We have ............

a new addition to our household :). I have been wanting a second Golden Retriever for a while now and, with the help of a fellow CDer, found a wonderful, responsible breeder who is expecting a litter in a few weeks time and  put our name down on her waiting list to be considered as prospective owners. I hadn't mentioned this to my daughter who lives at home still while attending a local university, as I didn't want to get her hopes up, just in case.

Some of you may know that my OH has teminal cancer and has been on a chemo trial drug for the past year. He does 28 days on chemo and then 14 days off, 28 on 14 off  and so on. It is quite a punishing regime and life has not been too easy for him for quite a while now. At the beginning of June we were told that the chemo has slowed down the growth of the secondary  tumours in his lungs - which was great news - but a week later he lost vision in his right eye and suffered balance problems and was then diagnosed with a brain tumour. My youngest daughter has coped so well with all his health problems up until now but this latest news has knocked her for six and she has found it very hard to deal with :(.

A couple of weeks ago she called in to the DogsTrust as she was passing and fell in love with a 5 month old terrier cross puppy. She went back again and he was still there and she persuaded me to go and see him and I have to say, although I like large dogs, this little chap was rather special but - if we had him - then I wouldn't be able to have my GR pup as well - and I so wanted one. I thought long and hard about it and decided that I wouldn't tell her about my plans for my pup but would agree to her having the terrier puppy as he would give her something to focus on and take her mind of her dad. My plans for another Golden Retriever will have to go on hold for a couple of years now but this little lad has wormed his way into my heart and has made such a huge difference to my daughter.

So I would like to introduce Cooper - Harley's new playmate. They get on brilliantly together and his arrival has put a smile back on my daughter's face. My GR plans have been postponed for a while but in 2 years time I will hopefully be posting about my new GR puppy. There are a couple of photos in my link of him if I am allowed to say that .

That's lovely news, Harley, I think you have been very generous giving up your own plans in deference to your daughter but something tells me you will have no regrets about that, he looks a real charmer in the photos.:) 
I hope he brings you all the happiness your family so mightily deserve. 

Thank you Isabel

I think sometimes that things are just meant to be :) I wouldn't normally have chosen to have a small, short haired dog whose bum is on permanent view and would never have considered this type of dog but there is just something about him that surpasses all that negative criteria :D

My biggest worry was the size difference - Harley weighs 33kg and Cooper is just over 5kg and can walk under Harley's stomach with room to spare :D But Harley - who is normally like a bull in a china shop - is amazing with him. If I play tuggy with H he is more than capable of pulling me off the sofa but when he plays tuggy with Cooper he tempers his strength to match the wee lad's and Cooper is usually allowed to win :D

The big problem now will be when Nikki leaves home and wants to take her dog with her Perhaps I'll have to build an annexe on :D

Hi Harley,

Your post bought tears to my eyes, how wonderful you are!!

The photos are lovely, they look like great friends already.

Best wishes to you and your family
Lozi

What a brilliant Mum you are Harley.

Cooper looks lovely, enjoy him. :)

Harley, you are a ray of sunshine and so positive in your outlook. You post bought me to tears. I wish you and your family all of my hope and best wishes. Enjoy your new addition Copper and all the fun that will go with him.
Rachael xx

What a gorgeous little man, and he and Harley look like such good friends already I'm sure it was the right decision.. and I'm sure in a couple of years Cooper would love to have another golden to play with :)

He looks wonderful!   I firmly believe that what comes around, goes around, and I am certain that the really, really right retriever will be there for you - just when you need him, in a couple of years time.   In the meantime, I'm sure that Cooper will give you all loads of delight and will build lots of memories for you all.

Hugs

Margot x

a mother's love eh? :) Harley is looking like a typical 'uncle golden' boy and little Cooper has landed on his feet. I'm sure that breeder will let you come back in a couple years to follow your golden dreams. :-D Until then Cooper is a real cutie and I'm glad he's settled in so well and brought some joy back into your daughter's heart.

He looks like a little cutie!
Its great he's gotten on with your other dog so quickly as well!! :) :)

You did the right thing by your daughter and you should feel very proud of yourself,
Im sure they will breed again in a couple of years so get your name down early for that litter and get pick of the litter this time!
Hope you have loads of fun with your new arrival. x

What a lovely thing to do for your daughter :)

Harley looks chuffed to bits with his new play mate too :)

Lizzie you are a star!!!

Welcome to Cooper who looks a little bundle of fun and lovliness and Harley who is going to be the best big brother for him!

