He was a crazy, totally out of control dog whom I didn’t much care for when he first came to me for fostering.  I kept thinking to myself, “what did I get myself into?”  His gorgeous light blonde coat did not make up for his outrageously bad behavior.

In order to make life easier, I decided to start taking Marley to school as he was extremely independent and very unruly on many fronts.  He was the first dog I had ever experienced like this and I knew that training was the key to overcome this horrid behavior.  We began training classes and Marley began to respond to commands and to respect me.  I slowly became his pack leader.  After about a month of making great progress, the decision to adopt  “Mouthing Marley” as he was known, was made.  He is  “Foster Failure” #5.  I always think God brought Marley into my life to teach me patience.  Wow, what a dose so far.

We ended up becoming students of various classes for well over a year and still continue  outside activities as he needs the mental stimulation.  We took many obedience, Rally O and agility classes.  Marley has made tremendous progress and his behavior has changed so dramatically, that he passed his Canine Good Citizen test and also is now a Certified Therapy Dog.  He wears the “coveted yellow TDI tag” with great pride.  Marley enjoys his weekly visits up at the Brecksville VA Hospital and his antics bring many a smile to the veterans.  We still work on his mouthing, as occasionally, it still rears its’ ugly head.  The look on his face when  he tried to mouth a veterans’ prosthetic hand during one of our VA visits was priceless and still makes me laugh whenever I think of it to this day.  Marley is a  fund raiser now for G.R.I.N. too. He is showy and  “proud as a peacock”.  He wears his G.R.I.N. vest with pride at PetSmart, Moochies and too many other G.R.I.N. events to mention.  All I can say is Marley is Marley and while his behavior is still testy at times, we are a team.  I would not give him up for the world.  I am still learning more meanings of patience too.

Thank you G.R.I.N. for being  there for people who cannot keep their pets and for the Goldens who end up at the shelter.  So many happy families and lives saved are a direct result of your efforts.  Marley is living proof of this and the fact that training makes a huge difference for you and your dog.  He has brought many smiles and so much happiness to many people.  I am blessed to have him as part of my life.