The first time I saw Kipper’s face was on the GRRIN website, and I instantly fell in love. We had just lost our original golden, Jake. We had two other goldens, and we were all missing Jake very much. I didn’t know much about GRRIN, but I was willing to give them a call and see what we needed to do. A meeting was set up for us to meet Kipper at his foster home, and we knew the minute we saw him in person, that he was just what we needed to fill the hole left in our hearts. Kipper joined our family on July 24, 2004. He was welcomed by his new brothers, and it was like he had always been a member of the three musketeers. He was such a sweet boy, and I knew from my experience with per therapy, that Kip was a perfect candidate to become a therapy dog. I was right, by August 3, 2004,(less than 2 weeks), Kipper and I were a registered therapy team. Kipper was not only a sweet boy, he was quite the clown. I don’t think a single day went by that he didn’t make me laugh. He loved to play, and every time we would come in from outside, he would hoot and howl at me. When I was going through my cancer in 2008, Kipper was right there for me showing me what a great therapy dog he was. In the last year, as I have been trying to get myself back into shape, Kipper was my partner on the walking trail, and we even participated in the first annual Bark for Life this year. One of Kipper’s favorite things to do, was to lay his head on my leg whenever I was sitting down. Unfortunately, our partnership was cut short. On August 30, after playing with his newest brother Einstein (also from GRRIN), as Kipper was headed for the door to go outside, he had stroke and was gone instantly. It only lasted about 5 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity, he was only 7 1/2 years old. I want to thank GRRIN for allowing us to give Kipper his forever home, I wished our forever had lasted longer. I’m not sure who rescued who, but I do know that he will be missed very deeply. I will miss his silly personality that always made me laugh. The house is so quiet with out his hooting and howling. And as I sit here typing, I miss the weight of his head on my leg. I will miss his footsteps beside mine on the trail. It does help to know that he went quickly, and didn’t suffer. He was one of a kind, and he will be in our hearts forever. WE LOVE YOU KIP! Gene and Bill
