My Oldy Goldy

We got our Golden Retriever Luke when he was eight weeks old. Not knowing any better, Ryan picked him out from a 'backyard breeder'. A well meaning family that happened to have two Goldens and decided to breed them without any thought to genetics or breeding standards. He was a very cute puppy and Ryan and I treated him like the kid we didn't have. Pretty soon he was 85 pounds of very active Golden. I walked him every other day and used to throw tennis balls into the kitchen for him to fetch (we didn't have a backyard at the time). In obedience class he was the top of the class. Performing every command perfectly while waiting and drooling for his treat. When we would tell the trainer that he didn't listen to any command at home she didn't believe us. His major drawback has always been food. He is obsessed with it and we have never been able to break him of it. He is a habitual counter surfer and you cannot turn your head without him trying to eat your leftovers right off your plate. His file at the vet is so big that they couldn't fax it over to his new vet five years ago. I picked it up and flipped through his file, it was full of things he had eaten over the years:

• A knife (chewed the handle and stuck it in his paw)


• A razor blade (he pooped it out unharmed a day later)


• An entire cheesecake


• A lighter


• Numerous crayons


• A pound of spicy sausage (gave him an ulcer)


• 5 bagels and the plastic bag


• Pounds of paper products


• A pound of sugar and the bag it was in


• 2 kitchen chairs


• Every cooking utensil and tupperware lid I own has teeth marks in it
  

Now Luke is almost 10 years old and I can't believe it has gone so quickly. He has bad hips, at least 20 cysts covering his body (they do not seem to hurt him), and some seriously stinky flatulence. However, he still enjoys his walks and eats everything that he can get. He has been wonderful to Morgan and Leah and they love him. He has taken his demotion in the attention ranks really well and I feel bad that some days I don't even pet him once. As he slows down in his old age I am realizing that we don't have much time left together and I am trying to make the best of it.