Mackie was part of our family for a short 6 months, but the time that we had with him was very special. Mackie came into a clinic I was locuming at about 2 years ago. Sadly, his owner could no longer take care of him and was there asking for help for his 12-year-old Golden Retriever. I sympathized with the owner and offered to take Mackie and find him a good home. It was a Friday and the Golden Rescue couldn’t take him until the following week, so I took him home. Instantly, he fit in with our family, like he had been there all along, however it wasn’t until he paraded with our shoes in his mouth when we came home from errands that we knew he was home. Our beloved Jersey used to parade like this and this reminder of her instantly brought us to tears. Mackie followed my 2-year-old son everywhere like it was his job to protect him. He had an incredible personality and was so loveable. Unfortunately, one day we noticed that Mackie wasn’t feeling well, and soon after I diagnosed him with a hemangiosarcoma in his abdomen that was actively bleeding. We said goodbye to Mackie outside, on a beautiful day, under a tree. In some ways, I wish that we had him longer because he was so amazing, but then I think that it is probably for the best that we didn’t as it only would have hurt more to lose such an incredible dog.
The animals that come into our lives really do leave paw prints on our hearts forever. The senior dogs I have loved and lost have inspired me to do what I do and I will be forever grateful for their love and inspiration.