Worrall's Lucky Penny

Born August 5, 2015, I got Penny a couple weeks after moving back to South Dakota.  Got her from a Craigslist ad and raised a puppy while living in a second floor apartment.  I grew up with animals but this was my first pet as an adult.  I was 25 years old and freshly out of public accounting.  She was the best decision I’ve ever made.

I knew when I got my first dog that I wanted a well behaved pet.  So I asked a friend of mine for a referral to a training class and signed up.  Now I made all the newbie mistakes training a golden but I could never regret it.  Because this dog could pull a smile from anyone with how happy she was to meet any new person.  We went through all the pet training classes and I wasn’t ready to stop.  Penny had a lot of energy and thrived when challenged.  So we signed up for intro to agility classes at the kennel club.  She loved it but we would never compete because I couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t blow me off to go say hello to someone.  It was because of her that I started diving into relationship based training and the importance of engagement with your dog.

On Penny’s 1st birthday, I closed on my house.  I told her that was the best gift she was ever gonna get lol.  After I had a house, I fostered puppies occasionally for a local rescue.  Penny adored having them to play with and was so great about making them adjust to their new surroundings.  That experience helped me realize I was ready for my second dog.

Nine months after moving into my house, I brought Fisher home.  If there’s another being that loved her as much as me, it was Fisher.  Penny helped me raise Fisher and I loved seeing her have someone to play with.  It was around then that I got involved in scent work as a way to tire out the dogs during the winter.  She earned a couple novice scent work titles.   She helped me raise countless puppies and while I never competed with her seriously, she loved training.

I saw this question posed on social media a while back and I think it sums up why my relationship with Penny was different.  Do you view your relationship with your dog as that of a guardian or that of a friend?  She was my friend.  With the other dogs my role is different.  My relationship with her was always special.  I grew up with Penny, she was my very best friend.  

Because of Penny I dove deeper into the world of Goldens.  Because of her, I got into training.  A lot of the relationships I have now are because of her.  

9 years wasn’t as long as I was hoping to have with her.  But I also think she knew that I was in a point in my life where I could handle her loss.  She saw me through a lot of hard stuff.  Saw how hard I worked to make sure those things didn’t turn me into a person I wouldn’t like.  It’s because of the work that I put in, the relationships I’ve cultivated, and the unconditional love she showed me that I was able to make the hardest decision of my life yesterday.  Because I’d do anything for her.  

She let me know it was time to let her go.  That she was ready and I would be okay.  On Nov 1st, I randomly decided to let her have a retrieve.  She frequently honored for the other dogs when I trained alone because I didn’t want to lock her up.  But that day, I made Icy honor for her on the last one.  Nov 2, started the beginning of the end.  She bounced back for a couple days and got another walk in on Nov 5th.  Nov 6th is when she got sick, and Nov 10th is when I said goodbye.  

Before I would have tried to handle this loss on my own.  Now, I’ve let people help me and I know it’s made all the difference.  So to everyone that listened and checked in when she was sick and after she was gone - thank you.  To Lindsey for being there when I said goodbye, thank you, I know she loved seeing you.  To my sister and stepmom for coming and hanging out with me on Sunday - thank you.  To the vets and vet techs that cared for her and remembered her even though they see lots of patients everyday, thanks for all you do and making her goodbye as peaceful as possible.  And for everyone that has reached out since, telling me what a bright light she was, thank you.

I would choose you 100 times over, Penny.  And I’ll happily endure a lifetime of missing you, for the greatest privilege of my life thus far - loving you.