Harley Sidelined

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Special Need Goldens - Harley

HARLEY HIPSTER SIDELINED FOR THE SEASON
By Bentley McCreary
HBGRR Sports Writer

Part I in the Series, May 2 Team Homeward Bound reported today that Harley Hipster will not be playing this season. Harley was diagnosed with degenerating hips and the only cure is total hip replacement on both sides. What was thought to be manageable hip dysphasia proved to be much worse, and if Harley doesn’t get this hip replacement, his walking days are numbered. This is a major blow to Team Homeward Bound. Harley had all the makings of a major star. He is one of our youngest players-eighteen months old, and the most outgoing of all the new players. He is the first to smile and the first to offer a paw. I have heard it said that Harley never met a stranger. “It’s all we can do to keep up with the normal vaccinations, life threatening injuries and illness, there are just no extra funds available for Harley at this time” states team manager, Jody Jones. “We will keep him safe and comfortable but we just don’t have the resources to rebuild poor Harley.” Jones has a long history of going to bat for her players, but this time she may just be out of her league---rebuilding bodies is not something Rescue can do by itself. When asked how he was dealing with this devastating news, Harley responded with his usual optimism “I am going to raise the money myself. I am young, good looking and this team was my way home. I am going to fight with everything I’ve got”. Harley went on to talk about his fundraising plans. “I was thinking about selling off my tennis balls and extra milk bones, but Doc says it is going to take a whole lot more than that.	He said that maybe if I had a fan club, they could help me raise the funds. I am willing to make personal appearances, sign autographs and that sort of thing.” Harley has hired famous sports agent Nikki Mainwaring to promote his career during this difficult time. The first thing Mainwaring did was sent him off to the minors (foster home) so he could keep working on his family dog skills. “Don’t count him out, as they say, you can’t keep a good man down, and a good man he is” said Mainwaring. “I have faith that Harley fans will rally around him and provide the needed funds for his surgery. I am hoping by the time he is two years old, Harley will be a much loved family member in his forever home”. Mainwaring plans on accompanying Harley on all personal appearances and is committed to doing what ever it takes to get Harley back in the game. It is going to be an uphill battle, but I have a feeling if anyone can rally support, this just might be the guy to do it. He knew the HB team was his chance to showcase his skills and was so excited about finding his forever home. I will be following this story closely and filing updates, meantime Harley has established the Harley Hipster Fund and all tax deductible donations can be sent to Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary, 7495 Natomas Rd, Elverta, CA 95626. Be sure to write Harley Hipster on your donation. I understand the Fan Club is in the works as are several scheduled personal appearances. Any comments can be directed to Bentley at his home email: thebentley@comcast.net.
HARLEY HIPSTER HAS SURGERY DATE By Bentley McCreary HBGRR Sports Writer
Part II in the Series, May 17 This just in...Harley Hipster will have his first hip replacement on May 18th! Harley’s fans have rallied around him and although he doesn’t have all his funding in place, his Orthopedic Surgeon is willing to place a lien on Harley’s hips. With this new development, Harley’s fund raising is expected to accelerate. Harley is also counting on “leaning” on that hip. I contacted Harley for his response and he is elated! He doesn’t like to complain but did say that the pain has intensified and he can only stand for short periods of time. He also wanted me to relay his heartfelt thanks for all the donations, and especially wanted to thank his young fans who have literally opened up their piggy banks. He said he has been getting fan mail from other players who have undergone similar surgeries and is very grateful for their support. Harley hopes to answer all letters while he is recovering. This is Bentley McCreary reporting - stay tuned for latest news straight from Harley Hipster’s bedside. Any comments can be directed to Bentley at his home email: thebentley@comcast.net
HARLEY HIPSTER SPEAKS FOR HIMSELF By Bentley McCreary HBGRR Sports Writer
Part III in the Series, June 1 This is Bentley McCreary reporting from the bedside of Harley Hipster, or more accurately from the bed of Harley Hipster. The boy is bouncing all over the room and I figure there is no sense letting a good bed go to waste. I think I am going to kind of just stretch out here, turn my recorder on and let Harley tell you how he’s doing. “Hey everybody, it’s me Harley! I feel so good! You can’t believe just two weeks after surgery and I feel like a new man. I want to thank all of my friends, especially the ones I haven’t even met yet! I can’t believe that people who don’t even know me send me money, cards, letters, gifts, and pray for me. It’s just so cool. I am going to have such a wonderful life, I just know it! They tell me I still got about eight more weeks of rehab time and they’re not sure about the other hip yet. I am looking forward to meeting people and doing a lot of public appearances. Coarse, I got to work on my fund raising, I got to clear this debt so I can keep my new hip. I am going to be at Kibbles and Bids and I want everybody to stop by and shake my paw. I am hoping to have autographed pictures by then, we’re even talking about having Harley Hipster T-shirts made. I just can’t thank you guys enough, it just means the world to me that some many people care about a poor ole Golden Retriever like me! Well I guess I am going to have to bring this to a close, HBGRR’s ace reporter is snoring so loud that I don’t think you are going to be able to hear my tape. I sure hope I get my bed back tonight. I will catch up to you later...Harley Hipster signing off.” Any comments can be directed to Bentley at his home email: thebentley@comcast.net

