Golden Retrievers 12 & 13 of 1000

Chester & Casey

by: Erica

I've only every had Golden Retrievers, even in childhood. So when my husband and I were ready to get a puppy to befriend our aging golden, it was a no brainer: we were Golden Retriever smitten. Those expressive eyes and dopey smiles, c'mon. So we bought a puppy through a reputable breeder and waited three months on pins and needles for him to be ready to come home. We chose a name for him the first time we saw him. He was a Chester, through and through.

The day we brought Chester home, he was already showing signs of having health issues. After a vet visit on his first day home, he was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder that caused him to have allergies to grass and/or other pollens. The vet declared him "Bubble Dog" and insisted he should remain inside all the time. Over the next two months we took him outdoors a few minutes at a time each day. Eventually, Chester was able to stay outdoors for longer periods of time until it stopped being a problem for him altogether. All the time indoors and having to completely reinvent potty-training caused Chester and I to bond in way I never had with any other dog. He became my surrogate child: following me from room to room, pushing doors open with his nose to check on me. We developed our own secret language/understanding that befuddled my husband. I would interpret Chester's needs for my husband like I could read his thoughts. The most distinct memory I have of Chester is that when he wanted my attention he would rear back on his hind legs, in the sitting position with tail extended backward, and put his front paws on my leg and nip at the air. I was a sucker for this. I would almost always drop what I was doing and give him full attention. We had a name for this position, we called it "roo-ing" because he looked like a kangaroo.

Then, at nine months of age, Chester began vomiting daily. Taking him back to the vet, he was found to have juvenile lymphoma and we had two fleeting days with him before his short time on earth was over. I was devastated. We erected a small memorial to him with paw prints, favorite toys, and pictures. Oh, the pictures. Hundreds of them.

For two years I thought nothing would ever replace Chester. Then, in the late spring of 2009 a friend that fosters golden retrievers for a golden retriever rescue said she had just the perfect golden for me. Hesitantly my husband and I drove the sixty miles to her home to check out this "perfect dog". He was hyper and slightly neurotic, but she was right, Casey was perfect for me. :) We decided to rescue Casey who had had a terribly unstable and sad past. When we brought him home he fit right in. We noticed right away that so many of his mannerisms were very similar to Chester's and loved Casey all the more for it. Then, about a week after we had him and Casey began settling in, we returned from a walk and I was relaying the events to my husband. I felt a set of paws on my thigh and looked down to see Casey nipping at the air and roo-ing just as Chester had done so many times. 

So while Chester's story may not have ended with a happily ever after, Casey's certainly did and he daily reminds us of why we will forever be sold out for golden retrievers.

Comments

[YDavis]

It is sad but yet it has a happy ending. Even though they loss Chester, Erica and her husband decided to open their hearts and now Casey has a forever home and all the love he can get.

Sam & June

[Raising Ruby]

A touching story, so beautifully written. Each was as lucky to have found you as you were to have found them; twice, a true perfect fit. Thank you for sharing with us. :)

[Scout and Freyja]

I am a firm believer that one dog can lead us to our next dog. Somehow and in some way, the dog that has left us finds another to comfort us.

[Whimpurr]

What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing it!