JIM EDGAR (the governor of Illinois) has a Golden Retriever.

HALLIE KATE EISENBURG (Child actress, star of Pepsi commercial) has a Golden named Tara, shown together in this sweet October 2001Animal Fair Magazine photo. During the five-week shoot for new TV version of "The Miracle Worker," Hallie got to step out of character to celebrate a birthday.

"I got a really great present: a dog. A Golden Retriever puppy. Well, not a puppy. She's gonna be 3 on Nov. 18. Her name's Tara." A retired show Golden, Tara had been owned by the animal trainer working on the set. "She can travel with us. She's fully trained. She can pee or poop on command."

LINDA ELLERBEE (TV journalist) has a Golden Retriever named Beau.  She tells this funny tale about her Golden. "A few weeks after my surgery, I went out to play catch with my golden retriever. When I bent over to pick up the ball, my prosthesis fell out. The dog snatched it, and I found myself chasing him down the road yelling "Hey, come back here with my breast!"
 

DAVID ESSEX (British rock singer and actor) has had Golden Retrievers in his family for many years. Check him out in this photo with one of his special guys. Now, is this a happy pair or what?

AMERICA FERRERA (actress, star of "Ugly Betty" show) has a Golden Retriever named Buddy. Shown on the Estylo magazine’s February/March 2007 cover, Buddy was America’s first big splurge after hitting it big in Ugly Betty. You can see he is one happy boy as they also are shown playing ball at a San Diego beach. Tell me, what is it about these kids and their beloved tennis balls?

SALLY FIELD (actress) has a Golden Retriever named Rupert.

BRUCE FOGLE (author of several animal books, including Pets and People, Dog's Mind) has had several Golden Retrievers. Sadly, his Goldens Liberty & Lexington both died recently (August 2000) of age-related causes.

JANE FONDA (actress) has a Golden Retriever named Roxie.

GERALD FORD (U.S. President) had a Golden Retriever named Liberty. Reportedly, Mrs. Ford had obedience lessons in the private family quarters and the President in the Oval Office. For several months, daily visits were made to the White House to obedience train their new Golden girl. Later, it was said that if visitors stayed too long at The White House, President Ford would whistle for Liberty to pounce on them!

Liberty went on to give birth to eight pups, as shown in this photo of Susan, Mrs. Ford, and President Ford with Liberty and her babies which was taken on September 16, 1975. One of these special puppers was named Misty and she was added to the presidential family. At the time of the birth, The White House had a rubber stamp of her paw print made to "autograph" photos that the public greatly demanded. One of Liberty's pups also went on to become a Guide Dog for the blind.

Here is a funny story about how the Fords got Liberty, appearing in President Ford's memoir, A Time to Heal:   … our family didn't have a dog when we moved into the White House. Susan [the Fords' daughter] and David [Kennerly, the White House photographer] thought that situation should be rectified before Betty [Mrs. Ford] came home from the hospital. Without telling me his intention, David did some research and discovered that a fine retriever had recently given birth to a litter in Minneapolis. David called the kennel's owner and said he wanted to buy a puppy for a friend of his.

That was fine, the owner said, but what was the name of David's friend? David said it was a surprise; he wanted to keep the name secret. "We don't sell dogs that way," the owner replied. "We have to know if the dog is going to a good home." "The couple is friendly," David said. "They're middle-aged, and they live in a white house with a big yard and a fence around it. It's a lovely place." "Do they own or rent?" the owner asked. David thought for a minute, "I guess you might call it public housing," he said.

The owner said the dog was healthy; she was going to eat a lot. Did his friend have a steady job? David could play the game no longer. He hinted that his friend was a very important person and finally the owner agreed to fly the dog to Washington. I was in the Oval Office the day before Betty came back from the hospital when Susan walked in. "Daddy," she asked, "if we ever get another dog, what kind are we going to get?" "A female Golden Retriever about six months old," I said.

