Aubrey

Hello,

My name is Aubrey and here is my wonderful story.

Well - when my 3 year old told me she wanted a Golden Retriever I thought maybe we could get her a dog some day - but as time went on it became clear no dog was going to do - this child wanted a Golden Retriever. So then she turned 4 and still wanted a Golden - but we have 2 dogs, a 12 year old beagle and a 2 year old Yorkie. As the months continued to pass and she did not let up on wanting a Golden - she was making us all want a Golden, we had stuffed Goldens, books on Goldens (no dog books - only those devoted totally to Goldens) heck - the child selected her winter coat because she could "see herself wearing it and walking her Golden Retriever." What kind of mother was I denying her of this companion - I started to wonder - how could I?

Oh, now I remember - because I have to house train it - and I have potty trained two children and just do not want to do that right now. But to find a house trained Golden - that would be a different story. That would be perfect. But in my mind I thought I was crazy - who in their right mind would give up a Golden. They are perfect dogs, beautiful, smart, good with kids, they listen. Still, in vain I headed to my computer to search the web for a rescue organization.

To my surprise I found several in the Ohio area. After contacting a few it was clear that G.R.I.N. was different from the others. You could tell they loved these dogs. As a family we decided we were ready to expand by one Golden member and started the application with G.R.I.N. I was so excited at this point, the idea of a dog that may listen was more than I could imagine. (Remember we have a beagle and a yorkie.) We filled out the application and waited. I looked at the available dogs but not too much - they said they would try and fit you with the right dog and I did not want to get attached to any certain dog. As the process continued we had a phone interview and a home visit. At the home visit the great G.R.I.N. volunteer that came brought her foster Golden for us to meet and to meet our dogs.

 It was love! I had never felt a dog as soft as this, she was a smaller Golden and good with our current canine family members. They said she was a high energy pup, but we knew that was perfect for our high energy family. We had thought we wanted a boy dog but after meeting Aubrey we knew different. After Jane (the foster mom) was able to talk with the G.R.I.N volunteer that matches families with dogs they thought Aubrey was a great match for us too.

I am able to stay at home and everyone agreed that that Aubrey would benefit from a stay at home mom. On February 16, which just happened to be my 4 (now 5) year olds birthday, Aubrey came to live with us. We decided since the vet thought she was between 11 and 13 months old that we would make her 12 months and call that Aubrey's birthday as well.

Aubrey has been with us for 3 weeks and we love her like no other. She is the perfect compliment to our family. We have no issue wearing her out. Now she looks at us, like, is it time for bed yet? And when we get up she will just lay there hoping we may come back to bed. We have learned the terms "counter surfer" and "velcro dog" and enjoy that they are part of our language now. She is great with our children, gentle with the old beagle and playful with the little yorkie. Is she perfect? Of course not - she steals socks any chance she has, and carries one shoe around the house so we can always just find one, and she will surf food off the counter anytime she can reach it. But, for us, that stuff is no big deal. She lays at our feet and follows us from room to room just to be near us, she brings us "gifts" all the time and is so happy to be here. She already listens better than the other two and we are just starting our obedience classes. I look at her and wonder how she got to a point where G.R.I.N. had to step in, I wish there was a way the people who had to give her up could know she is happy now, and I thank all the volunteers at G.R.I.N. for everything they did to save her life. She is so beautiful now I can not imagine the scraggly dog they describe at intake. Aubrey's foster parents are one in a million. They transformed her to something great. We cannot wait for all there is to do with her and we can never thank G.R.I.N. enough for their kindness
 and knowledge in the process. They made the perfect fur- ever match for our family!

By Kristy T.
March 2008