Welcome to Goldie's Rainbow Residency

Memories of Goldie

Goldie came into my life out of my love for animals, not because I was looking for a dog. She was born "out of wedlock" as a result of a her mother being boarded with a breeder and an accidental rendezvous; both parents were registered Golden Retrievers. Taken from her mother at six weeks old, she was housed alone in a farm shed for the next four months with minimal human contact. As I watched this situation, my heart went out to her, and I finally had to rescue her. Our first six months together caused me many periods of doubt about that situation! Her lack of socialization combined with her being a puppy played out into many episodes of dominance battles with her seeking revenge on me. I finally got to the place where I would not buy any shoes that cost more than $10 because I all-too-often would only get to wear them once, if at all. If she couldn't find shoes, she went for my clothing, beddding...anything would work, so shoes became the easiest to replace. As Goldie grew out of puppyhood and all that chewing, she grew into a highly intelligent and loving dog. She maintained her parameters by insisting that Frisbee, catch and/or fetch were beneath her dignity. In exchange, she learned to shake hands by always using the opposite paw as the hand presented to her. She was incredibly well-behaved in public, seldom needing a leash, even in large crowds. A soft reminder always brought her back to heel. Throughout it all, that fringed tail wagged so hard her whole rear end danced as she walked. For the first seven years of her life, she lived on a Christmas tree farm & nursery, where we rented an apartment in a remodeled corncrib. Goldie would greet customers, and when not thus occupied, she wandered the 160 acres while I was at work. Many, many nights I had to give her a bath before bringing her inside; those forays in the creek and the weeds (not to name other things) often left her in a totally uncivilized condition. Goldie was also my "trip" companion. She loved to ride with me and "chase cars" through the windows. Throughout it all, Goldie wagged that tail and enjoyed every second. We moved to a town around her seventh birthday, and she had many new lessons to learn, as well as new areas to accommodate to her---including a new "daddy." During the summer, she took a strong liking to a neighbor's kitten. Watching her, we realized she needed a kitten of her own. Our local vet was also where stray and abandoned animals were taken. We took Goldie out and put two 4-week old kittens on the floor. In less than five minutes, she had made her pick. Watching the two of them has been watching a miracle unfold. Goldie played with Butterfly by holding her paw up and letting Butterfly bat it, or by wagging her tail and enticing Butterfly to chase and play in Goldie's fur. Goldie would take a paw and gently stroke Butterfly, petting her. In playing, Goldie would envelope Butterfly's head in her mouth ever so gently, or allow Butterfly to crawl over her head and bite Goldie's ears. They were eating, sleeping and play companions, and inseparable. Their antics together have brought so much joy to us and to our guests over the past 4 months, who consistently characterize her as one of the most well-behaved and sweetest dogs they've ever seen. Throughout her life, Goldie always greeted each guest with her bone proudly presented and an "Arrr--R---rrrr," inviting them to take it and shake her paw, knowing they will put the bone down or throw it so she can retrieve her prized possession and go on her way. About eight months after that move, we noticed she had begun to snore. Passing it off as a long-nosed dog's sensitivities, we let it go. Then, three months after that, we found a lump on the bridge of her nose. After consulting with the vet, we waited a week to see if it went down because maybe she had bumped it. The lump did not go down. After a biopsy, a vet change, and visits to Iowa State University's Vet Hospital, we had our answer...Multilobular Bone Tumor. I was told that they see most canine tumors in the state, either through their pathology services and/or through their clinic and they might see one of these tumors once every three years. It is a very rare, aggressive and malignant cancer. For Goldie, her CAT scan revealed a tumor that had grown through her sinuses to engulf her skull from the tip of her nose and pressed back to her brain. Multilobular Bone Tumors consist of two different kinds of cancer; one eats bone and the other eats cartilage. There were no treatment options, only pain relief. It has now been 71 days since that diagnosis. We watched her battle the confusion and pain, and saw the pain written in her eyes and on her face as she battled to still dance as she walked. Some days the hair on her face was white--something I did not believe was possible. Meanwhile, we treated her to everything she loved: McDonalds hamburgers with ice cream on top (where they stock dog biscuits just for her!), candy bars, garlic dill pickles, rides... And our vet utilized innovative medication administration options so we did not have to struggle with all those pills. This afternoon Butterfly and I took Goldie for her last ride. With Butterfly curled next to her to comfort her, my vet, her assistant, a friend and I encircled Goldie on the office floor, stroked her and played with her until she took her last breath. ___________________________________________________ 02-18-05 Goldie, its been two years now since I bid you good-bye. Your loss still casts its cold mantle over both of us from time to time, but I also love to remember you and how exuberant you were. Memories of moments you and I shared, lost in the joy of each other and what we were doing at the time, are pearls of gold in my memory. We have Moon Dancer now and her brand of exuberance is so different than yours. She loves Butterfly, too, but I think you would be appalled with how rough Dancer is with her in their play; your relationship with Butterfly (and everyone you knew) was so gentle and loving. I hope that you leave your watch on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge often to run in the sunlight.

Goldie's People Parent(s), Helen & Gene, would appreciate knowing you have visited their Baby's Residency. Click here to Email Helen & Gene a message, or to send a sympathy card click here. Email this page to a friend.

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