Last Updated on Thursday, 1 November 2012 09:06 Written by GRRR Thursday, 1 November 2012 09:05

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Eight year old Pete wasn’t supposed to be ready for adoption on the day we came to pick a friend for our rescued Golden, Wendy. The only reason that Pete was at the adoption center was that he had an ear infection that needed attention.

We had been working with Mary for a while to find another rescued Golden to add to our family. She had chosen three Goldens that she thought might be a fit. We carefully looked at each of them, and watched the reaction of our Golden, Wendy. As we played with one then another, it became obvious that we had not found the right Golden. We were disappointed, and started back to the office.

As we walked passed the kennels, there Pete was looking at us as we went by. His face said, “Hi! Take a minute to look at me!” He was not the most handsome Golden. In fact, he was long, lanky, and had bad ears, skin, and teeth. He was a mess. But his eyes told us to look passed the bad outside to see his wonderful heart.

We asked if we could take Pete for a walk. During the walk, it was clear that Pete was the one to adopt. Our Golden, Wendy, loved him immediately, and so did we. When we finished the paperwork and started to leave for home, Pete jumped into our Honda Pilot without hesitation. He was without question a part of our family.

For the next two years Pete showed us how live in the moment. He kept his sunny attitude through teeth cleanings, ear medicine applications, and joint issues. His luck in the DNA bank may have been bad, but his joy of life was the best!

Sadly, we lost our boy, Pete, on 25 Oct 2012. Up until the night before he was his usual big ol’ lanky self. But during his last night he was restless, and didn’t sleep well. In the morning he was lethargic, would not eat, and didn’t want to go for a walk. I called the vet, and got an appointment for the early afternoon. By mid morning, Pete was not better, so I called the vet to say that I was bringing him in early.

As soon as I got to the vet’s they took an ultrasound, and determined that his stomach was filled with blood, and he had a bleeding tumor on his liver. The doctor diagnosed it as hemangiosarcoma. (When there is a tumor on the liver there most probably is at least one or more tumors elsewhere. The odds of success through operating and/or treatment are 95% unsuccessful.) The bleeding was not going to stop, so our choices were to operate immediately with a very poor chance of success, or let him go gently to the Rainbow Bridge.

We miss him more than words can possibly express. We called him our “special needs” Golden because he was not the light colored, show ring guy that most people would pick. He was big, uncoordinated, and had bad teeth and dry, flaky skin.  He was also a wonderful, gentle giant who loved everyone (except cats), and went through life with a perpetual smile.

Goodbye to our dear, sweet Pete.

–Carolyn and Chuck Ellington

(New “Pete” to come soon!)

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