This is the Story of a
H
e came to us as a SEVA GRREAT foster – his name was Danny. The story we heard indicated that Danny’s owner had to deploy with the Army to the Middle East, and he had asked his sister to watch the dog while he was away. Unfortunately, Danny’s size and energy appeared to be too much for the service member’s sister, and she knew she had to give him up. She consulted with her brother by mail, and he asked her to make sure he went somewhere where there was no chance Danny would be put down. We don’t know how the sister found our rescue. He came to our house in the winter of 2007, an Irish whiskey colored, two year old Golden Retriever pup, the latest intake of SEVA GRREAT. He was still very much a puppy in his exuberance and mannerisms, especially his attention span. He loved being with us and our Honorary Golden, Farley, an all-black Flat Coat Retriever who had been a big foster brother to many Goldens by this point. On occasion, Farley got a bit annoyed with the big red dog’s somewhat hyperactive escapades, but both of them frequently engaged in great 8
games of chase, wrestling, and tug-of-war. The new foster dog took every opportunity to get attention and show affection to our whole family. That was the first thirty-six hours of fostering. This energetic, joyful, playful, copper-red Golden Retriever managed, inside of a dayand-a-half, to absolutely charm Karin and I into knowing he was OUR dog now. He was our 27th foster dog with GRREAT, and our #2 foster failure. We immediately told the leadership at GRREAT about our decision. This 95 pound force of nature belonged to us now! There was one problem: my son Daniel, at that time about six years old. Karin and I realized we could not have a Daniel and a Danny in the same house. (By coincidence, about eight months ago my son told us he would rather be called Danny than Daniel.) It took a few days to figure out the new name for the new dog, eventually naming him after a small town in Idaho where my Dad grew up. Emmett. We called the new guy Emmett. With his high speed entry into our lives,
SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA GOLDEN RETRIEVER RESCUE, EDUCATION & TRAINING, INC.
Emmett came to symbolize so much about the Goldens in GRREAT’s care all over the area. Wasn’t shy about walking up to people, leaning on them and asking for (nicely demanding) their attention. Ready to greet you at the door, usually with a toy. Never once put his nose onto the dinner table (though he could have done so without even lifting his chin), while he made SURE to let you know that he could see everything there with the famous expression, “I see you have food. I ALSO like food.” In the early Emmett years, he frequently attended the Golden Days events we held in area Petsmart locations and other dog events. He didn’t seem to mind wearing the “Adopt Me” vests, even though his humans had to tell EVERYONE who stopped by that Emmett was a stand-in for another, adoptable dog who could not make it. Always the charmer, Emmett usually finished Golden Day Events with plenty of donated cash in his vest, a sign of folks who couldn’t say no to his request. Because of his size and his gentle approach to being with new people, he quickly gained
