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This weekend was the fifth anniversary of Choosing Summer Day. The shy golden retriever who inhabits my home and this blog (and co-stars in Dejah & Summer in the Time of Magic) was born July 20, 2021, picked out of the litter on Aug. 29, and taken home to stay on Sept. 11.
The 45 minutes I spent on the floor with 10 five-week-old golden retriever puppies remains one of the highlights of my life. Everyone should have an experience like that one; it would eliminate almost all of the unhappiness in the world.
We had picked the name “Summer” during the two-hour drive to the breeders’ home, where we met Windsor, her magnificent father, and Lady, her sweet mom. Lady had delivered eight female pups and two males, and we had signed up for a girl. All I had to do was dive in and choose. My answer to the question “how do you pick from among eight puppies?” was to get to know them all as best as I could.
I absolutely forget how I decided which puppy was Summer. After 45 minutes she was my pal, somehow. To tell the truth, the puppy who really seemed to want to come home with us was one of the two males, and I had to keep saying, “I’m sorry, buddy, but you can’t,” the poor little guy.
I have no idea which one of the puppies in this photo is the one wearing the yellow collar that I finally chose. Cj and I took a lot of photos that show my delight and more sweet little faces, but this is the one that shows all 10 of them in the midst of the wonderful chaos.
