I guess I need to change my blog name.
In November 2024, Tyler and I added a dog to our family. An English Cream Golden Retriever named Gryffin.
Yes, we are millennials. Yes, he’s named after Gryffindor from Harry Potter- also yes he has the Gryffindor harness and all the Harry Potter Bark toys. It does make me gleeful when he plays with his Dobby toy or Remberall. Learn to embrace your cringy, embarrassing self, life’s so much more fun.
I always thought dogs were too much work, and never got the “dog thing”. I never had one growing up because my parents worked so much and they didn’t feel it was right to keep a dog in a crate all day. Cats were easy. They need food, water, a litter box and love when they deem you as important.
I was terrified of the work and dedication it came to getting a dog. The training, the cleaning, that you can’t just leave them alone because they need to go outside. Dogs don’t give you the freedom of being gone all day. It has been a lifestyle adjustment. If we want to be gone we need a dog-sitter.
We did our research on the breed, we knew what we were getting into. We’d planned on getting a Golden before our wedding. Spent years while dating fighting over a breed until we actually saw an English Cream while we were out.
Gryffin picked us. He kept coming over to us. When we went to pick out our puppy, we had first choice. That was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, as we were put into a pen with 6 puppies. Planning my wedding was easier.
We kept reaching out to all the puppies. Some were still asleep, and some would come up to us and want to play. While I was holding one in my lap, Tyler reached out to Gryffin and he rested his head right into his hand. At that moment, Tyler put him into my lap and I fell in love.
We took him along with a few of his brothers outside, and while the other puppies played, Gryffin kept coming over and sitting in front of us. It was at that moment that we knew that he chose us.
He rode in my lap the whole ride home. With his Snuggle puppy that he still carries around to this day that I got his brothers and sisters scent on. It’s hard to believe now because he’s half my weight and he’s just under nine months.
We’re in the bittersweet spot where he’s losing his puppy features but he’s turning into a beautiful and great dog. I can’t wait until his full coat or “feathering” comes in.
I took a few days off work when we first got him so that I could get him used to us and the cats. He was house trained within a week. We crate trained. He started sleeping through the nights relatively quickly. Albeit, It was very unfortunate when he had tummy issues the second week when Tyler had his wisdom teeth removed and was out of commission. I was up every hour on the dot with a 9 week old puppy outside in the freezing pouring rain.
He knows to wait for the ok to eat or go outside. My husband is the genius at dog training. Gryffin knows a lot of tricks. He generally is on a loose leash. He looks regal and goofy at the same time.
I finally understood the dog thing a week into getting him. He was cuddling next to me on the couch and looked up with me with those brown golden retriever eyes-they’re the worst. Pure love and admiration.
“Anyone needing a self-esteem boost should adopt a Golden Retriever, I thought. Then, for a healthy dose of humility, a cat.” – Lori Roberts Herbst
I realized quickly I had a rapidly growing puppy who thinks he’s a lap dog and wants to be with me ALL the time. He’s basically a 55lb toddler now. He runs like a cheetah and will do it for hours. I can’t take him running with me yet because he’s a large breed and his joints are still growing. He has no grace. He will run straight into a wall. He’s finally getting the concept of fetch. The cheese and ice tax is paid often.
He goes almost everywhere with us. Dog friendly stores, restaurants, etc. I vacuum “golden glitter” aka dog fur out of my house and my car basically two to three times a week.
We walk 3-4 miles a day, he wears crocs now because I don’t want his toe pads to burn. We get stopped for pictures. He’s always smiling.
He lifts my spirits and lightens my heart. He knows when I’m upset or sick. For every tear shed, his loyalty is there to lick it away.
The velociraptor teeth phase was rough. He recently decided he’s terrified by the trash can so he won’t go in the kitchen. The amount of energy this dog has is extraordinary. While he’s mostly great with walks, he is a large dog (and still growing) if he does see a squirrel and gets the desire to chase he’s dragging me. Yes, he’s chewed shoes. And my cardigan. That one hurt. It was cute and so lightweight but warm. However, he’s still a puppy.
We still go into timeout and we know what the words mean and will sometimes try to run away when they are spoken. Also, my the dark brown puppy eyes!
He’s become a begger and my husband has made it worse by teaching him the command to beg where he sits up on his back paws. He mainly performs this trick for plain spaghetti noodles.
I ended up buying a second snuggle puppy because he can’t sleep without snuggles and when he was teething he bled all over Original Snuggles and no sleep was had in our house that night.
The way he wants to make us happy is just incredible.
To a golden retriever, every new person is a friend. Every walk is an adventure, every moment is a reason to be happy. He makes me enjoy my life more. He simply goes along looking for joy in every situation. He finds happiness in the tiniest things. Getting a blueberry, chasing snowflakes (we can’t get him out of the snow), finding a stick, his lamb chop toy, a tennis ball, tummy pats, a pup cup. He has no worries.
The lesson he’s taught me is love is shown, not spoken.
In case you were wondering, he loves the cats. They tolerate him. They love to get him to chase them then go in the room blocked off by a baby gate where he can’t get to them. Oreo and Marvel are beginning to play with him. My cats are still my babies too. They still get as much love and attention as they used too. They’re all spoiled.
When the world around me is going crazy, and I am losing faith in humanity, I just have to take one look at my Golden Retriever and know that God still exists.
“Once someone has had good fortune to share a true love affair with a Golden Retriever, one’s life and one’s outlook is never quite the same.” – Betty White
Your resident cat lady is now a dog mama and I couldn’t be happier. I’m just a little bit upset he’s blonder than me.
Home is where the golden is.
Until next time, cheers🥂🍾
@gryffin_the_cream_retriever
Coffee, Cats, & Champagne 
Pleased to see that you have returned to your blog narratives. Love, grandpa jim
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