Pumpkin GH-996
![](https://goldheart.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_1577-rotated-1.jpg)
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![](https://goldheart.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2725-1.jpg)
Pumpkin
Arrived to me September 7, 2016 ~ Departed from me August 22, 1922
I didn’t know it would be our last trip to the park, where you loved to run and roll in the grass. I remember seeing you take your first step on grass. You were six years old, frightened, quivering, and the stench, oh my! I was to be your foster. You came to Goldheart as a retired breeder without records, only the name Rachel, which I changed to Pumpkin. You were “shutdownâ€, according to an evaluator; unsocialized with unpredictable potential. And then there were the ear polyps. I adopted you anyway.
It took months, but nothing could have been more rewarding than to see each change: coat from rough and dull to a soft, shiny red; eyes from fearful to loving. Your behavior became that of a real Golden when you started running to greet people, tail wagging, rather than running from them, tail tucked.
I miss your companionship and how you followed me everywhere. I miss your big eyes looking into mine, your snout moving my hand away from some task, meaning…â€hey, lets goâ€. And I miss your paw touching my hand to say “scratch my chestâ€. How many months will I expect you to be waiting at the door for me when I arrive home?
You lost your ability to walk, your spine a mess, arthritis everywhere. Although you were a trooper in trying the promising remedies, quality of life deteriorated. Long ago you gave me your trust. I hope I used it wisely in letting you go today. Now you are pain free. You walk, run, roll in the grass at the Rainbow Bridge. When I am with you again, I will scratch your chest just the way you like. Wait for me.
Your Forever Mom, Beverly Clevidence
![IMG_2725 Smiling golden retriever wearing a red bandana, surrounded by pumpkins.](https://goldheart.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG_2725.jpg)
Posted in Memorials