CHECKING IN ON
HARLEY HIPSTER
By Bentley McCreary
HBGRR Sports Writer

Part IV in the Series, June 21

Thought I would drop in on Harley Hipster today and get the latest update, along with a well-deserved nap. I signed on to this sports beat figuring it would be pretty quiet and not require a whole lot of effort. My real love is crime story reporting, but with Golden Retrievers there is just not enough crime to keep me on staff so you do what you gotta do. Anyway I hear the boy is doing good and looking forward to making some public appearances.

“Hey there, Harley, how you doing” ‘Hey, Bentley I’m doing great! Did you bring that thing that I talk into and then when you wake up, you can type up everything I said?” “Yup, I did, so if you don’t make talking quietly, I am going to stretch out on your bed and let you catch the people up on what you’ve been doing”

Hi everybody, I sure am getting bored just laying around waiting for this hip to become a part of me. Bentley likes my bed a whole lot more than I do. I want to get out and run, play and just jump for joy! I am so excited about getting out and going to Kibbles and Bids this weekend. I won’t get to walk around or anything like that, but at least I will be out and able to talk to people. My agent, Nikki, will be with me in case I need to negotiate any contracts. I am bringing autographed pictures for my fan club and also copies of Bentley’s articles. He has been a great friend and a superior reporter. I just found out that he wants to be a crime scene reporter, wish I could help him out, but I don’t have a crime bone in my body.

I have been keeping busy reading my fan mail and watching reruns on TV. Today Bentley brought me a letter that really got to me. It was from one of Homeward Bounds former team members. It was so great that I sent it to the website to be put with the success stories. (Click here to read the entire Success Story) The part I liked the best was:

Each week I would get stronger and stronger and eventually Dr. Richardson said I could start to increase my activity. So, Mike and Mo started to do exercises with me in our garage and eventually we were taking short walks through the neighborhood. Wow, those new hips felt sooo good. No more pain!

Now, I have big, strong muscles covering my new hips. I can run and jump and chase balls, and the occasional cat. My most favorite thing is to jump up on the bed and surprise Mike and Mo to wake up. They grumble a bit at first but then I always get a smile out of them. Works every time.

Please Bentley, you must tell Harley about our story. He must know how much better he will feel after surgery. It will give him his life back, he will play again and be happy. He will no longer hurt with the everyday things like getting up when he wants to just go love his human companion. You must encourage him.

You know what is the best part of this story? The part about Dr. Richardson, you see, he is my Doctor too! Bailey is one of those friends that I just can’t wait to meet! He ended his letter with the following:

Also, Bentley you must please tell every human about our story. Without their extra help, Harley will never have a chance. He is so close but without their help he will have to face pain and depression as his young life is quickly shortened and its quality wasted away. People everywhere must understand that HB does miracles for so many of us Goldie’s everyday and will be there to help Harley through his long recovery which is so key to him healing successfully. Without others helping by donating to Harley’s vet bills, poor Harley will never even see the chance for this life saving surgery and to start the road to a better life.

HB needs help from everyone in order to help poor Harley. There are lots of bad things in this world that humans can’t fix, but this is something terrible that they CAN if they will only send some extra donations to poor Harley. They will be giving life to Harley who will then return his gratefulness by forever loving unconditionally all the humans in his life. Maybe he will help heal a sad hurt, or find a missing person, or keep an old person company. Maybe he will play and play with a child or keep a young person company and out of trouble. Maybe he will make the humans in his life laugh out loud at his silly antics and make the destructive stress in their human lives wither away. All those potential gifts he is now forced to keep quietly stowed away because his legs hurt so bad as he patiently waits for their help.

All I can say is that I am one lucky Golden Retriever. When I was watching TV I saw a program called the Bionic Man and I got to thinking that maybe I can be the Bionic Dog, wouldn’t that be cool, maybe I could be a crime solver and Bentley could write the stories. Actually all I really want to be is someone’s special dog. My foster mom and foster siblings all love me but it’s not really home. Mom says somewhere there is a very special family waiting for me and when the time is right they will be there for me…..just like Bailey’s parents.

