In memory of Danny

Danny is gone and we are shattered. He was the last surviving “Gracie Doodle”— one of 11 pups born to a breeding Golden Retriever that GRRIN volunteers rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri in 2010.  We adopted him about 10 weeks later — on my birthday — and he became the center of our lives.

We didn’t know he was a Doodle when we got him, although his face was suspiciously fuzzy for a Golden Retriever. A genetic test confirmed he was 50% poodle, but it didn’t matter to us. He was Our Boy. Gentle, sweet, goofy, exuberant. He loved everybody and everybody loved him but more than anything, he loved FOOD. All. The. Food. Danny was world class beggar leaving puddles of drool in his wake, but who could resist those eyes?

Danny loved his Daddy, and our family and his GR sister Gracie, but he loved Mama most of all. Where I was, he had to be, every minute of every day. I will miss that big rubbery nose, that fuzzy head, his warm presence at the foot of my bed and those human soulful eyes…

Rest in Peace, my precious boy. We will love you forever. October 2, 2010 – June 10, 2025.