Molly on the Deck

I simply couldn’t imagine my life without Molly. My beautiful white Husky/wolf mix had been with us for 14 wonderful years. She was the one constant in a life that was often chaotic and unpredictable.

But the day finally came when her back legs simply wouldn’t work, and she gazed at me with her beautiful eyes, asking, “You’re not going to make me stay like this, are you?”  She trustingly rested her head on my leg as I sat with her on the floor of the vet clinic, and she peacefully drifted off to her new home over the Rainbow Bridge.

For the next few days, the house was strangely quiet and empty. There wasn’t really any reason to vacuum, as Molly was no longer there to shed her beautiful white hair everywhere.  Shadow, our Lab/Corgi mix, spent most of the day in a corner somewhere, withdrawn from the world, keenly feeling the loss of her companion.  The loneliness threatened to engulf all of us.

This simply couldn’t go on any longer! Normally a cheerful, upbeat person, I knew my period of mourning had to end for the sake of our household’s sanity. My husband was wonderfully understanding, but helpless to ease the pain. No dog could ever take Molly’s place, but maybe another dog somewhere needed me.

During Molly’s sunset years, I’d felt a growing compassion for “the old ones,” those precious pups who have become slower with age, but are still full of unconditional love and a simple desire to be loved. After Molly left us, I had a new calling—to reach out to other old, forgotten, set-aside seniors.

So, I decided to run a mini-retirement home for Golden Retrievers. Why Goldens? I had a sweet Golden gal for 14 years when I was raising the kids. Now I have a website devoted to this lovely breed. It just seemed natural to find more of the same and open my heart and home to them.

I knew we couldn’t afford a big adoption fee, so I checked out the local Golden Retriever rescues that require little or no fee for adopting senior Goldens. As I shared my situation with Golden Endings Golden Retriever Rescue here in Columbus, Ohio, I thought the man at the other end of the phone was going to cry. He was sure that I was an angel brought to them in their time of need.

It seemed that one of their foster mothers had just died suddenly in her sleep, leaving two senior Goldens without a home or any prospects of anyone taking them in. It was a match made in heaven!

Boomer (11) and Sadie (12) needed to stay together, as they’d been companions all their lives. I knew my easy-going Shadow wouldn’t mind, and my equally laid-back husband went along with the idea. And so began our new life of fostering Golden Oldies.

The pain of Molly’s passing has been eased, and laughter restored to our home. It’s so true that “When God closes one door, He opens another.”  Our precious furry friends never live long enough, but there’s always another one out there waiting to be loved.

Tags: dog rescue, golden retriever, senior dogs