Our Rescue Girl, Cayman . . .

We lost our Golden Retriever Chilly to cancer on March 29, 2013 (Good Friday).  He was only eight years old.  I am a volunteer at the shelter and am there five days a week.  I am a Holding and Adoptable Dog Walker, a Head Start Trainer, and a member of Dog Running Club (formerly Pit Crew Team Member.)

I came into the shelter to walk adoptable dogs on Saturday April 13, 2013 and saw holding dog # A1963535.  She was a beautiful golden retriever who had been brought into the shelter by the Washtenaw County Sheriff.  She had a 1.5cm ossifying epulius (oral mass) behind her upper right K-9 basically a large mass inside of her jaw.  My assumption is whomever dumped her could no longer breed her due to the size of the tumor as it made her mouth disfigured.  It was love at first sight.  She was not spayed and was also in a full heat cycle. 

I was in the shelter every day to see her.  I kept telling her all she would need to do is wait the 5 days in holding before I could bring her home to my other golden retriever and my husband and son.  I made such a nuisance of myself to the staff about making sure no one else could adopt her before I could, I thought they would get rid of me as a volunteer!  On the day she became the shelter’s I was sitting on the bench waiting for Josh to turn on the computer so I could put down my paid hold on her so no one else could adopt her.

We adopted holding dog #  A1963535 on April 18, 2013 and have since named her Cayman.  We had the oral mass removed on May 13, 2013 and she has made a full recovery. 

Our family has always owned Golden Retriever’s, Cayman will be our 5^th Golden but our first rescue from a shelter.  I can honestly say she has won over all our heart’s and is truly a remarkable dog.  Before I found Cayman at the shelter our family went through the application process with GROOM – the Golden Retriever Rescue Organization of Michigan.  They approved our
application for a Rescue Golden and I was told by the person who did our home visit the following:  “I have to tell you, on the form I have to submit on the home visit, there is one question that should be the only question needed - it is "would you leave your dog at this home".  She responded that if her dogs knew of my home and yard they wouldn't want to go back to live with her but would want to stay with me.

I feel truly blessed to be a volunteer at the shelter and to have Cayman in our lives.  I believe she is the one who saved us.  Losing Chilly in a 24 hour period to cancer was the hardest thing our family has ever endured.  Cayman helped us and our 3
year old Golden, Koki heal the wounds of losing Chilly.  She too needed us to pay for the surgery to remove her tumor and to overcome all the pain she endured by being a breeder’s dog and then dumped on the side of the road with no understanding of why this was done to her. 

She is now in a happy home with not a care in the world.  She is spoiled and loved by our family and will live the rest of her days in a place where no one will hurt her or abandon her.

Please consider Cayman as the Celebrity Spokes dog for this year’s Walk & Wag.