Golden Retrievers with Celebrity (Moms and Dads)

DENNIS QUAID (actor in the movies The Big Easy and Great Balls of Fire) has a Golden named Fawn Hall.

RONAL

D REAGAN (former actor and previous United States President) had a lovely Golden Retriever named Victory. Doesn't she look like a re

ally sweet gal here with her famous daddy?

Here's Victory (on left) as a baby, as shown in this AP Photo from The Post-Crescent.

The caption read: Ronald Reagan looks on as his wife Nancy holds a golden retriever puppy, presented to them by Carol Schaidler, March 26, 1980, during a campaign stop in Neenah, Wisconsin. The Reagans named the dog Victory.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE (actor in the movie Superman) had a Golden Retriever assistance dog.

DAN REEVES (professional football coach) has a Golden named Hondo, as well as that of others.

EDWARD G. RENDELL (Governor of Pennsylvania) has a Golden Retriever named Mandy. Ed is the Honorary Chair for Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue's Golden Gateway Capital Campaign, his Delaware Valley Rescue gal Mandy serving in the position of Honorary ChairDog!

A devoted Dad, he was initially concerned when he won the 2003 election for Governor. You see, he was intent on finding a place to walk his Mandy, as she loves open fields. And while there is a park right across the street from the governor's mansion, he feels a more open area is needed.

"I have to find a place where we can play toss with this ball-and-rope toy she chases," Rendell says. "I need a flat spot."

NISE RICHARDS (actress) has a Golden Retriever. The actress, who is in the midst of getting a divorce from Charlie Sheen, tells Animal Fair magazine that she bunks regularly with her five – count 'em, five – pooches, two Boston Terriers, a French Bulldog, a Pug, and a Golden Retriever.

LISA RINNA (actress in the TV series Melrose Place) has a Golden Retriever that is a rescue!

JOAN RIVERS (comedian and on the TV series Live with Regis & Kathie Lee) has a Golden named Callie.

DAVID ROSENFELT (fiction author of legal thrillers) has 37 Golden Retrievers! He and his wife started the Tara Foundation (based in Southern California) in 1995, named in honor of the pretty miss pictured here. According to David, T David and Tara

ara, who died in 1993, was the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known.

Amazingly, they have actually rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. As you can guess, their home became a sanctuary for those rescued dogs that were too old or sickly to be desired or adopted by others. Here are some photos showing some of these wonderful rescued Goldens.

The books that David has written (Open and Shut; First Degree) follow a lawyer and animal lover named Andy Carpenter who is quite busy saving both dogs and humans from Death Row. In these works, Andy "adores Tara, a golden retriever clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County." Check out the following Golden themed books by David:

PLAY DEAD — Few can rival attorney Andy Carpenter's affection for golden retrievers, especially his own beloved Tara. After he astonishes a New Jersey courtroom by successfully appealing another golden's death sentence, Andy discovers that this gentle dog is a key witness to a murder that took place five years before. Andy pushes the boundaries of the law even further as he struggles to free an innocent man by convincing an incredulous jury to take canine testimony seriously. It will take all the tricks Andy's fertile mind can conceive to get to the bottom of a remarkable chain of impersonations and murder, and save a dog's life-and his own-in the process.

DEAD CENTER — Trading the refineries and factories of Paterson for the frozen pastures of Findlay, Wisconsin, Andy soon finds himself in a small town handling a big-time double homicide case. He looks into Jeremy’s romance with one of the victims…and the possible involvement of a bizarre religious cult—one that may sanction the most unholy, and vicious, of acts. While Andy tries to save Jeremy, make sense of his love life, and find a decent pizza for his beloved dog, Tara, the secrets of an ultra-religious community begin to rain down on him like bricks from a cracked fortress.

BURY THE LEAD — His streak of murder case acquittals made him a regular on cable talk shows. His recent $22 million inheritance bought him a dog rescue operation named the Tara Foundation after his own beloved golden retriever. Yet after turning down cases left and right, Andy Carpenter thinks he's facing a midlife crisis. He knows he needs to get back to some real work as fast as a felonious world will allow. Click here to read the first chapter.

FIRST DEGREE — An unabashed animal lover, Andy Carpenter has established a fast reputation as that rare lawyer who saves both dogs and humans from Death Row. Lately, with his newfound fortune, he has given up his home in the fashionable suburbs and returned to the house in which he grew up in the asphalt heart of Paterson. These days his office is eerily quite, except for the scraping pen of his secretary, Edna, as she navigates across and down the New York Times crossword puzzle. Though his wallet isn't hurting, Andy's soul hungers for a case to sink his legal teeth into. he's about to get his wish. And it'll be a first degree kick in the head. Click here to read the first chapter.