At that moment, David entered with a copper-colored pup who raced around the Oval Office yelping excitedly. "Whose dog is that?" I asked. "It's yours." Susan and David laughed. "Her name was Streaker, but we've changed it to Liberty." Delighted, I grabbed the pup, put her on my lap, then got down on my hands and knees and played with her on the rug. That was a joyous experience, and I knew that Betty would be just as thrilled as I was to welcome the new addition to our family.

Here is another funny tale of how President Ford and Liberty got locked out of The White House, appearing in Mrs. Ford's memoir, The Times of My Life:  But, with motherhood imminent, we were afraid she'd [Liberty] deliver at night, so we moved her inside, and for a short while she slept on the third floor with a trainer. One night the trainer had to be away, and he left Liberty with us. "If she wants to go out," he said, "she'll come and lick your face."  

About three o'clock in the morning, she came and licked Jerry's [President Ford] face. Like a good daddy, he got up, pulled on a robe and slippers, took the dog downstairs and out onto the south lawn. When they were ready to come back, Jerry rang for the elevator. But at night the elevator goes off - You have to get it charged up or something. Secret Service agents are in a room in the basement (they have a mirror and closed-circuit TV and there are lights all over the grounds), and usually they notice anything that moves, so I still don't understand how they missed the scene with the odd couple. Maybe somebody dozed off.   

Anyway, Jerry decided to try the stairs. He opened the door to the stairwell, said, "Come on, Liberty," and up they climbed to the second floor, Liberty waddling from side to side, her stomach with nine puppies in it practically hanging on the ground. They got to the second floor, and the door to the hall was locked. You can get out, but you can't get back in. They went up again, to the third floor. Also locked. And there they were, a President and his dog, wandering around in a stairwell in the wee small hours of the morning, not able to get back to bed. Finally they came all the way down again, and by that time the Secret Service had been alerted, and somebody got the elevator started.

SUSAN FORD (daughter to U.S. President Gerald Ford) has three Golden Retrievers.

FABIAN FORTE (singer) had a Golden Retriever named Maxwell.

LARA FLYNN (actress) had a Golden Retriever named Bella.

FREEBO (singer/songwriter/musician) has a Golden Retriever named Garbo. He also has a new CD entitled, "DOG PEOPLE," which consists entirely of songs written about dogs. Inspired by his beloved Garbo, this CD is a combination of brand new songs written, produced and performed by Freebo (with some help from his talented friends), as well as classic covers, all honoring the unconditional love, endless joy of the moment, and unwavering faithfulness of our canine friends. The songs all express the love between our canine friends and their people. It is the essence of this connection that Freebo honors on this recording, a friendship between man and beast that goes beyond human friendship and is as old as mankind itself.

Ever since Freebo was a young boy, he has loved dogs . . . really loved dogs. For some reason, they have always made him feel better. Maybe it was the joy they seemed to have when he didn't, or the constant love they were so free to give. Freebo has come to believe that this unconditional love, acceptance of the moment, and joyful giving are qualities that we humans could do well to adopt. He therefore has dedicated the CD to every dog, past and present, who has helped to make a better life for its people. Click here to hear samples from the tracks of the songs on Freebo's DOG PEOPLE CD.

There is one song that features Garbo, entitled "She's My D.O.G." Click here to hear this song in its entirety. When you get to the page, select your connection speed, and then click on song #10. And, enjoy following along with all of this song's lyrics as noted below:

JAMES GADDAS (actor in Coronation Street soap opera) has a Golden named Tess.

FRANK GIFFORD (TV sports commentator) has a Golden named Charlie.

TOM GLAVINE (Atlantic Braves pitcher) has a Golden named Golden.

KAREN GOLDBERG (singer-songwriter and musician) had a Golden Retriever named Moka, shown here. As a touring musician, Karen has always taken her Golden sweethearts on the road with her. They, of course, stay at hotels that permit pets. Not surprisingly, Moka was always a big hit at Mom's shows! Moka has since gone to The Bridge, and now her Romeo (age 3 in 2006)accompanies her on gigs.

