A Tale of Two Golden Girls written by Barb R.

About six years ago, our first GRRA girl, Pazi (nee Peaches), a rather small golden mix, came to join our family. After surviving the house check and attending a few adoption days, the communications folks and fosters found the perfect dog for our family - which consisted of young grandchildren, two adults, and a crotchety, elderly chocolate lab. Pazi had heartworms and had been through the treatment when she arrived; she was partially housebroken; and she was overweight by 30 pounds. My husband used to laugh every time she walked as she literally rippled. Pazi would also walk only about four house lots at a time before just sitting and panting to recover. She and I walked a lot of short walks; we fed her many green beans for bulk along with minimal good dog food; and slowly, weight came off. I still remember the first day I saw her with her paws on my counter. I didn't know whether to scold her or to cheer!

Fast forward to 2009: We'd lost our chocolate lab about two years ago, and I'd finally convinced my husband that we needed another dog. He finally capitulated on the condition that dog #2 also be a golden retriever. That was an easy deal-maker for me. I'd loved our lab, but we had golden retrievers prior to her, and since I'm the dog lover and he's the dog tolerator, I know a good deal when I hear one.

Since it had been a while since our first adoption, we again had the house visit and interviews. The communicators and the fosters were great - again, looking for a dog to fit our family. I wanted a younger dog, as Pazi is now around 11 or so, but it needed to be a dog who would respect her (she's nearly blind now), would play with those same grandkids, would be trainable for an invisible fence, etc. Well, after a few months, Simi (nee Sam) came into our lives.

Simi was at the opposite end of the weight spectrum than where Pazi had been. Simi came to us skinny with a history of retching and vomiting her food. I followed the routine that her foster mom had originated with feeding her separately, but went a step further and fed her in her kennel. I'd leave her there, with the door closed, for a good fifteen minutes after she was finished before letting her out - and we haven't seen any vomiting. Maybe she was just wolfing her food down too quickly to make sure that she got some when the food was available. Anyway, she's putting on weight, getting used to walking on a leash, is now fully housebroken, and is a loving, beautiful "teen-aged" golden girl.

Simi has become a pal to Pazi in just a few weeks; Pazi is much calmer now. She'd been getting edgy and nervous since she couldn't see (at least that's what I think), but now that Simi is here, she trusts that if there's something worth getting upset about, Simi will let her know. And, Simi - who was a cowering mound of pathetic doggie at the slightest quick movement - now bounds to us with love and trust, following Pazi's lead.

Our two golden girls work together to make our family complete!