In Loving Memory of Cali .. 11/11/04 - 7/5/15

From Cali's family:

Cali went to Heaven on July 5, 2015, after putting up a valiant effort on her part. We still have no idea what the true cause of her death was, for she underwent two surgeries in her neck due to swelling and had several tests done to rule out cancer. The third time her neck had swelling, which made it difficult for her to breath, I knew she was better off moving to Rainbow Bridge.

We originally decided to adopt a rescue after losing our golden, Cami after 15 years. We waited for 6 months before we decided to look for another golden. Our vet's office manager referred us to RFSC. After continually looking at the Retrievers & Friends website, I finally spotted Cali and knew she was the one for our family.

When my husband and I went to pick up Cali from RFSC there was a golden, about 2 years old running around the yard. My husband, who had not see any pictures asked if this was our golden and i informed him that ours was a 7 year old female. When Liz showed us Cali, I could see concern in my husband's eyes. She was very overweight, had a mangy looking coat and struggled to get up.

Retrievers and Friends only had her for a week and Liz told us she was on thyroid medicine that would help with the weight issue and her coat. I looked at my husband and told him that it was a decision we both had to agree on, but I knew that with the medicine, nutritious food, and TLC she would be healthy again. RFSC wants these adopted to have a forever home, so they gave us all Cali's medical and personality details so that we could make an informed decision. Needless to say we adopted Cali on Nov 19, 2011.

It didn't take Cali long before she felt at home. And Ernie, our male golden, took to her immediately. He started playing tug-of-war with Cali every day. He knew just how much tugging she could handle and each week she grew stronger and each week Ernie would pull harder. She finally got strong enough to give Ernie a run for his money. When we first weighed Cali, she was at 135 pounds! With the medicine, healthy food and exercise, she ended up at 105 pounds and she had a full coat of beautiful blonde fur.

Cali was the sweetest girl. She loved playing tug-of-war with Ernie and going to our shop on the weekends where she could go around the property and investigate. She was the best ball player because she tossed the ball back to you. And I miss her howling, yes I said howling like a hound dog. She would howl to you as long as you howled to her. I definitely miss that. Although we only had a little over 3 1/2 years with her, she will be forever in our hearts .

I would encourage anyone looking for a new family member to consider a rescue. And although the older dogs may not have a lot of years left to live, they still have a lot of love to give. Thank you Nancy, Liz and everyone at Retrievers & Friends for allowing us to have such a special girl in our family.