(Am CH Striker x Can CH Calypso)
After a year of promising our ten and eight year old that only if they got along for one straight week would we get a puppy I realized that they would be in graduate school by the time our new puppy arrived! Having grown up with a Golden Retriever, I knew that they are without a doubt the best family dogs ever and the only breed I would ever want for our family! Finding Mary and Goldiva Goldens was a funny story! A family on my son’s hockey team last fall had just gotten a Golden puppy and it was the perfect time to begin the conversation with my wife about it being time for a puppy of our own. Well, the breeder of my son’s teammate’s puppy had no little boy puppies and we had wanted a boy. Not even two days later and disappointed that our “window” may have closed, I was driving out of my driveway onto the street where about 50 yards up the road, I saw the most beautiful Golden Retriever out for a walk with its family. I was intrigued so I pulled to the side of the road, said hello and noted what a beautiful Golden they had and went onto explain that our family had begun looking for a Golden puppy and just on a whim asked them if they had any recommendations for a great breeder – Well, you guessed it! “Goldiva Goldens” and “Mary” were their enthusiastic responses!!! Two days later the deal was done and we had signed up for one of the pups from the Hurricane Sandy litter. We were so excited and Mary just made the process so great! In November, about a month after their birthday, she invited us up to her home to meet the litter. We headed up to Maine so excited to meet the puppies. Mary’s home is just fantastic! Her entire basement of her home is set up for the Goldens! We got to meet all the puppies as well as their mom, Calypso, and their dad, Striker both of whom were just the most beautiful well-tempered Goldens you could imagine.
Mary communicated regularly along the way sending us pictures of all the little ones over the next few weeks which we all loved! Four weeks later and just in time for Christmas, we headed back to Maine to bring home our new little guy. Both of our kids play hockey and they named the little boy “Bauer”. Bauer has absolutely been the light of our family this past year! He’s just the best with such a gentle temperament. I would bring him to every hockey rink we went to where he would meet hundreds and hundreds of kids and adults – all of whom would inevitably say two things: “He’s so cute” and “please tell me where you got him”. I loved telling all the families about Mary and a year later, I can happily report that there are now five members of Bauer’s extended family living in our town.
If your family is looking into Golden Retriever puppies, there is simply no other person to speak to than Mary. She and her family are simply the best and we will forever be grateful to her for our little guy Bauer!