SEASON’S GREETINGS to all, and many, many thanks for all the beautiful cards and photographs. We are pleased to hear from so many friends and to see and learn about your wonderful Goldens. I’m absolutely thrilled to hear from you. The pictures delight us by showing how much the puppies and children and families change through the years. Gold-Rush Charlie was born 35 years ago, and the cards and letters portray how much he lives on in our Goldens of today.

    We have had another good year at Gold-Rush, and we count our blessings. We want to acknowledge our sincere appreciation with many thanks, to those who assist in this undertaking, especially Robin, Amy, Peg, Jimmy, Joseph, Gestner, Stacy, Nikki, Melissa, Charlie, John and Bob. All are to be commended. We also appreciate our handlers this year: Audra Snyder, Lisa Gallizzo, and Len Hoare, who have done a magnificent job presenting our charges to the show world. 

2005 in Review

    Looking through my digital photo album brings back happy memories, and here is a month-by-month review:

   January and February: We seemed to be busy raising puppies during these chilly months (1). Ann took time out to travel to New York City for the Westminster Dog Show in February (2). And we are pleased to announce that we will have two champions in 2006 at Westminster: Ch. Sunbeam’s Private Party (“Hank”) and Am. Can. Ch. Gold-Rush Spencer Tracy (“Spencer”). Kim Johnson will join us at Westminster with her Cavalier, Ch. Trefoil Calamanco (“Colin”).

   In March we were visited by our Indonesian friend, Teddy Utoma, shown in the photograph (3) with our young hopeful, “Scout.” “Hank” was shown by Lisa Gallizzo at the Twin Brooks KC show (4), where I was happy to see my good friend and mentor, Janet Bunce, with her lovely Golden (5). Then, “Hank” and I traveled to California to visit my daughter-in-law, Kim, and my son, Lewis (6 & 7), and I also visited Cathie Turner. I enjoy a close relationship with Cathie, the breeder of our “Hank.” I left “Hank” with Cathie, who then traveled to the Northwest for “Hank” to be shown by Len Hoare. March also saw the publication of my Golden Retriever Puppy Handbook (8): After working on the book for more than four long years, I can now finally empathize with authors who have been through the writing process. It wasn’t easy, but I felt it was important and a time to share some of my experiences in the breed with more people.

    In April “Spencer” returned from being shown by Audra Snyder to the successful completion of his American Championship by winning two Specialties (9). Also in April, “Cosmo,” our Cavalier, came as a birthday gift from my son, Lewis. “Cosmo” has been my constant companion ever since (10).

    In May we were busy as usual with dog shows—two specialties and Bucks and Trenton, plus a Cavalier specialty. We had a houseful of guests: Len and Carol Hoare came, as did Cathie Turner. And Kim was here with her Australian friends for the Cavalier show. In addition we had an Open House Party for all the show people in the area (11). This has become somewhat of a tradition for us. “Hank” was also successful, when he won BOS at Bucks (12) and Best of Breed at Trenton (13), which also happened to be the Pine Barrens Specialty; Len did a superb job of handling him. Kim showed her Cavalier at Trenton and at her Cavalier Specialty (14).

   In June Robin and I made a trip in to NYC to provide Warren Eckstein with Golden puppies for his segment on the “Today Show.” (15) And then our attention was turned to a summer of repairs on the kennel, which received a lot of paint and a deep cleaning. A few years ago I purchased a small cottage, known as the Matthew’s cottage, which is intended to house kennel workers; it had fallen into disrepair, so we undertook a major reconstruction; we gutted it completely and rebuilt it outside and in. The project had been under way for the past couple of years, but we can finally say that it is more or less completed (16). John and Bob now live there and continue to help keep the kennel in good repair. I also enjoy working at the kennel; it seems to keep me in shape. Oh yes, I also jog along with “Cosmo” almost every day.

    In September my son Richard and I took a long afternoon off and journeyed down to Island Beach and took a dip in the ocean (17). It was an exceptionally long afternoon when we got lost and mistakenly wandered on to the Ft. Dix Military Reservation, where no one is supposed to go, wandering aimlessly around looking for an exit. It took us a couple of hours to find our way out, finally pointed in the right direction with the kind assistance of military policemen. The ocean never looked quite so good. In late September the National Specialty was held at Gettysburg and “Hank” (18) and “Spencer” (19) both received compliments. It was great being there and seeing many friends from the past.

    In October I attended my Garden State Golden Retriever Clubs annual specialty. Unfortunately, the show grounds flooded overnight, it was quite a sight. The only dog I had entered won her class: Gold-Rush Canterbury Tails, a lovely female I co-own with David and Susan Chan (20). Later, I took a trip to Washington, D.C., one Sunday with my dear friend, Gary Stone, the co-owner of Ch. Gold-Rush Echo, the # 1 Golden in the 1980s. Gary had just flown in from California for a couple days of conferences in the city; we toured the sights and had a memorable visit, reminiscing about friends and events of the past (21).

   In December, Imssy and Jorg Klebe, along with their “Uncle Sam” (Ch. Gold-Rush Uncle Sam), came to visit (22). “Sam,” who’s almost 11, is a big hit among dog lovers in Central Park during weekdays and happily retires to the Klebe’s retreat in the New York countryside on weekends, where he is well-cared for and dearly loved by our two dear friends. “Sam” has the best of all possible worlds: walking and playing with Jorg in the outdoors by day and curled up by their bed in the evening. Richard and I also made a quick trip to North Carolina to visit my brother, and we stopped along the way to visit Craig Westergaard, who worked here at Gold-Rush in the late 1970s, and his partner Kevin; we were just in time to see their marvelous Christmas decorations (23). 

   With this summary of another eventful year at Gold-Rush, I wish you all a Happy New Year, and remain, with heartfelt thanks to all for including our Goldens into your life and family,          

                            -Ann Johnson