Don’t get me wrong… there’s nary a dog miniature to giant that I have come across that doesn’t make my heart pitter patter. Still, I have to admit almost every dog I have owned (save Tyler the corgi/basset) has been 90 plus pounds. Coal, the biggest lab you have ever seen, and Andy, a golden retriever/Saint Bernard, are just two examples.
Awwww…. Andy…such a sweet old soul. The local Golden Retriever Rescue group called me about this special guy. His 93 year old owner had recently passed and no one in the family wanted this massive 14 year old mutt. Luckily the vet refused to put him down and phoned the rescue. They phoned me, and of course we welcomed Andy immediately into our home.
Andy had a wonderful last 8 months of his life. He loved to walk in the woods and play in the mountain lake. He made friends with the local elk in the backyard and spent hours sunning on the deck breathing in the fresh Colorado mountain air. I knew from the start, I would not have Andy for long…. his huge frame (he was 125 pounds) and age contributed to arthritis that limited his mobility a lot. One afternoon when I was fixing some lunch, I heard a loud thump right behind and found him collapsed on the floor. Andy literally had dropped dead.
I tell you this story because adopting Andy was such a wonderful experience. It also has made me remind all my pet owning friends to be certain to make arrangements for their pets if something happens to them. It was hard to lose Andy but I know he left this world on his own terms. I’d like to think he and his dad were reunited once again.
A Perfect Gentlemen
By Hermione Gingold
“To call him a dog
hardly seems to do him justice,
though inasmuch as he had four legs,
a tail,
and barked,
I admit he was,
to all outward appearances.
But to those who knew him well,
he was a perfect gentleman.”