My Golden Retriever

How I acquired Ben, my first Golden
I have a cottage in a remote mountain where my wife and I and our dog, Cooper, usually visited about every other weekend because I was retired and she was still employed. One day when we arrived this beautiful Golden came to visit. He and my dog bonded immediately. It was really something to see. Every time after that Ben was waiting on the porch. Ben and Cooper usually spent the whole day exploring the forest. As it turned out, the local sheriff had purchased a nearby house and he and his family lived there permanently. Since the man and his wife both worked full time, Ben yearned for companionship.
One day when I drove my son to the airport I took Cooper along with me. I planned to head to our cottage after dropping my son off, when we got there Ben didn't greet us. The next morning there was still no Ben. I was worried so I called the sheriff and was told he had taken Ben to the animal shelter because he was digging in the flower bed. I couldn't believe it! I called the animal shelter and they still had him. I asked them to hold him and I would be right down--it was about 20 miles away. I adopted Ben on the spot after paying some fees and jumping through some hoops. I had to get special permission to adopt Ben because I was not a permanent resident in the county. When I took Ben out to the car, Cooper was so happy. I had two happy dogs. Ben was quite a large Golden and I had trouble getting him in the car. It was certainly worth the trouble.
Cooper, another rescue, is also worth a story. He was a mix of Gordon Setter and something else and Cooper turned out to be the best friend I ever had. At our home I have a picket fence around the back yard that Cooper was able to jump when deer came close. He would jump the fence, chase the deer away and then come back to the gate to be let back in. When I got home and let Ben and Cooper into the back yard, Cooper immediately ran to the back and jumped the fence and waited for Ben. He was expected they could run around our neighborhood. When Ben did not follow, Cooper came back to the gate. He did this three times before he realized Ben could not jump the fence.
Ben was seven years old when I adopted him. He lived with us for another seven years. My wife and I miss those two friends so much. We later adopted another Golden from Golden Rescue.