GRWeekly Photo Gallery - A Special Bond 5/21/07

"A Special Bond"
In December our granddaughter Serenity and her mother came home for a visit from Australia. It was great to have the two loves of our lives here together in the house and we were somewhat anxious about how they would get along. Darci is just 2 years old and was first bred and raised by Jen Marquardt of Jengar Kennels for the first year. She is a wonderful gentle soul who, almost never barks but loves to play. Serenity is 20 months old and a going concern. Actually we were more anxious for Darci’s sake since pint size dog lovers don’t always know when they are hurting the dog and can be relentless in their pursuit. As it turned out we had nothing to worry about. They played together, ate meals together, and followed each other around (especially when Serenity had food to spare). Both Serenity and Darci were very gentle with each other and Serenity has a wealth of rich memories to take back with her to Australia.

Serenity has always had this special thing going with her mother and others she loves. When you pretend to cry Serenity will take her soother and pop it in your mouth. As if to say “Oh dear, you sound so sad. Here is something to help you feel better.” We are not sure whether Darci whined a bit or just gave Serenity the “big brown sad eye treatment” but Serenity’s immediate response that day was to pop a soother in Darcy’s mouth. And Darcy, having watched and learned, knew how precious a gift that was and treated it with great care! The adults of course started laughing and when we recovered we all ran for our cameras.

I can not think of a picture that expresses more clearly the special bond these two have formed in their time together. In a lifetime of raising Golden Retrievers we have had many special moments like this. Finding the dog prancing along in the dress-up parade, or curled up together with a sleeping child or playing hide and seek by sniffing out the hidden enemy. These are the memories that make for a lifetime of joy and a generation of future Golden owners.

Noble & Brenda Dean
noble-dean@cogeco.ca