I’ve written before about one of the mixed blessings of doing rescue work. When you meet hundreds of dogs you’re bound to fall in love with more than a few of them. And then there are the few that for some reason your heart just aches with the desire  to take them home forever. Chief is one of those dogs for me. I’ve never been foolish enough to make an ordered list of the dogs I’ve loved the most at HB. But I can tell that Chief would be near the top if I made such an effort.

Ogee has told Chief’s story better than I ever could in a post on her Garden for Goldens blog. Enjoy her words of wisdom first as you scroll down to Chief’s story.

The truth is that everyone loves Chief. He is one of the most popular dogs ever. As Ogee described, Chief was reluctant to trust at first. He especially avoided men. I couldn’t go near his kennel door without a raucous warning so at first someone else had to get him outside for me. Even then he wouldn’t come near me in a yard. Someone else had to leash him up so we could go for a walk. Walk we did, and I ignored him and he returned the favor. Then a magical thing happened on our fourth meeting. I was talking to someone in the office and suddenly realized that Chief was leaning against my leg. Victory! The rest was just patiently tying up all the loose ends of our relationship. Now he gives me lots of kisses whenever he sees me.

Humans aren’t the only ones attracted to Chief. Brandee was smitten from the get go and likes to follow Chief around the yard. Chief mostly ignores her but right before this shot he had picked up the ball and looked back to show it to Brandee. then he walked away with Brandee right behind him.

Chief met a man this past weekend that he liked a lot. And the man liked him. The only remaining question is whether the man’s dog will like Chief okay. We’ll find that out on Thursday this week. If the meeting goes well, Chief will go home. Another bittersweet moment with a heart breaking but also full of joy that such a wonderful dog has found his forever home.