My Journey from Depression to Joy!
 

     Let me say up front that my friends and colleagues at work think that I am just a little bit crazy! After you read my story, perhaps you'll agree. But either way, crazy or sane, my goldens have brought me happiness beyond my wildest dreams.
     My son, David, is grown and has moved to his own place. When my husband Bill retired, I knew that the time was right to get a dog. We had talked about our ideal dog, and we both agreed that the golden retriever was the perfect dog. All the articles I read about goldens said that they were "people dogs" and that they did not like to be left alone. Bill retired in October of 2000 and all that winter I kept looking in the classified ads and getting on the internet to search for a dog.
     The following June I was visiting a site on the internet called White Dove Golden Retrievers. For the next month I kept returning to that page and studying the puppies and dogs. I decided to e-mail the owner, Lena Sorensen, to ask about the dogs. The next thing I knew I had purchased a plane ticket to go from Kentucky to California to see the dogs in person. I really wanted to make sure the dog wanted me as much as I wanted him. My husband was wonderful!  He just laughed and said, "Doesn't Kentucky have Golden Retrievers?"
     I couldn't believe I was on my way out to California. I sat on the airplane and began thinking about dog names. I wanted my dog's name to be special, because I knew he would be a special dog to me.
     The truth is I had already fallen in love with my puppy. I saw the puppies on the internet and knew he was the one. I felt like an expectant Mother getting ready to give birth. One minute I was so excited I didn't know what to do. The next minute I was having second thoughts.
     The next day I rented a car and drove to meet Lena Sorensen and the White Dove Golden Retrievers.I followed her directions to get to the house and as I did my heart kept pounding in my chest. I turned into the long driveway and saw all of the dogs. Not a single dog barked, a fact she was quite proud of. I walked around and petted the dogs and then she asked me in to visit with the puppies. We sat on her kitchen floor and four of the most beautiful puppies walked around me. They played for a little, then they stretched out to take a nap. When I saw my baby, he came up and looked at me as if to say, "Hi! I'm ready!" He was soft and white and a little fur ball! Lena gave ma all the directions I needed to get him off to a good start and her blessings.
     We spent that first night at a hotel on Pismo Beach. The receptionists said that they didn't take dogs, but they took one look at my little baby and said they couldn't turn him away! That first night we went to the beach and walked around. I told him that when he got bigger we would go play in the water. He slept next to me and did not wake up a single time. He was so content!
     This was the first time in a long time that I felt so happy! I had just been through a series of personal events in my life that devastated me including my house burning, losing my job and the loss of both parents. I was diagnosed with major depression and had spent many months trying to get hold of my sanity.
     As we were flying home on the plane, everyone kept making over him. One man said, "This is the puppy you see in the dog commercials." He sat in my arms when the stewardess wasn't looking and gave me puppy kisses. I kept studying my dog and thinking about what to call him. We had a wonderful journey flying back to Kentucky together. My husband and son met me at our house and when the puppy got out of the car they were both absolutely thrilled and excited with our new family member. My son David said, "Mom, I know what you can name him. Call him Journey, because you went on a journey to get him." It was in that moment that Journey received his name. Journey is more than a golden retriever, and more than a trip to California. Journey is how I overcame my bout with depression and discovered joy in my life.
     Everything about Journey is special. We spent the next year in obedience training, agility classes, playing in the water and my husband playing his favorite game with him called, "Rub a Dog." The next year, we got our second golden retriever. We thought Journey would like to have a playmate. So we contacted Lena Sorensen, and Journey's half sister is now his best friend. We named Journey's sister White Dove Spirit of Peace.
     My Journey led me from the pain of isolation to the joy to unconditional love and companionship.
     My traveling angels leave this message:  May the Spirit guide and protect you in all your Journeys.    



Entry written by Tonya Eubank of Prospect, KY

 


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