Looks like your plans and mine for that second GR are now on hold :D  These little rescue dogs know how to worm their magic into our hearts don't they  :)

Maria xx

He is so cute :D Cool name as well And by the way 3 dogs aint really that much different than 2!!!! I can just picture him with a GR on each side

A wonderful post - thank you.

We are all so different - Cooper is my kind of dog !. Looks like there is a lot of Border in him - you never know, his coat may grow a bit and his bottom might get a cover !. When my Borders coat is stripped I have a couple of weeks with a view I'm not fond of but it doesn't take long to grow back again !.

Congratulations on Cooper - have fun.

Val

what  GREAT and selfless mum you are

some things are just meant to be - and Cooper being part of your family was obviously one of them :-D
Lovely photos :)
xx

He is gorgeous! Aside from the colour his face is almost exactly the same as my friend's patterdale terrier.

What a wonderful thing to do.:) Can they operate on your husband's brain tumour? I just wanted to mention that a lady in one of the dog training classes I go to had a brain tumour removed in February and she's doing ever so well.

What a post, your gorgeous new boy and the sharing of your news is what I love about CD.
It's the reality of life, the s*** and the sugar.
Harley this is so good for you too, and I reckon you need some where extra for your emotions.
Take good care
Karen :-)

Can they operate on your husband's brain tumour?

Sadly Marianne they can't :( This is the third area of his body that his cancer has spread to - he had a kidney removed in 2000 and since then has had secondary tumours in both lungs and now has the brain tumour. This latest tumour is in the back of his head in the occipital lobe and removal would probably cause even more problems and they think that other tumours are probably present elsewhere in his brain as well. He has had maximum dosage Radio Therapy of his whole head but the tumour is already starting to increase in size again. He is on massive doses of steroids at the moment which they are trying to decrease but not having much success with at the present time. The chemo trial he is on have held the lung tumours at bay for a year now but the molecules in the drug are too large to cross the brain barrier and have any effect there. Surgery for removal of primary brain tumours has a very high success rate and I am really pleased that your friend is doing so well :)

We just try to look on the bright side of things - he is still here 5 years after we were told he only had another 9 months to live, he has seen both children grow up, one of them has married and so we have gained an amazing daughter-in-law as well :). Our daughter was 12 when Steve was first diagnosed with cancer and she is now a young lady attending university -something he was never able to do - and he is very proud of both children's achievements and he has been able to share so much more of their lives than we originally thought he would be able to  - he thought he would never live to see them grow up at all.

We have also had the opportunity to say all those things that many couples, however much they might think them, never have the chance to say because one or other of them is taken suddenly and without warning. So every cloud has a silver lining as they say and, although sad that our life plans are not going to be as we had hoped  we are greatful that we have been given chances that others aren't so lucky to get :) Life is a seesaw of ups and downs so we just make the most of the up times and get through the downs as best we can :)

Harley you are both wonderful. :) I really, really admire your positive outlook and how you're coping with what you're going through and can only hope that should I ever find myself in the same situation, we'd be able to do the same.

What an inspirational and humbling post, Harley :).
Best wishes to you all
xx

Just to add (too late to edit my post), I'm sorry if my remark about operating on the brain tumour seemed inappropriate what with your husband's other problems -I simply meant it as an encouragement. My friend did not have cancer elsewhere.

No problem at all Marianne :) :)

Welcome to Cooper.

And harley, you are an inspiration to all humans.  You sound so positive and I wish you all the best for your family who seem to be so strong.  One day you will get your little Golden puppy (maybe even a house full of them one day!)

Welcome Cooper :-)  That was a lovely thing to do Harley.  :-)

Looks like they are getting on like a house on fire already.

So sorry to hear about the further complications with your OH.. keeping him in my thoughts.

Cooper looks like a real little character - I love the name too :) It was so selfless of you to let your daughter have Cooper, I hope that your perfect GR pup comes along for you sometime too.

Sorry to hear what you and family have been going through. I can't begin to imagine how tough it must be for you all.

Claire

Ahh bless, when I was younger I sort of went through the same thing although it was my brother that was very ill and in my parents words I went for pillar to post, as my brother was in Liverpool and the hospital weren't keen on other children visiting in case they had severe colds etc.  My brother and my parents had RC's and I'd always wanted a Yorkie.  Mum went out and got me a Pomeranian and we were best friends for 9 years, unfortunately I got Suzie in the September and my brother passed away in the January.  She definitely did make those few months easier for me!

The dogs look as though they are really getting on well together.