Ralphie and his father, Clancy, a Russian champion, came into my life in May of 2020. Clancy died in December and sadly Ralphie has now died suddenly.
Ralphie was kind, even tempered, loving and gentle and so handsome. All he ever wanted to do was “hang out” with his family, chase lizards and dig holes looking for gophers. He wasn’t too eager to play; he would chase a ball a short distance and promptly drop it. He wasn’t much for taking neighborhood walks but with a treat after he walked out the door he would take a short walk without incident. He was always so eager for meal times. He would nudge me awake around 5am ready to go. Always running to the kitchen and gobbling his food, make a quick trip outside and then back in the house for his after breakfast nap. Afternoons often meant a nice bowl of ice cubes to chomp and then soon it was time for his gobbled dinner with tomatoes and broccoli. And then it was an evening procession of in and out, in and out, broken up by vigorous toy chewing and then a bedtime snack of Frosty Paws or watermelon. I don’t believe he ever completely recovered from Clancy’s death as the two had been together since Ralphie’s birth. But he bonded with me as an only dog, seldom leaving my side. All of us, including his extended family miss him so much. He has left a huge hole in our hearts but we are so grateful he passed suddenly and painlessly.
Thank you so much to SoCal Golden Retriever Rescue for allowing both Ralphie and Clancy to enrich my life.
Linda Blackwell