Hunter
Our first golden retriever was Hunter, whom we adopted through GRRACE in the fall of 1998. He had been found wandering the streets, apparently for some time due to the poor condition of his coat. He was heart-worm positive and had hip dysplasia. Elizabeth Murphy, a veterinarian, was his foster mom. She renewed his beautiful red coat and saw him through heart-worm disease. We loved Hunter immediately and welcomed him into our family, which, at the time, included Friday, a large black cat. From the start, we learned that Hunter was always open for petting, often leaning on the legs of friends and strangers for a caress. Food was Hunter’s big interest and he liked to be in the center of the kitchen when meals were being prepared, striking a pose as if he were supervising meal preparation. Because of his dysplasia, Hunter couldn’t climb stairs and needed help getting into a car, but, for most of his time with us, he could walk with little difficulty. He was a large, but gentle, golden, and seldom barked at first. More barks came later, especially, in his last year when he couldn’t get up from the floor by himself and he spoke to let us know what he wanted. No dog could have been more perfect for us. He was a gentleman, a great companion, and a friend to our other pets, which have included two more GRRACE goldens. Saying goodbye to Hunter was, as expected, very difficult. He was estimated to be around 16 years old and had lived a good life, the last five years with us. To us, he was and always will be Best Dog Ever.
Penny & Fritz Frommeyer