As you can probably figure out by now, Cisco has left us. It's now 2011 and we're coming up on the anniversary of when we had to say goodbye to a great companion and friend. It has taken me two years to finally get up the nerve to put my feelings on paper...so to speak. In my last post about Cisco, we were just beginning chemotherapy. He did great through-out the summer but by December the cancer had returned and we had to make a very difficult decision. We were all devastated and weren't quite sure what to do next. Not too long after Cisco left us..Kizzie...our female Golden, began to show signs of depression. We needed to do something and soon. We considered another puppy and a dog from the animal shelter but eventually we chose to see if there was a Golden Retriever close to her age at the Companion Golden Retriever Rescue (CGRR) located in West Jordan near Salt Lake City, Utah.We first checked out their website, looked at all of the Goldens and found the perfect friend for her but by the time we could travel to Utah, he had been adopted. The lady who ran CGRR felt bad about what happened. She mentioned a nice, gentle male named Rayne. She thought he would be perfect for both us and Kizzie. According to CGRR and veterinarians, he was about 6 years old. We went to see him on New Years Eve, 2009. Getting a rescue Golden of similar size and age seemed like the right thing to do.
Enter Rayne, an energetic male Golden with a heart of gold. His story is not only sad but joyful. According to CGRR, Rayne showed up on someone's door step in central Utah during a terrible rain storm, badly emaciated and dripping wet, hence the name “Rayne”. Even today, he is terrified of thunder and lightning. He tries to bury his head in your lap or under a pillow, trying to hide from the loud noises and flashes of light that must have haunted him during his time on his own. Rayne eventually found his way to a temporary home at CGRR. Even with all he must have gone through during his life, he is a lovable companion today with no aggression around food, towards other dogs, adults or even children.
When we first met Rayne, the first thing he did was run up and lay his head in my lap and stare at me with his dark brown eyes, asking me to believe in him and choose him. In fact we had taken Kizzie with us to help choose our new companion. They hit it off immediately and continue to be best friends today. We took him home that day.
Watching Rayne from day to day, we believe he must have been mistreated by his previous owner because he was 6 years old and knew nothing about swimming, windows, stairs, mirrors, TV or even how to play. For the longest time, he rarely wagged his tail. He seemed so sad and confused. Today he's a very happy dog. He wags his tail and smiles constantly because he knows he's in his forever home.
He is extremely smart and learns quickly. It took us all of about 2 weeks to house train him and make him an inside dog. We now give him full run of the house with Kizzie while we work and nothing is disrupted or chewed when we get home. We've had Rayne for almost two years now and he's a normal Golden Retriever who loves to play, run, jump and swim.
Rayne has been a very busy dog this past year with his swimming and long walks in the park. He recently graduated from Obedience Training and is now entered in Agility Training where he is learning to run, jump and follow a complex course with a variety of obstacles.
To top it off, we entered Rayne in a contest and he was selected as the Snake River Animal Shelter Mascot of the Year for 2011 - 2012. As their Ambassador, he will attend special functions with the animal shelter and represent all the animals that need a forever home. His first appearance this summer was at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. He's a shining example of why you should adopt a shelter or rescue pet, and give them another chance to become part of a family.
