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WE JUMPED at the Chance
Mary G. Barry, MD
Louisville Medicine Editor
[email protected]
T
o meet Chance, our new Nova
Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.
Our oldest cat, Kleine, died at
nearly 18-years-old back in the
spring, and we buried her out in
the back yard and planted a canna lily to
mark the spot. Some years, our cannas come
back and sprout all over the garden bed;
Kleine’s has room to grow, for sure.
My husband, Goetz, grew up with dogs,
most famously Bobbi, the humping dachs-
hund. Despite having been properly fixed,
he greeted all with carnal enthusiasm. Bred
to nose out and kill ferrets, he was an avid
hunter of all varmints and he escaped, over
and over, chasing them into yards and ponds
and brooks and farmers’ fields. He once
killed a prize sheep, causing a village up-
roar. “Basta!” was the word Bobbi heard
the most, meaning “Stop that NOW and get
over here.” Goetz and I really wanted the joy
of a dog but were not enthused at getting
one we must repeatedly find.
My experience was limited to dog-sit-
ting, which I did in my youth. There was a
yellow lab named Maggie who would cov-
er her eyes with her paws if she had done
something bad; Mickey the border collie
who herded me and every other dog on the
street; and the black lab Holly who had a pi-
rate streak and stole one’s shoes. (Her owner
explained to me that all shoes go on the top
shelf of the closet, no exceptions.) Last year,
my best buddy, Col. Marilyn Rhodes, would
go on the road and leave with us her Dee
Dee, an old, slow and very dear yellow lab.
Dee Dee was placid and an ideal dog for our
other two cats, who shrank from her in fear,
even though she struggled sometimes just to
stand. Tor is scared of all strangers, and our
deaf FLK never met a stranger, but neither
cat is partial to dogs, those big galumphing
messy tail-wagging intruders.
But we needed a dog. We toured shelters
and found dogs who needed us but might
terrorize the cats. Finally, on the advice of
our friend Beth Small, we signed up with
GRRAND, the Golden Retriever Rescue
and Adoption of Needy Dogs organization.
Except for two part-time kennel workers,
this is an all-volunteer group of the most
dedicated, kind, devoted-to-the-mission
people we have ever met. The group accepts
retrievers and mixed breeds who need a new
home, cares for them, meets their medical
needs, trains and fosters them, and matches
them for adoption by people like us, who
have a longing for a certain sort of dog. For
us it was: not a puppy, not a mini-dog, not
a wildly athletic dog, not a cat-terrorist.
The group is highly organized, efficient and
extremely thorough in vetting prospective
owners. They check multiple references
and make a home visit to establish that a
safe and happy place awaits the adoptee.
GRRAND has placed nearly 5,000 dogs
since it grew out of the Greater Louisville
Golden Retriever Club and incorporated as
a non-profit in 1996.
And ‘Grand’ is the word for our new
dog, Chance. He is nine, and his real mother
found him as a tyke on the street in Ashland,
Ky. She was sedentary, and they ate the same
food, so he is “traditionally built” like Ms.
Precious Ramotswe. His real mother had
sudden severe heart problems, so in early
October he came to us. He’s on a diet, he
loves to ride in the car, he loves to try to
chase deer (no can do) and he is puzzled
why the cats won’t yet nuzzle or cuddle him.
He does not beg or sulk or chew. We could
rub his ears all day. He is a laugh a minute
and we feel so utterly lucky, and grateful
beyond words to GRRAND.
Need a lift? Dog ownership is said to
improve longevity and happiness both. The
American Heart Association issued an of-
ficial statement in 2013, citing the various
limitations of multiple studies, and con-
cluding that “Dog ownership is probably
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