OPEN AND SHUT —. Attorney Andy Carpenter's legal maneuvers are legion in and out of the courtrooms of Paterson, New Jersey. A talented lawyer who knows how to play all the cards, he is torn between mending a marriage that no longer works and growing attached to a beautiful, no-nonsense private investigator. Besides his love for sports, Andy also adores Tara, a golden retriever clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. then one day the fun stops. Click here to read the first chapter.

KEVIN RUDD (Australian Prime Minister) has a Golden Retriever named Abby. Shown here with his Golden girl, Prime Minister Rudd wants 2008 to be the year he gets fit and teaches his Abby not to dig up the flower beds at The Lodge.

MARLA RUNYAN (Legally blind Olympic track star) has a Golden named Summer. Her macular degeneration causes her to have a big black hole in the center of her vision. So Marla's world comes from the edges. Only by turning her head, can she recognize her Golden gal Summer.

MORLEY SAFER (TV correspondent/journalist) has a Golden named Dora. In Roger Caras' 1997 book, The BOND: People and Their Animals, Morley notes that "All the things people say about dogs are true. When I retreated to the country house to write a book, I was alone with Goldie," a much loved Golden Retriever that lived for thirteen years. "It was like having another person with me.

She was company, there was interdependency, affection, I talked to her. She wou

ld lay her head on my foot while I worked, and when she got restless, I knew it was time for a break. We'd take a walk together. In a funny way, she set the pace. There was the time for writing, walking, napping—we took our naps together—then back to the office and work, a break, a swim, it was all with Goldie."

"After Goldie came Dora, another Golden Retriever, who is now five years old. Morley says, "Jane and I take Dora everywhere with us. When we visit friends they usually tend to be people who are comfortable around animals. She's a bit of a food thief but is otherwise quite well behaved." . . . "Whatever h

e has seen, wherever he has been, Morley Safer has had, for the last eighteen years, Goldie and then Dora to come home to. He sums it up perfectly: "Both are constant reminders of the transient nature of work and the permanent verity of love."

This photo on the left is a more recent [1/2005] photo of Morley and his best girl, Dora. Only five years of age in the above photo from Caras' 1997 book, she is still looking mighty fine at a now very senior 12 to 13. According to a CBSNEWS.com article, Dora is making her 60 Minutes TV debut on January 9, 2005 at 7pm, in a truly remarkable story about dogs that can sniff out cancer.

Although Safer's Golden Dora can't smell cancer, she and other dogs may be able to do so if properly trained. Researchers in California and in Cambridge, England, are successfully training our canine friends in this endeavor. They believe dogs can actually be more accurate than current cancer tests, so representing a breakthrough in cancer detection.

Every Sunday, Dora watches 60 Minutes with her dad, and is known to react to television on occasion. The big question will be whether she notices her cameo (lol).

TED SANN (CEO of the Fortune 500 Company BBDO) has a Golden named Dudley.

DR. ALLEN M. SCHOEN (celebrated veterinarian and author) has a Golden Retriever named Shanti. He recently published,

Kindred Spirits: How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans & Animals Can Change The Way We Live in February 2001. It is a book that cannot be put down as it is both heartwarming and packed full of useful information. Dr. Schoen believes animals have feelings and emotions, and treats them accordingly. His vision is for a society in which we cease to be owner and pet, human and animal, but are simply respected companions connected by a special unique bond.

In an April 2001 personal correspondence with Dr. Schoen, the following piece of Golden wisdom was shared: "G-d made dogs and then when he perfected them . . . . he created Goldens."

One can surely see this Golden love in the cover photo to Dr. Schoen's latest book. This Golden paw, cupped in a human hand, is so simple, yet so moving. Here are some more Golden thoughts from the April 17, 2001 USA Today article, "Emotion Runs Deeper than Wagging Motion," by Anita Manning:

Formal education notwithstanding, Schoen says one of the most important and powerful teachers in his life was Megan, a very special Golden Retriever. A stray, Megan found her way to Schoen just in time. She was hungry and sick, infected with heartworm. Schoen helped her to recover, and the two bonded as kindred souls. Megan accompanied him on his veterinary rounds and soon displayed an uncanny, even spooky ability to empathize with other species. Megan became his medical assistant.

He describes, in his book, one cold night when they were called to a farm where Jesse, a cow, was having trouble delivering her calf. ''When she sees Jesse starting to strain once again, she approaches carefully, as though to make sure that the cow, who has met her many times before, recognizes her and accepts her presence. Once Megan feels she has a clear signal, she starts licking Jesse's face. The contact seems to have both a calming and a revitalizing effect on the struggling animal.''

