Winston every Saturday on this blog who’s intent is to change the world. Ambitious? We are not afraid and we stick together.

Join us and bring your loved ones.

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Is Gus gay or straight? His indiscriminate affection makes it hard to tell. He is a gentle soul, whatever his orientation. If you have a small dog, he suggests this hat from his store AWellRunLifeGear:

He is almost 90lbs, but he is all ‘fraidy cat. So if you have a big scary dog like this, he asks you get the double-handled leash to keep everythong safe and civil: