In Memory of George

~George, Bill, Nicole and Chloe~

~Bill and George~

My name is Bill, and George was my buddy for the past 2 years.

Regretfully and very heartbroken, I’m send this letter to everyone in the GRRIN organization to inform them that George is no longer with us. His demons finally got the best of him.

I remember seeing George on the GRRIN web site about 4 or 5 years ago and thought what a great Golden he would be for me, but I traveled too much for work to get a pet. Then a few years later the traveling stopped and I was ready for a Golden. About the same time, GRRIN sent an urgent email asking for help with an old senior – George.

I picked up George from Dan and Cheryl (foster parents) on a Thursday evening in September, and he came home to his new forever home. It took about 3 or 4 weeks for George to get settled in to the routine, but once he figured it out, he was perfect.

I went everywhere with George: my parents, my friends, down to the range, even out shopping. He loved to go for rides. If it wasn’t too cold or too hot, George was going with me. We even went on vacation to Bella Vista, Arkansas and went for a couple of boat rides. It was the greatest trip for him – 6 hours in the front seat. He loved every minute of the vacation. He played with a couple of other GRRIN buddies, Toby and Razzi down there.

Dinner (food!!) was always a big moment for George, he would jump, bark, ran around. It was so funny to watch him eat; food was like a new adventure every time. His enthusiasm for food never faded.

Last June, I meet Nicole (now my wife) at work. We dated and got engaged in a short time frame, but she had a chocolate Lab (Chloe) and two cats (Miles and Zipper). As Nicole and I were planning our future together, I was concerned about George and living with another dog and cats. When I got George from GRRIN, they said he would “eat cats”, so this concerned me.

Nicole and I did several meet and greets with Chloe and the two cats. Chloe and George were a perfect match. They were girlfriend and boyfriend, they played, they rolled around, they slept right by each other. As for the cats, it took a few times, but George warmed up to the two and they lived happily together.

George couldn’t have wanted anything else, everyday grandpa would come over and visit with George, Chloe, and the cats. It was a great life for the “old man” of the house.

His last two years were absolutely wonderful.

But….
From time to time, his seizures would act up and then would go away. As time went on his seizures ended up getting worse and worse. He would go after his behind, and as a result he would catch his tail. On several occasions he’d tore his tail up pretty good. As a result of this haunting he was experiencing, he had bitten my wife Nicole, Grandpa Jim, and myself.

At nights, he really had a difficult time. George was almost unable to relax and sleep through the whole night. He would growl and go after his back side in the dark. He wouldn’t get to sleep; he was up at 1a.m. and 4a.m. We tried meds for pain, to relax him, and other things, but there was something going on in his head and we will never know what. I would even lay with him on the floor at nights hoping he could feel safe, but not even me there to protect him could ease what was going on.

It would break our hearts to see him like this, because there was nothing we could do to calm him down. We were in question about having children coming over during the wedding. We didn’t know when he would have a bad moment or if the cats were safe.

On, April 15th, we took George in to go to the Rainbow Bridge.

~Chloe and George~

In Memory of Jacob (04-10)

Jacob came to us as a 5-year-old foster dog in the summer of 2004, and we adopted him a week later. As my husband said, once Jacob met me he had no intention of being adopted by anyone else. We are forever grateful that he chose us. Jacob moved with us to Colorado Springs in April of 2006. He loved treats, being petted, and romping around the Rockies. He was at my side like velcro from the day he walked into our home. Sadly, Jacob crossed over the bridge on June 10 at the age of 10.5 years old. Our hearts are broken over his absence. We thank GRRIN and everyone involved with bringing him into our lives.

The Hartmanns

Queenie

Queenie was 14 years old in December and had come to GRRIN in June of 2008 when her owner had to move to a rental property and couldn’t keep Queenie or her son, Casper any longer. (Casper is a mere 12 years old.) Queenie loved going to the dog park and raced around like a pup greeting all the people and the other dogs. After a brief bout with a very aggressive form of cancer in her sinuses she was unable to get around much at all. Cindy, Queenie’s foster mom knew the time had come to let Queenie go peacefully. Cindy’s house will seem a little emptier without Queenie, but Casper will keep her company.

In Loving Memory of Lila (99-28)

In September 1999, we welcomed Lila into our lives after she was nursed back to health through the Golden Retriever Rescue program. She was left at an abandoned house when her owner moved away and left Lila and several other animals with the house. Lila was the dog GRRIN matched us with when we contacted them interested in adopting our first dog since we married. At the time Lila was around 2 years of age and had plenty of puppy left in her. Her counter-thief habits became legendary, and rewarded her with cookies, pudding, and even a bag of flour. In her younger years, she enjoyed sneaking a nap on the couch while we were away. Lila was the best dog we could have imagined. Always patient, she welcomed our two children into the world with gentleness and love. Lila was always ready to go for a walk at a moment’s notice. She also preferred to relocate items instead of retrieving them. Lila had a full life with us. Within the last year and a half arthritis began to slow her down and she was diagnosed with a grade 4 heart murmur. On February 26th, Lila wasn’t feeling well and we took her to the vet. The vet took some x-rays and noticed a large splenic tumor, which was not visible in x-rays 5 weeks earlier. We knew our time with her was limited, but didn’t realize how much so. Lila returned home with us at 6:30 and passed away peacefully and quickly that same evening at 9:00. Our hearts will always know Lila, and we are blessed that she spent 10 years, and most importantly her final hours with us at home. We are thankful to American Animal Hospital and Dr. Dave Kroeger for the wonderful care and concern he showed for Lila over the past several years. Lila will be forever missed, but will always remain in our hearts.