Even during her last days, when she was dying of cancer, Megan seemed to know how to care for herself. She would go to a nearby spring and soak her tumorous leg in mud, a time-honored way to reduce inflammation. When it was time for Schoen to put her out of her misery, Megan lifted her paw so he could inject the needle. Schoen struggles to understand how Megan developed such insight and sensitivity. ''When they're in our presence, animals develop consciously to a different level,'' he says. ''If they're out in the wild, they're just a dog. But when they're with us, they study us, mimic our behavior patterns. Megan, by watching me all the time, started developing herself. . . . And there's part I can't explain. I think as she watched me take care of other animals, she started doing that in her own way. That, combined with her maternal instincts, being a Golden Retriever . . . '' He trails off, unable to fully explain the unexplainable. What he does know, though, is that his current dog pal, Shanti, is cut of a different cloth: ''I did a brain scan on him, and the only thing in there was a tennis ball. Shanti teaches me to lighten up.''

LISA SCOTTOLINE

(author of legal thrillers) has 3 Golden Girls named Lucy, Penny & Angie. Lisa has a huge, incredible site on Lisa and Golden Penny

the web that details her novels, book tours . . . and Goldens, of course! This includes her fascinating "Lisa Cam" which is on from 9am to 2pm weekdays. Here, you can watch her creative juices flow — and if you're lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of her beloved Golden Girls! Here is a section from Lisa's "Goldens, etc." page that shows just how much a part of the family her Golden kids truly are.

"Any visitor to Lisa's home quickly discovers they are sentries, a welcoming committee and sponges for affection. All three of them. A knock on the door brings them running. Inside, you'll be jumped on, licked and nuzzled by the bunch. And your favorite author is something of a pied piper: the dogs follow her every move.

One is more lovable than the next, and each has a personality of its own. Lucy is the mother of all Golden Retriever

s, and the mother to one of Lisa's other goldens, Penny. She enjoys her food, and when she decides to lie down, she is not easily persuaded to change spots. Lucy is the most likely of all the dogs to be found lying right inside the front door. She is about six years old.

As half sisters, Penny and Angie are a tag team of trouble. Penny is the baby at 1½ years old and is a car dog. If Lisa even motions toward the car, Penny is right there. She will go anywhere. And when she can, Lisa takes her along. The above photograph of Lisa . . . includes Penny.

At the photography session for her portrait, Penny at first was thrilled by all the attention. Then, she associated the strobe lights with thunder (a terror) and hid in the bathroom. The other young golden, Angie, is 2½ years old and is lighter in color. Her greatest love is chasing a tennis ball. If you throw the ball, she will chase it. Endlessly. If you don't throw it, she will bother you until you do. Tirelessly."

MAURICE SENDAK (children's author and artist of Where the Wild Things Are) has a Golden named Io.

JANE SEYMOUR (actress in movies Live and Let Die & Lassiter, TV series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) has a Golden Retriever named Crispin. Here, during a Fit & Trim National Rib Check Day, Ms. Seymour felt her Crispin's ribs to see if he'd put on excess weight. You do this check by placing both thumbs on your dog's backbones, and running your fingers along the ribcage. If you can't feel the bony part of each rib easily, it may be dieting time! (Call 800-558-8555 for more info.)

NICOLETTE SHERIDAN (actress) has a Golden puppy named Oliver. And, what a funny boy he must be. Of course, he sure does have a funny mom as well as you can see in the following January 12, 2005 Contactmusic.com news article and the June 6, 2005 People article, "Nicollette Sheridan's Favorite 'Son'" :

Actress NICOLETTE SHERIDAN is suffering from a bout of the flu - which was exacerbated after she jumped into her cold swimming pool naked to save her dog. The DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES star has been struck down with the ailment for more than a week, and she blames it on her ignorance about her 12-week-old golden retriever OLIVER's swimming abilities - and the fact she was cleaning her home in the nude.

After returning from a Christmas trip to Aspen, Colorado, Sheridan cleaned off the puppy in her swimming pool after he got himself dirty in a rose pot - and her actions gave the pooch new ideas on causing mischief. She says, "The next thing you know, he goes outside and he's right back in that pool again. Now I think he's drowning! I run naked i

nto the cold pool.

"I was cleaning (my house) naked. It's (a normal thing to do) when I'm feverish... So I saved the dog, but little did I know at 12 weeks old they can swim. "But you know what, I'll fall for all of his tricks because I'm madly in love with him."

Not one, but two special guys were there when Nicollette Sheridan got engaged: fiancé Niklas Soderblom and her "son," Oliver. "It was very cute. It was a very happy family moment," she says of the golden retriever that joined the couple for their romantic trip to Aspen last winter. "He was already 10 or 11 weeks old."

And the pooch that Sheridan calls "my son" has been growing by leaps and bounds since Soderblom gave him to her on her 41st birthday last fall. "I used to carry him around my neck," she says. "Now I need to go into traction." But she has no regrets about all the heavy-lifting. "I think animals are very healing. You learn a lot about love."

