Our family adopted Boone from Ragom in November of 1999. His name at that time was Penn and he came from a puppy mill in Iowa. I am heartbroken this morning after helping Boone across the Rainbow Bridge. Boone was a member of our family these past 12 years and our home seems empty today. We always told him he was the best dog ever and those were the words he heard as he passed from this world to the next.

He was always a bit shy, a little nervous, and always a gentleman who deferred to the two female dogs, Allie and Sami, that he lived his life with. He never was a hunter-he was fearful and gun shy from the very first-but he was a gentle dog who found his calling as a pet therapy dog. He brought smiles to the faces of so many hospital patients. He brought tears to the eyes of patients missing or remembering their own golden retrievers. He was patient and gentle with kids at the library when he participated in the “Reading to Rover” program. He was the best running partner I will ever have-a dog that I could always trust to run off leash just a bit ahead of me, then turn around to check on my progress.

Boone’s story was one featured in the book "My Rescued Golden-True Stories of Rescued Golden Retrievers and the People Who Love Them" by Marjorie McHann (2002 Writers Club Press.) Boone is at his final resting place today-at the cottage where he loved to swim, jump from the dock, and roll his wet body in the sand.

Thank you to Ragom for bringing this gentle soul into our lives. We feel privileged and honored that we had the chance to know and love him.