Sometime last night, my puppy passed away.
He was thirteen years old and was the best dog I had ever had.
When I first moved to Virginia, back in 1999, after moving from Scotland all I ever wanted was a golden retriever. My mom subscribed to LL Bean magazines and back then, all they used in their ads were golden retrievers. I remember looking at those cute, fluffy puppies and wanting one so bad.
I begged and begged my parents for a golden retriever puppy, till one day, they told me to get in the car, we were going to look at puppies. I was so excited! I didn't know we were going to get a golden, but I was excited none the less.
It was a breeder that we went to go see. I remember he had about 5 or 6 dogs in his back yard. One was a Saint Bernard that slobbered everywhere and all over everything. She was huge!
Then there was Sandy. He was small, and fluffy, and fat, and wriggly, and perfect. He was mine.
The breeder told us no one wanted him because he had droopy eyelids. He was a purebred and because of his eyelids, the breeder couldn't sell him or show him. So I got him.
He was perfect.
I remember the ride home, my brother and I sat in the back seat with Sandy and he was so curious and friendly. I would have Sandy with me for the next 13 years.
He grew so fast but he was beautiful. He was creamy, golden, yellow color that sparkled in the sunshine. I remember, I saw him point once. We were walking through the woods one day and he just stopped, perked his ears, then pointed with his nose and bent his leg like a true hunter.
What a dog.
He was such a friendly dog, he made a horrible guard dog. Don't leave him at your house with the door unlocked because he would just jump on and lick all over any intruder that came by!
I'm glad he passed in his sleep. We expected him to pass soon, he became anti-social; avoiding people and going the other direction when you came him way. He just wanted to be by himself and didn't like to be around our other dogs.
Thank you, Sandy, for being such a great dog. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you passed, I wish I would have been. I would have scratched your itchy spot and stroked your head, like you like. I hope you are in a peaceful place now with no pain and no more fleas. Love you Sandyman.
Rest in peace my sweet puppy.
