Your Pet's Rescue Story
I was volunteering for a Labrador Retriever rescue in Cincinnati and was asked to foster a Golden Retriever for “a few weeks.” The director of the rescue had a plan, get Maggie into our home because she knew that we’d never let her leave.

I vividly remember the moment I met Maggie. I walked in to the rescue's exam room and there she was. She was two and a half years old and was absolutely beautiful. Her wavy coat was just the perfect shade of red, not too light, not too dark, with little ringlets of fur on her ears. She was amazing. As in so many cases, the rescue couldn’t understand why someone would surrender such a great dog.

That evening she met my husband at the door with a toy that her previous owner surrendered along with Maggie. She sat at his feet and each time he said, “You must be Maggie,” she’d scoot closer to him until she was sitting on his foot. It was love at first sight for both of them.

Maggie had been with us for a few weeks and the rescue wanted to put her on the website to get her adopted. I was getting ready to take pictures and telling my husband the plan when he asked me if I wanted her for our 15th anniversary. I was stunned. He had said no more dogs so I loved Maggie, but hadn’t allowed myself to fall in love with her. That didn’t last long. The next morning she was mine!

We’ve had a great 10-year love affair. She suffered through the indignities of costumes and bandannas. She showed us that even with bad hips she could launch herself off the end of a dock and retrieve her duck toy. She loved to go for walks and play Frisbee. You name it and she was up for it as long as it involved my husband and me. She is the best of all possible dogs.

But now we see the ravages of time. She’s 13. Her hips are hurting her more and more. She’s having a hard time getting up and down the stairs. She doesn’t get excited about getting in the car or taking walks anymore. There’s more gray fur on her face. There’s less energy for saying hi to people. And there’s just a bit less light in her eyes. But she loves to be petted and still sleeps next to us each night. And yes, she still greets us at the back door.

We know that our time is limited. We know each moment is a gift to be soaked up and remembered. Our furry friends leave us far too soon. And we know this will be true about Maggie too. But what we do know for sure that she is the light of our lives and we are better people for having been her parents.