Rugg…to know him was to love him
Saturday, June 26th, 2010Rugg 1999-2010
AKA: Ida Red’s Magic Carpet Ride
Rugg aboard the Anonymous, shortly after chasing a duck, Don’s favorite photo of Rugg, 2002
If any pet had a motto, Rugg certainly did. It was ‘Everybody Loves the Rugg.” We started saying this on walks with Rugg in Georgia, where everyone stopped to pet him. The same would happen when we lived aboard our boat and stopped at ports, and certainly when we settled down in Florida. Small children and elderly neighbors all wanted to pet him, simply enough, because everyone loves the Rugg.
And what wasn’t to love? Not a single mean bone in his body. The only time he barked was to ask to be let in or out…and then only once. Woof. And then he waited.
Rugg in 2009 with the girls, St. Augustine, FL
Rugg was born in 1998, we adopted him at 1 year as a pup in 1999. This breeder wanted him to go to a field trial competition family, but after watching him run through the woods with our two little girls, he just looked at us and said “he’s your dog.”
Rugg loved our gardens, both in Georgia and Florida.
And he was. He would join our family and become part of a tight crew for many years. Don, Melora, Savannah, Ginny, Ansel and Rugg. This would be the foundation of The Foleys for over a decade…half the time that Don and Melora have been married. His favorite time of the day was when we sat on our deck, in Georgia or Florida, and threw tennis balls. You could cover his eyes, throw and then tell him to find it, and he always did. He loved the game. Great nose.
Rugg’s first story, and still one of our favorites, was how we taught him in 3 days to go out and get the newspaper. On the fourth day, he completely understood…”go out and get the paper and you get a treat.” Being a smart dog, he went out and brought back five of our neighbor’s newspapers. The high school kids waiting for their bus were laughing their heads off.
Ten years later, Rugg’s morning job…EVERY morning, was to go out and get the paper. And he did, rain or shine. If the paper didn’t show up…he let you know the day wasn’t right. And every morning he would go out, and look around to see if anyone was watching. He knew how special he was. And then he’d pick up the paper and bring it in. He always wanted to please.
Dinghy Rugg in the Florida Keys
Rugg was a water dog, as any golden is. And that worked out great, because we’re water people. And while he loved the water, to be quite honest, he never had a great ‘water entry’ which is one of those things show dogs need. Rugg was not a show dog, he wanted a boat. Give him a dinghy or a kayak, and he would ride ashore like he was the captain of the vessel. He was a boat dog. Don and Rugg would take ‘walks’ to distant sandbars in the middle of the night far from their boats, and Rugg loved it. When the dinghy was being hauled up to the boat his eyes would brighten and tail would wag…DINGHY RUN!
Rugg and the girls, 10 years ago
This was the coolest dog, in our opinion, ever. He was the Key West comfort dog to hundreds of people coming off the cruise ships who missed their goldens (he loved the attention). He walked portions of the east coast from Cape May to the Florida Keys, we always put into port to walk him, breakfast lunch and dinner.
And he helped us. Through life we all hit road bumps. But Rugg’s gentle eyes always assured us that ‘everything would be OK.’
And he was right. Everything was OK.
The following log entries and photos of Rugg remind us of what gentle, loving soul he was.
Fairwinds, our great friend, and thank you for everything you gave to us.
You taught us well.
We love you.
