Kwinter Gund … July 15^th, 1996 - May 15^th, 2007

This is Kwinter, our beloved first born.

The Quintessential Golden Retriever

Yes, for those who have to ask, he is a Golden Retriever (sic!).
Goldens are known for their friendly disposition. But this dog just takes it to the next level. Whenever he sees a stranger in his walks, he invariably would walk up to the person to say ‘hi’. In return, a pad on the head would be appreciated … ear rubbing or other games would result in instant friendship!

Like many other male Goldens, he is also very quiet. (For some reason, the females are not as much) In total, I would say he managed no more than 20 or 30 barks in his entire life! As a puppy, I actual had doubts about wether he know how to bark or not.

Instead of barking, chances are that you will see Kwinter wearing his Golden Retriever smile. Yes, I know that dogs are not smiling in any true sense. Instead, it just looks that way when they open their mouth partially to panth. But when he does that, he just looks so friendly and inviting!

One thing that sets him apart, though, is his tail. Or should I say lack of? Goldens are know for their big, bushy tail. But him, he just does not seem to keep a bushy tail.

Memorable Kwinter Moments

I thought the best way to remember him is just to list some of the more memorable moments in his life:

• Finding a comfy spot: Ever since he is poppy, Kwinter knows how to find a comfy spot to lie down. The first time we saw him at the breeder's place, he was planted on top of the air conditioning outlet to keep himself cool. Then comes winter time and he does the dog thing …lying in front of the fire place to keep warm. But then he will get up and move away after he got himself warmed up. And of course, once he cooled down, back to the fire place he goes!
• The big surgery: Well, this is more like a moment that I rather forget. When he was slightly over 1 year old, one day he suddenly couldn't keep his food down. So off to the vet we go. We spend the first day trying to figure out what was wrong and finally got an xray showing that there was a blockage. Surgery follows, which reveal that there was one giant piece of nylon chewing bone blocking the flow. After a week at the vet's, Kwinter finally recovered enough to come back home. It was, according to the vet, a close call. (And an expansive one at over two thousand dollars)
• The meal dance: Starting at a very young age, Kwinter developed this habit of doing a dance while waiting for his food being prepared. For sure it is a excitement reaction to the food. But the cute part is that he will run around the dinning table and do a few 360 spins for good measure. This will go on for a few circles before he settles down and sit to wait for his food. And then there is that one time he 'missed' his turn and ran out of the kitchen … what a goof ball ;-)
• The tea (or wine) connoisseur: At some point in his life, Kwinter convinced Sid to give him a taste of tea. This then progressed into me giving him tasting of wine. So after a while, he got it all figured out. Sit in front of Sid when she is having tea; or sit in front of me at dinner to help do some wine tasting. (I keep joking about teaching him to rate the wine he tasted by raising his paws!)
• The goofy overly friendly dog: One day, as we were having our walk in the neighborhood, we came across these two guys sitting on the side walk. One of them saw us and said 'hi'. Reacting as if that was an invitation, Kwinter decided to join in on the conversation by positioning himself right between the two guys. Since these guys are sitting down, Kwinter is just at the right height to meet them eye-to-eye … making it looks so much more like two man talking to a dog.
• The quite complainer: Despite the fact that Kwinter is very quiet, he managed to complain in his silent ways. For example, when we were walking during a hot summer day, he will just stop under a tree and give you his look. Or when Shopy steels his toy, he will just give us his look to complain about her. Which led me to say (complain) to him that: for a dog that does not bark, he sure complains a lot