This last May, we worked with Retriever Rescue of Colorado (RROC) to find a wonderful family dog (and potential therapy dog). Darla (we’ve renamed her Daisy), came to us severely malnourished, had just weened puppies, had recently been spayed and treated for worms and fleas. Her poor little body was pretty sad. Her face and eyes though were the sweetest and we couldn’t resist adopting her once we’d met her.

I’ve always been a dog lover—we got my first family dog, Chessie—a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Husky mix, when I was three. I told Chessie all my secrets as a little girl, she followed me around our five acres exploring with me, and I used her as a pillow on the floor as I watched TV. She was a huge black intimidating looking dog, but a big sweetie. Since Chessie, I have had two other sweet mix breads, Roxy (a border collie mix) and Cheyenne (lab mix?) and have loved how they have added to my life.

Back to sweet, lazy, crazy, Daisy. She has recovered well and is learning a lot (she didn’t even know her name or basic commands when we got her). She has ventured out on a few walks as a therapy dog but will need some practice and maturing. I’m hoping to train her and be trained in animal assisted therapy. So, stay tuned, she may be making office visits before too long.