2/24/2015...Baby Sophie...It is five years since you went to the Bridge. It seems like forever ago and it seems like yesterday. I think of you everyday...your collar and "jewelry" are on my nightstand and your "babies" are still here. I am only going to think of the good times today...like your "moment" when you got the tennis ball at Horseshoe Lake before Sara got to it. You were pleased with yourself and it annoyed her...I miss you little girl!

2/24/2016...I am remembering you, my Princess Sophie, with only happy thoughts today! I have felt your presence all around lately so I do believe that you have come to visit and to check up on your guardian charge Elsie. We love you, sweet girl...forever, your momma dog

2/24/2020...ten years since your journey to the Rainbow Bridge. There are things that are just undeniably meant to be in this life. You were meant to be part of the story that began with Chopper and so I can never apologize enough for leaving you behind for those five weeks after I brought Sara home. You were the last puppy of the litter living with your mom Heidi and several other adult goldens in that house on Nuevo Road. I'm sure you never "forgot" your first puppy home because even years later you became happily animated when we were in the vicinity of that road.

You were incredibly cute, but a little...oh how shall I say it?...scrawny compared to Sara who had come along for the ride. I think maybe you weren't getting enough to eat because you were too small to get in there and get your share of the food; Heidi seemed to be done feeding you because she growled and wasn't about to have any of that when Sara tried to get a "drink". The breeder's young daughter had named you "Pocahontas"; she had been caring for you and I'm sure she hoped she would be able to keep you. I had already decided that I would call you Sophie...it was the name of my favorite aunt, it went well with Sara, and when I saw you the sweet sound of it just fit you! Your "adoption" was completed on July 20, 1995. I remember looking in the rearview mirror to see that poor kid standing there crying as we drove away. I sent her pictures of you over time to let her see that you had a good life. You did NOT enjoy that car ride...sad, sick, scared?...you stayed hunched against the door on the floor of the front seat and there was just no comforting you. Sara was no help bouncing around the back seat trying to get at you. When we got home she started showing our places in the new "pack" making her little body look as big as possible but you stood your ground when she got a little too uppity.

You ate that day until I thought your little stomach would burst...you just couldn't get enough food. You didn't seem interested in or curious about your new surroundings and later when the lights were off and you and Sara were set up in your "room" you cried so pathetically ALL night and for a night or two after that. I admit I wondered if I made a mistake...I guess I was expecting too much from the "puppy reunion". For awhile you seemed to suffer from separation anxiety when I left the house as more than one time I would return to find a shoe had been thoroughly destroyed and you only chewed one, never a pair. That behavior soon passed and you settled into your puppyhood, tussling and snoozing with Sara and you two became "The Girls"!

There was one summer evening at the G Court house a few weeks after you arrived that comes to mind. It was dusk and you and Sara were playing in the front yard by the birch tree. I felt like Chopper was watching us and I remember thinking that you and Sara and I were going to have many good years together. Those years sure went by quickly...

You and Sara were now a "unit" but you definitely had your own personalities. You were my adaptable dog...always eager to please, friendly without being overly exuberant and mindful of "momma dog" for the most part. You got along very well with people, other dogs, and critters. I remember a trainer in Cherry Valley who saw all these traits in you and she said if I ever wanted to give you up you would make a great rescue/therapy dog. Quite a compliment to my little girl but I wasn't going to leave you again!

You were NOT one of those crazy water loving golden retrievers. When you needed to you WOULD swim and very well...like the time we went kayaking at Big Bear. The boat (and Sara) were already in the water and paddling away while you were frantically running back and forth on the dock. You had a "you're leaving me I don't want to get wet" look on your face but you finally leaped into the lake and swam until you caught up with us. At Lake Lanier...Lyle gently pulled you into the water by your front legs. As soon as he let go you turned right around with a look that said "you think you'll get me to swim but I have other ideas." And there was the trip to Horseshoe Lake; Sara was in the middle of it retrieving her tennis ball while you waded close to shore preferring to not get wet above your belly...then all of a sudden you were in that cold lake outswimming Sara to get the ball. She was frustrated and YOU seized the moment! So it's not that you couldn't swim...you simply chose not to!...because you, Sophie Jo Beezer, were born to run!

...to be continued...

Please also visit CHOPPER, Lucy, Poppet, Sara, Trix and Wilson.