January 2006 Update (romance now off): Solderblom said the blonde beauty - who plays man-eater Edie Britt on the hit show - paid more attention to her pet puppy than to him. He said: "She seemed to prefer cuddling up to her golden retriever puppy, Oliver, than cuddling up to me."

MARC SINGER (actor in the movies Beastmaster and Watchers 2 and in the TV series V and The Series) has a Golden named Rufus.

SAM SNEAD (famous golfer) had a Golden named Meister. A recent 2003 article noted: "My Golden Retriever, Meister, died four years ago, and I cried like a baby," he said. "He loved me more than any human being ever has."

DAVID SOUL (actor in the movies World War III and The Key to Rebecca and in the TV series Starsky & Hutch) has a Golden named Dublin.

MATTIE STEPANEK (child published poet) had a Service Golden named Micah. In this photo, Mattie had the special honor of introducing his now good friends, President Jimmy and Roslynn Carter, before a speech at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mattie was accompanied by his mom, Jeni, and Micah.

Micah has mastered tasks such as pushing doors open or closed, and pushing a button to activate an automatic door. Mattie says, “He picks things up for us — whether we need them or not — and is a sense of love and security for me.”

HENRY STERN (NY City Parks Commissioner) has a Golden named Boomer. One of his recent goals was trying to get Boomer into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most petted canine ever as noted in the article below.

New York Official's Pooch in Petting Project
By Ellen Wulfhorst, Reuters, August 27, 1996

NEW YORK (Reuter) - New York City is going to the dogs. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern is spending the dog days of summer trying to get his Golden Retriever Boomer into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most petted canine ever. "You're No. 577, and you're No. 578," Stern said to two visitors to his office in Central Park this week, counting as they patted the dog's silky head. He is doggedly keeping track with the help of a small pocket counter and his staff, who are enlisted to hold the dog during the commissioner's frequent public appearances.

That has some fur flying. Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger accused the commissioner of wasting taxpayers' money and city employees' time. Grooming Boomer for the record book is especially offensive at a time when the city is facing "billions upon billions of dollars in budget gaps," Messinger wrote in a biting letter to Stern. His critics are barking up the wrong tree, Stern said. Aides who would accompany him in any case hold his dog just a few minutes a day, never taking the dog on walks and never at the expense of their duties, he said.

Messinger, often cited as a likely Democratic challenger to Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani next year, likes to hound him humorlessly about his dog, Stern complained. "She arches her back, her hair stands on end and she spits out a press release," he said. The mayor has gone on record defending Boomer, calling him a good friend of his own Labrador Retriever, Goalie. Giuliani even carried Boomer's clicker himself recently, Stern said. Other city politicos, like former Mayor Ed Koch, have suggested Messinger is better off letting sleeping dogs lie. "You don't run for office by attacking a dog," said Stern, who just thinks his 5-year-old dog should have his day.

The commissioner likes to ask unsuspecting tourists in Central Park if they want to pet Boomer. Often startled that this outlandish request comes from the man who runs the city's more than 1,200 parks, they generally comply. "I feel sorry for the dog," said Angelo Lauria, of Buffalo, New York, after patting the dog. "He's getting hit on the head so much." Faced with news that an upcoming edition of the Guinness record book is supposed to list a dog petted 408,127 times since October 1989, Stern did a few quick calculations. "At this rate, it will take 16 years. I think we'll have to step up the pace," he said, starting to think out loud. "Maybe I should take him to a large public place. Maybe Yankee Stadium," he mused. "We'll get an enormous head start."

MARTHA STEWART (TV host) has a Golden Retriever. And, she has this special Gold Ribbon by her name because of her noble support for childhood cancer awareness. This Gold Ribbon is the symbol for childhood cancer, and has become the unifying symbol for childhood cancer awareness, symbolizing the precious nature of all children and the Golden flame of hope that burns brightly for childhood cancer patients, survivors, families and caregivers. As a mother of one young patient said, "Our children are our Gold . . . and we should honor them."

The very popular "Martha Stewart Living" Magazine gives kids with cancer special attention. The magazine donates many pages of Public Service Ads to the Foundation for the Children's Oncology Group in order to raise public awareness of childhood cancer. A beautiful advertisement has appeared often in the magazine. It features a winsome child with a Golden Retriever, with the caption, "Her first steps were in the hall of a cancer treatment center. Her biggest steps were out the door." The message beneath reminds millions of readers of the magazine that cancer still kills more children than any other disease. The ad also offers readers a Free Metal Gold Ribbon Pin if they call the Foundation, and encourages tax-deductible contributions for research into cures for kids with cancer. Just click on the Gold Ribbon Pin link today for your pin!