Dog Loss | Gardens For Goldens

Rocket Scientist

December 22, 2019 by Ogee

As I turned the corner at the rescue into the front parking lot, I came upon an elderly man looking a bit lost. It was well before adoption hours. He looked frail and sad. I asked if I could help. He said he had just let his dog go. It turns out that he had lost her a week earlier; he had just returned from picking up her ashes. She was 11-year-old Emily, a beautiful Golden Retriever. He had her […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Humanity • Tags: Dog Loss, dog rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue

When someone you love becomes a memory…

July 20, 2019 by Ogee

“When someone you love becomes a memory… the memory becomes a treasure.” Thinking of friends – and friends departed. Loss and tears come in waves.

Categories: Dog Loss, Loss • Tags: Dog Loss

All Dogs Go To Heaven

May 24, 2019 by Ogee

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May deluges bring? It is the third week of May, and I am sitting in my house in a wool sweater and fleece jacket because I will be damned if I will turn on the heat at this point in the year! Like the rest of the country, we have been hit with really bizarre weather. I cannot complain, however, because ours is in the form of cooler temperatures and significant rainfall […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden • Tags: All Dogs Go To Heaven, Dog Loss, Dog Remembrance, First Bloom, Memorial Service

Holding On To The Things You Love

May 19, 2019 by Ogee

Somewhere between work, volunteering, and changes to how WordPress manages the Reader and sharing, I ran out of blogging steam. Or maybe just words. Fresh inspiration abounds, but not everyone wants to read the stories I might share. The self-imposed push for happy stories feels less authentic and gradually, probably less relevant to readers, as well. Blogs are time-consuming beasts, and when you feel like no one is listening, it is easy to become discouraged. Along the way, I also […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Blogging inspiration, Dog Loss, Dog Photography

Angel on Loan

January 20, 2019 by Ogee

Penny was our angel on loan. Born to an autoimmune-disordered body she did not deserve, each battle waged against her diminishing self created fresh challenges. In the end, small victories were no match for the war raging within. Had she been an old dog, we might have let her peacefully slip away much sooner. But she was a baby, just two years of age. We could see her whole life ahead of her – or so we thought. Sometimes, the […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: autoimmune disorder dogs, Dog Loss, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, sancutary dogs

A Winter Rose

December 2, 2018 by Ogee

It doesn’t happen often—but often enough to wonder. Dogs that are long-time residents of the rescue—the ones with special behavioral or medical needs who wait for angel adopters—find their way home only to pass unexpectedly just as they have found love. Not that they aren’t loved by us. But there is a difference between being loved and cared for by volunteers and being a chosen special someone and finally being home. It is if—wrapped in that security—that they finally fully […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue • Tags: Camp Fire Dogs, Dog Loss, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue

Love in a Mist

August 19, 2018 by Ogee

There are near daily tests for the rescuer woman: her will to heal against theirs to surrender. Most battles are won, but not all; the rescuer does not always get to be the savior. The beloved dog who so kindly shared his home, heart, and rescuer mom has gone. Sometimes, it feels like the universe conspires against us – When it is simply saying, “I’m calling you home.” It is not compelled to explain its timing or purpose – Any […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Dog Rescue, Dogs, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Loss, Thought • Tags: Dog Loss, dog rescue, Loss of a dog

Winter Comes

January 7, 2018 by Ogee

Winter comes. It arrives in its own time – sometimes early; sometimes late. Winter has finally arrived in the Memorial Garden, first, with the return of cold and wind… and then, much-needed rain. Nothing like the winter that family and friends are experiencing east of us (brrrr). Still, it leaves more time for dogs – and one of my favorite “jobs” at Homeward Bound: going home photos. Saturday, it was Rover’s day… and Bandit’s, too. And then, there was a […]

Categories: Dog Loss, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Thought • Tags: Dog Loss, Time on earth, Winter Garden

Everything In Its Season

November 5, 2017 by Ogee

I love the velvety purple stalks of Mexican sage. It heralds fall; its amethyst hues offset by the season’s golden leaves. A perennial in most gardens – but not in our Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. It is too wet in winter, and too hot in summer. The clay soil and baking sun are too much for this tough, but not quite tough enough, sage. The first three seasons, I moved it to different spots in the garden hoping I would […]

Categories: Dog Rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Rescue • Tags: Dog Loss, dog rescue, Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue, Homeward Bound Memorial Garden Sacramento, In Its Season Henry David Thoreau