Saturday, May 28, 2011

A Regret Fulfilled...


Well, as many of you know, a cancer diagnosis makes you take stock of your life.  It can allow you to fulfill some of your greatest regrets.  
Maybe you wished you had traveled to Europe.  
Not me -- I hate to fly.
Maybe you always wanted to jump out of a plane.
Not me.   I don’t even want to sit on a plane.
Maybe you always wanted to own that convertible Mercedes.
Not me.  I hate it when my hair whips me in the eyes.  
Oh, wait.  
My hair can’t whip me in the eyes.
You want to know what my regret was?
Never having a Golden Retriever.  
Yep, that’s one of my greatest regrets.  
I’ve never been a dog person, but I am absolutely a 
Golden Retriever person.
And my daughter is a chip off the ol’ block.  We’ve been really Golden  addicted for about six months now.  We love spotting Goldens walking by our house, and we'll always stop to pet one at a park, a parking lot or through a car window.  
So what are us girls to do?  
Get one, of course!
Well, kind of. 
Given that I’m more practical than my nine-year-old, I thought it best to become a foster family to a Golden Retriever.  That way we could experience living with a Golden for a couple of weeks and then get it out of our systems.
Until we met....

Rachel and I drove out last night to Oxnard to meet our foster dog Tucker.  I explained to Rachel on the way up that given we have three cats, an old dog, no desire to walk a dog in the rain or pick up ginormous piles of “tootsie rolls” we would make a great foster family.  We could welcome this dog into our home for a couple of weeks, take him on walks in the sunshine, and then hand the leash over to his forever family.
Well, I think we are the forever family.

Our 88-pound bag of fur is too good to be true.  He has no interest in our cats (although they flew up the stairs the moment his black nose entered the front door), hasn’t chewed up one baseball (and there’s plenty to choose from back there) and sleeps by the feet of each and every one of us every chance he gets.  He’s the perfect Golden.  Not a tad bit of hyper in him.  My kind of boy.

His sweet parents Lauren and David rescued him from a bad situation.  They had him for only one week before they called Forever Friends Golden Retriever Rescue.  Lauren’s allergies prevented her from keeping him.  


We decided to meet at a park near their home and as Rachel and I walked toward them, I saw this beautiful boy just sitting beside Lauren.  Off the leash.  So calm.  So poised.  So sweet.  My heart looked beyond his 88-pound frame and just saw a sweet boy who needed a home.  He welcomed us with gentle nudges so we could pet him.  Within minutes, he had rolled onto his back so Rachel could give him a big belly rub.  
Her specialty.

They were drawn to each other instantly.

So we’ve only had him for less than 24 hours, but he’s pretty much a dream come true.  As I write this, he’s lying down beside Rachel as she watches tv.  And smiling.  He never stops smiling.  Actually, neither does she!
As I’ve always said, so many silver linings to cancer.
If any of you are interested in rescuing a Golden Retriever, visit
Tell them Tucker sent you!

3 comments:

  1. I LOVE him!!!!!! Oh that SMILE!

    He is an angel in fur -- no doubt.

    Keepin' those wings safely tucked in and just content to be
    the family pal.

    What a blessing!!!

    Ruth

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  2. I am so happy for you, such a beautiful dog!
    have a blessed weekend,
    Regina

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  3. Oh, what a sweet, sweet story and GT are such sweet dogs and such people dogs. So happy you were able to find one. Enjoy! Enjoy!

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