Amber

A Tribute to Amber, The Nurturer by Sheila Gurwitz

Amber was adopted on January 17, 2019 from Golden Beginning Golden Retriever Rescue. She was born February 18, 2015. In her first life she was used for breeding, and I believe they surrendered her due to her having seizures which was never disclosed. Well, it turns out that when she was previously spayed, they failed to remove one of her ovaries so she went into heat thus needing to be spayed again. It was less than two weeks later that she joined Barney and me to complete our family. I remember asking my vet and everyone else I met if her boobs—which dragged the ground—would ever be normal.

As a member of Caring Critters, she loved making visits and sneaking in kisses with clients of all ages and abilities as well as other critters. She and her brother, Rusty, also volunteer twice a month at Reach Unlimited which is for adults with disabilities.

She had such a special bond with her second brother, Rusty. He came into our family not knowing anything about life. He too had been used for breeding but lived in a crate prior to being surrendered to GBGRR. He was a foster-to-adopt when I took him through the end of 3 ½ months of pneumonia. It was love at first sight for both of them! She taught him not to be afraid of outdoor walks, the benefits of living as a family member, that car rides lead to fun, and how to become a therapy dog. After he learned to be a “real” dog, he suddenly owned the neighborhood! She would get in his face when he’d do something wrong while on a walk like chase the school bus, delivery trucks, people on motorcycles or bikes, etc.

In mid-August, Amber started to lose her footing in her hind legs, and we found out she was losing muscle mass. In October, she went through lots of testing with my vet and a neurologist at Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists. At this time, we also learned she had gallbladder issues. We had started her on Prednisone which immediately helped her walk again until December 24th when her hind legs no longer worked. Rusty and I loved on her while waiting for our vet to return to work on the 29th. That evening, he came to the house and helped her cross over to the Rainbow Bridge. When she heard his voice, she lifted her head one last time to greet him. He was one of her favorite people in the world.