Chester – Day 19
Okay, Glenn and I knew from the start, even before we met him; that Chester was in need of a good home and plenty of love. After meeting him, I knew he was smart … the sparkle in his eyes, the way he was aware of his surroundings, the way he jumped in the back seat of our car without hesitation. He knew in the depths of his being that we could be trusted. In my heart I knew he was the right dog for us.
Prior to meeting Chester I actually had mixed feelings about which dog we might adopt. Like I mentioned before, my first desire was to get a dog of my own. Glenn and Casey had such a great relationship and I wanted to have that special bond too. I was looking for a jogging buddy, a dog who would curl up with me on my bed while I read, or one who would get up and follow me when I moved from the living room to the kitchen.
Then we saw the short write-up about Chester on the Golden Bond Rescue website. Glenn and I agreed immediately that he needed and was deserving of having a special home, one that we could provide. We thought we should meet a couple of dogs on the same trip and make our decision accordingly. Most of these dogs are located in Oregon, primarily around the Portland area. That’s a 4-5 hour drive from our home so we wanted to meet more than one to economize on the trip. In the meantime, I had already let our adoption coordinator know that Chester was one we wanted to meet. Several days later I received a call from her. It seems that Chester’s foster family (who live in the Portland area) was taking a weekend trip to Washington and would be willing to bring him along. That would cut our driving time in half. We met Chester and the rest is history.
These breed rescue associations are volunteer groups and operate a little differently from each other, but the outcome is designed to be the same. We live in the extreme northwest corner of Washington State, almost into British Columbia Canada, and there’s no Golden Retriever rescue society in our state at this time. In the case of Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon, the process went something like this: We submitted an 8-page application along with a $25 non-refundable deposit. They checked our references and contacted our veterinarian to make sure we care for our existing dog properly. We received a phone call from GBR for a “welcome” and phone interview to find out something about us and answer any of our questions. They scheduled a “home visit”. A GBR member who lives a few hours away from us brought her Golden Retriever and came here to see our home; to make sure we have proper fencing and facilities and to meet Casey. That way they can see how the existing family dog interacts with a strange dog in their own home. Then our application was submitted to various foster parents for their evaluation to see if their foster dog might be a fit for our family.
Normally there’s a 24-hour “cooling off period” between the time you meet the dog and when you can take them home. The exception is if your drive to meet the dog is 2 hours or more, they ask that you leave for awhile to think about it. No one wants buyer’s remorse caused by a decision from the heart instead of a rational purchase. There’s a 2-week period where the dog can be returned and money refunded. But finding the right fit from the start will minimize the stress these dogs already have. Long process, but I’m sure they generally get happier results. Our process ended up being a bit different due to circumstances and thankfully so because it’s one of the best decisions we’ve made in awhile.
Chester continues to do well as evidenced by yesterday’s leap instead of baby steps. We know he will improve but we also know that “spiking the ball in the end zone” or “hitting a home run” only takes a few minutes of the overall game. We’re in this for the long haul. Chester is a rightful member of our family and he deserves and will get all the time he needs to get healthy. Baby steps are still the order of the day. He is still comfortable under tables (his preferred location now is basement/family room) where we spend time watching baseball, reading or working on our laptop computers.
This morning Chester and Casey have spent time together in closer proximity to each other. Our morning walk was normal, Chester leading the way. Every day he seems to walk farther ahead of Casey without being stressed. Casey jumped on the bed awhile ago and Glenn “assisted” Chester to join her so he will know it’s acceptable behavior (see photo).
These two Golden Retrievers have now officially adopted each other as brother and sister … and they think Mom and Dad are okay too.
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