Nelson

This is our dog, Nelson. My aunt asked me to photograph her two beloved bulldogs on Sunday, so I figured I'd better practice. Nelson was supposed to be the perfect addition to complete our family. Do any research on Golden Retrievers and you will soon be overcome with a desperate need to have one. Lovers of the breed are lavish in their praise - loving, loyal, intelligent, beautiful, etc. No mention at all of the hell one has to go through to get them to the stage where you can actually appreciate these characteristics. Nelson might be intelligent and beautiful, but I am too busy running around like a lunatic, trying to calm myself in the wake of the destruction that he causes. Our once promising garden is now nothing but a distant memory. Lovely little palms lay strewn all over the lawn, once blooming flower beds are littered with leftovers of soft toys, even lawns have intermittent huge holes where I frequently stumble, swearing and waving my arms. Nelson's biggest ambition is to reduce all our furniture to fire wood and turn our Persian rug into a flee infested, hairy dog's bed. Ugh! Two kids are enough to test any mother's patience, but this dog is definitely the straw that will break the camel's back! The only reason that Nelson is still with us - as opposed to back with the breeder or six feet under - is that beautiful face. And the fact that my son loves him. And he is very good with the kids. And he cost a BAG full of money. And hopefully, one day, I will also sing his praise and convince some poor sod of the good qualities of the wonderful Golden Retriever.