JOHN GOODMAN (actor, star in Television series, Roseanne) has a Golden Retriever named Bailey. This absolutely wonderful photo comes from the cover of our recently ordered 2003 Celebrity Calendar for Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation. Don't you just love it? We do this to our own Goldens' paws all the time. It is nice to see that someone else shares in this habit!

BRIAN GRIESE (Pro Football Quarterback) has a 100 pound Golden named Bella. Bella must be some big girl as she recently [9/02] caused her Denver Broncos dad to suffer a severely sprained ankle. Actually, Brian tripped over Bella, telling the reporters: "I was walking down the stairs and my dog came barreling down the stairs after me, clipped me, and I kind of twisted my ankle. Do you want to interview her?"

LAURA LEE GUHRKE (historical romance fiction writer) has a Golden Retriever named Sam. Laura says that Sam thinks his Mom's job is "throwing tennis balls to him 24/7 and his job is to dig up my entire English flower garden."

STEVE GUTTENBERG (actor) has a Golden Retriever named Bucky.

DEIRDRE HALL (soap opera actress in the TV series Days of Our Lives) has a Golden named Molly.

JACK HANNA (host of TV series, Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures) has a Golden Retriever [11/07]. When asked which he prefers between humans and animals, Hanna said, "I enjoy anybody's company except the people who don't like animals."

MARIETTE HARTLEY (actress in the movies O'Hara's Wife and No Place to Hide, TV host for Today and The Morning Show) has a Golden named Daisy.

DAVID HAYNES (professional award winning photographer) has a handsome Golden Retriever named Bubba. Shown here, he is paired with the most appealing of all his possessions, his beloved tennis ball. Just look at those soulful dark-brown eyes, as he gazes at his ball. "Why oh why is the door closed?" he wonders. Well, that's a simple question to answer. It's so his photographer dad could get this very special shot.

PAUL HOGAN (movie "Crocodile" Dundee actor) has a 7-year-old [April 2001] Golden Retriever named Paddy. In the April 21 to April 27, 2001 issue of TV Guide, Paul and handsome Golden Paddy are pictured together. And, the article, entitled Hogan's Hero, begins this way:

"The acupuncturist arrives at Paul Hogan's home, ready to work. The sandy-haired patient lies on his side, eyes closed. Soon a half dozen tiny needles spring from his arthritic joint like a wire bouquet. He looks contented, peaceful. Linda Kozlowski, Hogan's wife of 10 years, says she's never seen him so relazed.

He's getting on in years, and the treatments, she explains, help him run the way he did when he was much younger. At that, Hogan rolls his eyes and steps outside for a smoke, leaving his wife to the acupuncturist and the patient—his 7-year-old Golden Retriever, Paddy."

BOB HOLLAND (CEO of the Fortune 500 company Ben & Jerry's Homemade) has a Golden named Mad Max.

BO HOPKINS (actor in the movies Midnight Express and The Ballad of Little Jo) has a Golden named Candy.

LINDA HOWARD (author of eight New York Times bestsellers including, "Mr. Perfect," "All the Queen's Men," "Now You See Her" and "Kill and Tell") has two Golden Retrievers. Here she is playing on her estate in east Alabama with her 2-year-old Golden, Sugar. She also has a 3-year-old Golden named Honey. Of course, they trail her everywhere she goes, even getting to swim in the family's in-ground pool.

RON HOWARD (actor in the TV series Happy Days and director of the movies Splash and Cocoon) has a Golden Retriever.

SARAH HUGHES (Olympic gold medalist skater) has a Golden named Teddy. She keeps her gold medal in a bedroom drawer, where it's safe from her furry guy. "I didn't want the dog to eat it," she says, laughing.