Back in 1996 my husband was diagnosed with severe
clinical depression. We had been without a dog for several years
because of our lifestyle. As life got tougher for him and he was home
alone it became apparent to us that he needed a companion and after
much research we decided for temperament reasons to get a golden
retriever. In June of 1997 after seeing many litters we met this
independent gorgeous puppy with an unusual blaze down her nose. That
night I asked my son if we got her what would you call her and he said
Sandi – I couldn’t stop thinking of that sweet golden and the name
was just her (as well as many other goldens). I
n 2001 my husband passed away and in 2004 my son moved
out. Sandi and I were on our own – I moved into a smaller house with
a smaller yard but we had a big beautiful park close by that she loved
to go to chase the birds and roll in the grass. Sandi and I were also
lucky to have another man come into our lives about that same time.
She was more than happy to share me but at the end of the day she was
still mine and was never more than 5 feet away from me in the house.
She always greeted us at the door with socks or her towel. As she aged
we noticed her arthritis beginning to bother her, we had that taken
care of and for a brief while she was acting like a younger dog. Sadly
it didn’t last long.
On June 2 she had trouble breathing and walking. I
took her to the vet to ultrasound her heart and see if she needed
medication. They found some problems in her belly and booked her for
exploratory surgery that afternoon – at 4:30 they called me to say
she was so full of cancer there was nothing they could do and I had to
make the difficult decision to have her euthanized. So I say good bye
to my darling Sandi Bugs– my sweet golden, our doofus, she is now
reunited with my late husband and chasing all the squirrels she wants.