In Memory of Shasta

“My brother and sister-in-law recently relocated back to Nebraska from South Carolina. The one member of their family unable to make this journey was their beloved Shasta. Shasta passed away during the summer and my brother was devastated. Shasta was a rescue and truly found her dream home with my brother–a great house on a lake, a wonderful man and woman who adored her and two Siamese friends–Itchy and Scatchy. So. . . I’m sending this donation from Scratchy in Shasta’s name.”

Karen S. ~ Lincoln

In Memory of Elliott Cronin

The enclosed donation is in memory of Elliott Cronin (GRRIN ID #98-26). Elliott spent 10 wonderful years with us and brought us great joy. He was euthanized Monday, October 6th, the same month he would have turned 13. Thank you for the incredible service you provide in allowing the Goldens to be a part of our lives.

Sincerely,
Nancy and Mike Cronin and Duke (GRRIN #04-54)

In Memory of Daizee and Gino Henderson

By Kellie Henderson Ramirez

Daizee first came into my life when I was just a teenager. I remember how I devoted all my attention to her (much to the chagrin of my cat, Whisper). She was a good puppy and grew to be a great dog. She loved to aggravate Rocket and hang on his neck and jowls. He tolerated it nicely and was a great “uncle” to her.

Daizee’s funniest characteristic was the curl she’d get in her lip, kind of like Elvis, when she got over-excited, usually when one of the family came home. When she gave birth to seven adorable puppies, she changed a lot and became a much more unique doggie. It was the only litter she ever had the chance to birth, but she certainly was a great mother.

Daizee’s son Gino, who we kept, was originally not supposed to stay with us. Somehow, though, no one really claimed him, and eventually we stopped looking for a new family and he became part of ours. Gino was my man. He was the most lovable, handsome dog I’ve ever seen or known. And I don’t say that only as his “mother.” He truly had a soul. He loved to follow me around the house, whatever I was doing, and although it could be annoying at times, I look back and really miss that.

They were two of the best dogs out there, wonderful Golden Retrievers, and I miss them. I hope one day to have another Golden and hopefully relive some of the joy I shared with Daizee and Gino.

(Gino died on 5 October 2006, prematurely of a brain tumor, and Daizee passed away on 16 October 2007 from old age and the complications of arthritis.)

In memory of Teri

In August 2007, GRRIN lost a great friend and supporter, Teri Osbon-Kitzelman. Teri was an animal lover throughout her life. In 2002, Teri and her husband Mark Kitzelman lost both their senior Goldens within a few months, and they came to GRRIN in hopes of finding another dog to love. Around that time, an area shelter contacted GRRIN about a Golden puppy that had been left tied to the shelter door during the night. Mark and Teri had been planning to adopt an older dog, but somehow this little puppy seemed like he might be a perfect fit for them. When we called to ask Teri if she would be interested in a puppy, she didn’t hesitate for even a second! The first words out of her mouth were, “How soon can we get him?”

Teri brought the little guy home and named him Harry after a grandfather. Harry was a fun-loving, mischievous puppy who loved everyone and enjoyed being the life of the party. Several months later, Mark and Teri decided he needed a buddy, and again they called GRRIN. This time, they adopted a young adult and named him Tony, after another grandfather. Tony was a much more serious dog who had his work cut out for him, trying to keep Harry in line! The two dogs became great pals, but Teri explained that if Harry got too rowdy, Tony would sit on him to settle him down!

Teri always had funny stories about the antics of these two dogs. She loved them dearly, and they made her laugh every day. During her illness, they were her constant companions, spending their time in or next to her bed. After Teri passed away, her friends and family held a benefit in her honor, and per Teri’s request, a portion of the proceeds were donated to GRRIN. Teri had the same joyful, loving personality that we see in our Goldens, and she is deeply missed.

In memory of Toby

By the Pfeiflers

Our dog Toby from GRRIN died today. He was a great friend and had a fabulous 15 years. His heart just gave out. Thank you for bringing him to us.

In memory of Shadow

By the Walker Family – Steve, Angela, Emily, Megan, Sadie, Addison and Christopher

Dear GRRIN,
We wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that our beloved Shadow was put down after finding an aggressive tumor in his mouth. He was loved by our family of seven for a little over eight years. We moved to Colorado about five years ago, and Shadow loved to go to the mountains with us and walk the trails. He enjoyed catching the Frisbee and not returning it. We’ll miss him dearly and want to thank you all for the work you do and for the connection you helped us make with a very dear friend all those years ago. I’ve attached a picture of him from a hike to the mountains a year or so ago. Thanks again!