Fridays Are Golden

 

 

Today is Ellie's birthday!  There were many years in which I looked forward to her birthdays.  (Golden Retrievers have a long adolescence.)  Now that she is ten, I dread each passing birthday.  Ellie has been a treat since we brought her home.

 

Our first dog, an English Springer Spaniel was my heart dog.  I never expected to have another one and my heart was broken when she died at age sixteen.  I did not want another dog.  Ever.  But my wise husband knew better and we got another Springer Spaniel, Penny Lane.  I loved Penny and she was a wonderful dog, but she never quite became my heart dog.  But she was my husband's heart dog.  After Penny died at age fifteen, we decided to look at breeds other than Springers.  We read a lot about various breeds and decided that a Golden Retriever would fit perfectly into our lives.

 

We did our research and found Dichi Goldens.  (You can look at their great Web site here.)  We filled out volumes of paperwork, then went in for an interview.  And we passed!  We were put on a wait list for a little female.  And on June 21, 2003 Ellie's mother Star gave birth to a litter mostly male but with three females.  And one of those became our Ellie.  We named her Dichi Sirius Eleanor Rose.  Dichi must always be the first name to acknowledge the breeder, Sirius which is the Dog Star was in honor of her birth mother and Eleanor Rose in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt, one of my favorite women.

 

 

Few things are cuter than puppies.

And few (if any) puppies are cuter than Golden puppies like little Ellie.

 

 

 

Ellie left her brothers behind.

As you can see, every one of them is perfect and gorgeous.

Click to enlarge and find all six brothers.

 

 

 

Ellie loved her stuffies and carried this little yellow duck everywhere she went

...until she found out about seams and how to destroy them.

 

 

 

She loved the Wisconsin winters.

 

 

 

With no more stuffies around, Ellie carries tennis balls.

And so I am one of those very lucky people to find a second heart dog.  Ellie knows me, comforts me, and I love her deeply.  Don't misunderstand...I love our Lucy.  But I love Ellie in a very special way.  I feel so fortunate to have had one more heart dog.  I do not expect to find another.

The author of the following quote is unknown:

"Your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

Happy birthday, dear Ellie.  I hope I can be worthy.

HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!!!