Monday, February 13, 2012

Never Say Never

As a young girl, I grew up with a very wonderful friend. Being an only child, she was the one I told my secrets to when I needed to share my fears or my sadness. She just so happened to be of the canine species. Dogs make incredible listeners. I loved her dearly. It just doesn't seem fair that age creeps up much more quickly for dogs, and they're taken from our lives too soon. Maybe their life span is more proportionate to the amount of happiness they bring into our world in such a short time. Their lives rush by in the blink of an eye.


I still remember very vividly the time when our golden retriever's decline seemed to come in like the wind. All along though, it was an inevitable part of her life. She was losing hair all over her body, and she had a very difficult, and obviously painful, time sitting and standing. It was so sad watching such a beloved creature go through pain. She seemed to know it was her time. My mom ended up having her put down on my 10th birthday. I'll never forget her untimely death, but most importantly I still have the most happy memories of her life. She lived.


There was a time when I probably could have been considered a golden retriever purist. All I ever wanted was a purebred golden retriever and nothing else. I would never have thought of having any other breed of dog as my friend. Maybe I thought that would have been "cheating" on Gnomie. I'm pretty sure she would have wanted us to get another puppy, because she wouldn't have wanted us to grieve her forever. I could not imagine anyone grieving someone or some thing's death forever. You should live for them. We cannot truly live if we are hanging on to the past.

how can you not love all of these faces? }
all photos via The Daily Puppy

I never thought I would want any other breed of dog but a golden, but I'm open to ideas. I'm sure my husband and I will probably have a golden retriever some day, but until then we just might find ourselves crossing paths with another breed of dog. You never know who, or what, you might love if you open yourself up to it. Never say never.

4 comments:

  1. Love goldens myself :) And what precious pictures of you when you were little with the pup!! May I recommend the english cream goldens..that's what we have now, and boy is she cute! (And has lots less of the health problems regular goldens do!)

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  2. I never thought I could like a big dog. We ended up adopting lab-vizsla mix brothers-one yellow & one black. I wasn't crazy about getting two-but things change. Right now they are curled at my feet. They are patient with my kids, obedient & make me feel so secure while Nick travels. You just never know who will win your heart over.

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  3. Aww poor Gnomie! What a cute pup you had! Dogs are so precious! I'm truly convinced they are God's gift to mankind.. They're so loving and unique... I put my dog Rigby to sleep a few years back... She lived to 16! The other day I found a recording of myself and she was barking in the background.. Made me sad all over...Boo! I know you'll find a good pup soon!


    Janette the Jongleur

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