We adopted Gilbert (GBR name Kaden #2980) four years ago in April 2018 at age 3. He was from China and while we never knew his background story, we were pretty sure if he could have talked, it would not have been a happy story. In spite of that, he was sweet, loyal, gentle and goofy, everything you expect from a Golden. He also had bad genes. We noticed very quickly that there seemed to be a problem with his hip. Upon examination, we discovered he had hip dysplasia and needed a hip replacement. Dr. John Keifer at VSC did the surgery and we thought all was okay. Unfortunately, Gillie developed an infection and so less than a year after the first surgery, he needed another. The second time worked and we thought his problems were over and he would live a long and healthy life with us. He became our walking companion and an integral part of our family. He loved squeaker toys and was relentless until he could free the squeaker. He especially loved walking on the beach with us when we’d head over to Manzanita. And during the worst of the pandemic, he kept us sane by taking long walks with us every morning around Portland. To our dismay, his bad genes again caught up with him. After an especially nice trip to the beach, we came home and within a couple of days he was at Dove Lewis suffering from an undetected tumor on his heart that had ruptured. Sadly and with heavy hearts, we had to let him go. To the end, he was a true Golden. He gave us his best, even walking to Dove Lewis that last time and wagging his tail and looking at us with those gentle, brown eyes. I like to think he understood that he would always be in our hearts.

Posted in Memorials