In Memory of Sugar Bear (03-44)
Our hearts are heavy with sadness to share this news. After a short illness, our sweet Sugar Bear 03-44 crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 12.20.12. She had a complicated past, as many GRRIN Goldens do. She was surrendered after her first family had a baby. While visiting a potential family, an alleged incident led some to think she should be destroyed. Her amazing adoption coordinator and fantastic foster family stood up for her and demanded she be given another chance to find the perfect forever family. And so we were hand-picked to meet her. She knew we were hers before we did – normally well-behaved around guests, she climbed on to the couch, and into our laps during our first visit. I’ve always said, we didn’t choose her, she chose us.
From the start, she was a snuggler, crazy for snow, treats, squeaky toys and a good game of fetch. She graduated from several obedience classes, agility class and earned her Canine Good Citizenship. She was a great ambassador for GRRIN, and for Goldens everywhere. When Deuce (Buddy 07-19) joined our family, it didn’t take long for the two of them to become the best of friends. She taught him that people are good, and nobody would hurt him anymore, how to love toys and playing fetch. He taught her how to be a dog and not a dog-shaped human. In 2010, our family grew again, this time with a human baby girl. Apprehensive at first, with the noisy, strange-smelling addition, Sugar would join us for late-night feeding and diapering. She would alert us when the baby was crying and we didn’t have a monitor. She helped Deuce sneak into the nursery and take a nap with the snuggly toys. As our baby grew, so did the friendship between her and Sugar. Their short time together was special and sweet.
Silly Sugar would park under the highchair cleaning up any tiny tidbits of food that managed to reach the floor. They would snuggle, our child would ‘read’ her books and sing songs. When Sugar got sick, our child, though too young to understand, tried to console her by talking sweetly and softly telling her, “it’s ok.” Near the end, when her arthritis was getting the best of her, Sugar loved naps in the sunshine, tummy rubs and a good ear scratch. As sad as we are that she is gone, we are also so very thankful that she spent nearly 10 years (of 12) helping to fill our hearts and lives with so much joy. She will always be our sweet, sweet Golden girl, and will be missed more than words can say. The Venditte family Deann, Tony, Edisyn and Deuce (07-19) 
