Hello Mark,
About 5 years ago we had the good fortune to have had 2 Golden retrievers. The first was a young puppy that we named Emma. She turned out to be the most wonderful dog we have ever had! Our second was from a shelter and she had been abandoned. We named her Jessie!
Emma was a very special dog. She was very intelligent. We lived on 13 acres south of Mpls MN with a large pond where ducks and geese would migrate through and nest. One day Emma swam over to the island in the middle of the pond and came back with an egg in her mouth! So gently that no damage was done to the egg. She gave it to me as if a gift! Needless to say we shared many wonderful times together. Every morning she would come to our bed and put her muzzle on the mattress and let out a loud exhale as if to tell me it’s time to wake up now. Unfortunately, late in 2003 she became very ill. We tried to have her diagnosed but the vet said it was hopeless and that it was most likely cancer of the liver. Her belly had swollen and the whites of her eyes had turned yellow. We had to put her down and our whole family was devastated!
As if she could not live without her, within 2 weeks, Jessie became ill with what appeared to be a stroke and died. We were totally heartbroken! Without any warning we had lost 2 beautiful dogs within several weeks.
We are now retired and have sold those 13 acres. We hope that someday we will be able to have another dog as wonderful as Emma or Jessie!
Sincerely,

Ralph & Mary from FL

PS: Our son Eric deploys to Iraq at the end of this week. Please keep him in your prayers!