The little blond Golden Retriever came into my life on September 5, 1995.  I spotted an ad for a litter of Golden Retriever pups in the Baltimore Sun and thought it was the perfect present for Sam for his birthday.  When I went to meet with the breeder, she brought out the last male of the litter, a little 9 week old ball of fur that looked exactly like one of the Dirt Devil puppies.  He gave me a little sheepish look with those expressive eyes, and in an instant, I knew he was the one.  Being huge Rolling Stones fans, we decided to name him after Mick - "Jagger" would be his name.



Jagger grew quickly, and in no time he became an expert lacrosse goalie. He would lay in Sam's lacrosse goal and retrieve balls for hours in our back yard.  He was in his glory chasing those lacrosse balls, and a real natural catching them in his mouth.  He would also spend hours with his "cousin" Shelby, my sister Kristen's black Lab, who was the same age as Jagger.



We expanded the family in December 1998 with the addition of Marley, a female Golden.  She immediately took to her big brother and he to her. He was very sweet and extremely patient with her.  Anyone who knows her knows she is a handful but Jagger was always a complete gentleman.  They would play for hours, but whenever she got too rough, he gently showed her who was top dog.  

 

Jagger was also one very well traveled dog.  He went everywhere with me, from Ocean City to Deep Creek Lake to even New York City.  He was always welcome everywhere we went and seemed to thrive traveling.  He loved being outside, especially in the snow up at Deep Creek.  



In the fall of 2007, I started noticing Jagger had lost some weight and was not as energetic as he used to be.  At 12 plus, I knew he had begun to "slow down" but I also did not know that he had started to suffer from the beginning stages of renal failure.  We were able to take one last trip to Deep Creek for Thanksgiving, and although the trip was very difficult for him, he seemed at peace up at the Lake surrounded by his family.  



On Monday, November 26th, the vet confirmed my worst fears that Jagger's kidney had started to fail and it would only be a matter of time.  I then made the very difficult decision to end my boy's suffering and put him at peace. As I held him in my arms, I cried and said goodbye to my baby boy as the vet gently put him to sleep.  I sat there, his head in my lap for a good hour or two, knowing it would be the last time I held my little boy.  As his pain has ended, mine has just begun.  



I know he is now in a better place, no longer suffering, and probably chasing lacrosse balls endlessly.  I was lucky to have such a wonderful dog in my life for twelve years and there will never be another dog like him.