Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon

Adopted September 2010

I've wanted a Golden Retreiver my whole life.  We've always had dogs that were pound puppies, but never had a Golden.  Last fall, the time was finally right to begin looking for one.  I discovered the Golden Bond website and began stalking it daily - reading every page, every dog story posted.  My husband & I decided we liked what we read and began the adoption application process.  We were finally approved for adoption in September, 2010.  I noticed a dog on the website that I fell in love with (it happened to be Chet) and contacted our adoption coordinator who put me in touch with his foster mom.  She told us about his health concerns and that he wasn't quite ready for adoption, but she did have another dog who would be ready in about a week if I was interested.  She described Trudy (#2044) - we changed the spelling to Trudie - to me as an older girl, but a "real lady."  I was hooked.  We agreed to meet a couple of weeks later, and I can honestly tell you the first time I saw Trudie, I was in love.

When we first met, Trudie's foster mom told me that the first sign she knew Trudie was comfortable at her foster home was when she climbed onto the couch and made herself at home, and that it took about two weeks.   The minute we decided to adopt Trudie (actually, I think she adopted us), Trudie knew she'd found her forever family.  She jumped right into our truck, without a care in the world and rode all the way home (2.5 hours) with her head in my lap.  We got home and within 10 minutes of being in the house, she'd climbed up onto the couch.  She knew she was home.  The cat (Gracie) was a bit freaked out by her, but Trudie being the casual girl that she is, completely ignored Gracie's hystrionics.  Our other dog, Sadie (a 6 year old Australian Shepherd) didn't understand the fuss and has adjusted just fine.  Gracie has since settled as well.  I guess that's because she & Trudie are the same color so Gracie has figured it can't be all bad.

It's been 7 months with Trudie and she is just a big bundle of love.  She greets me every evening when I get home from work with a "nomming".  (She gently puts her mouth around my wrist.)  She lets us know when she wants to go outside with a playful "woof" and she just loooooves to be brushed.  She loves to "gallump" at the fairgrounds and when she's up to it, she loves to go for a walk.  In the last month or so, she's been experiencing some problems with her back hips, and she's having some difficulty walking.  She is under a vet's care and is making good progress with her weight loss, which is helping greatly with her walking.

We love this big ol' girl.  She instantly became an integral part of our family.  She's a shy girl when it comes to taking pictures.  I've never seen a shy dog - but really...she turns her head away when the camera comes out! *LOL*.

Thanks Golden Bond!
-Joanne & Bernie -  & Trudie