To all who love golden retrievers

[Raster]

1. Goldens are absolutely amazing...

...a couple I knew had been scrimping and saving to take their vacation of a lifetime. They asked me to housesit and doggiesit their home and their Golden --BEN-- for almost six months. Because of my new work situation -helping start a new company- it turned out to be one of the most stressful times of my life. My savior and best friend was Ben. When my friends left, the last thing they said was "don't let Ben get up in bed and sleep with you." The very first night in the new place, Ben laid his head on the bed and began "talking" to me. I asked "do you want up here in bed with me"? Literally, in the blink of an eye, about 70 pounds of gorgeous Golden was up in bed cuddling. We slept like that for the next 5-1/2 months. Just about every morning, I would wake up to a paw on my shoulder and those beautiful, bright eyes smiling at me. Ben truly was a life-saver.