I am feeling kind of emotional right now so I think I will go take a nap, right after I oust Homeward Bound's star reporter from my bed! See you all at Kibbles and Bids. Love, Harley

Any comments can be directed to Bentley at his home email: thebentley@comcast.net

BREAKING NEWS FROM
HARLEY HIPSTER!!!!!
By Bentley McCreary
HBGRR Sports Writer

Part V in the Series, July 13

This is Bentley McCreary reporting on what is said to be the biggest story yet out of the Hipsters camp. Before we get to Harley I wanted to share my feelings on the Kibbles and Bids experience. First off, something has to be done about the paparazzi, every time I turned around someone was snapping my picture! Poor Harley was “hounded” everywhere he went and then the tabloid reporters showed up and started spreading the rumor that Harley was over in the wine tasting area sampling the wares. No truth to that vicious rumor, it seems the boy was supposed to be kept quiet and he had just a little too much sedative and he was determined to fight it. Now that I have explained his droopy eyes, staggering gait and his slurred speech we can move on to the important things. I have never seen people so freely part with their dollars, over and over I heard “It’s for the dogs”. It was really a fun day and I enjoyed meeting so many people. Well better get over to the Harley camp and see what’s going on.

I am here with Harley Hipster and he can hardly contain his excitement, boy is bouncing off the walls and jumping on the sofa, you would think he got himself a girlfriend! “So Harley, what’s the big news?”

“Bentley, you are just not going to believe all the things that have been happening to me since Kibbles and Bids!” Well kid, here’s the recorder, tell your story. “ I hardly know where to start, so I guess I will begin with Kibbles and Bids. What a great day, wish I didn’t have to take all those sleepy pills, there were so many people to see and so many thank you's that I wanted to get out. Most exciting thing of the day was when Jody told me that I had raised enough money to pay for my hip! It is all mine for ever and ever!

Next great thing that happened was that I went in for my check up and x-rays and found out my hip is doing great and is a complete success! I will probably still need to have my other

hip done, but not for awhile. Meanwhile the donations are still coming in and I am so grateful for my second chance that I am going to establish the Harley Hipster Hip Foundation. All donations for me will go into my fund so that when I need my hip the funds will be there but more important there will be money for other guys like me who were thrown away because of bad hips. I just met a new guy who has bad hips like me and is not even a year old. Now that I am out of pain and able to get around I would like to help Sunny, kid is kind of shy and doesn’t know how to go out and sell himself. More on that later as my Foundation is formed I will have Bentley interview the recipients so you can get to know them.

Ok, here is the really big stuff, I hope everybody is sitting down…..I have been ADOPTED! Yup, the hipster is home! I have a real family, a big sofa and best of all a swimming pool. I have my own special kid who is helping me with my rehab. We go for walks, swim and just hang out doing guy stuff. Next week I am going on a family vacation in a motor home! I have come a long way from that scared pup who thought his world was going to end in a shelter. No way I can ever thank all of you for giving me this second chance, best thing I can do is to continue to campaign the cause of Golden Retriever Hip Health and raise funds for the ones who don’t have anyone else to care for them.”

Wow! I don’t hardly know what to say, other than there is nothing in this world better than seeing a homeless Golden Retriever find his way home. I guess this assignment is over and as much as I would like to pursue my career as a crime scene reporter, I am getting bored chasing leads on missing shoes and dish towels. I think I will just keep track of my buddy, Harley, and see if I can’t help him with his Hip Foundation.

This is Bentley McCreary chasing the tales for Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue..

HARLEY HIPSTER HITS THE BIG ONE!
By Bentley McCreary
HBGRR Sports Writer

Last in the Series, August 2005

Harley has hit a home run - he has happily moved on to family dog status! Harley's story is not exceptional in nature, but it is exceptional in what was accomplished. One dog struck down in his youth with degenerating hips and with the help of his sports writing canine buddy Bentley, set out to raise funds and awareness of Golden Retriever hip dysplasia. People from all over the country responded and Harley got a brand new hip. The surgery was so successful that at this time he will not need the other hip replaced.

You can catch up with his family life on the success page. Harley and Bentley will continue to campaign for those less fortunate needing hip surgeries, and if you would like to help, contributions can be directed to the Harley Hipster Hip Foundation.

This is Bentley McCreary reporting - good night!

Any comments can be directed to Bentley at his home email: thebentley@comcast.net


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