My dog Marley came to us this time last year.

 He is a beautiful Golden Retriever with a lovely temperament.

Marley looking like a king.

We were looking to find a dog or a puppy after being nagged by our two children for about a year, having resisted this long now it was time to start looking as our worklife permitted it. We were not actually looking for a Golden Retriever but really whatever we could find that was suitable for us as a family. We scoured the newspapers and the internet for likely candidates and could find none. Then one saturday morning my son ran upstairs and said he had found an 18 month old Golden Retriever for sale, so we went down stairs onto the computer and took a look at the details, they only lived 45 minutes away.

 Marley having a nap and looking totally relaxed. 

We then arranged to go and see him at his home and i have to admit when the kids saw him, there was no way i was going to be able to leave that house without him. Marley was his name and what a beautiful looking dog he was. 

Marley in all his glory.

We asked if he had any medical problems and were his injections up to date, and everything was fine. So now we were dog owners and took Marley home. After about 3 months i got up one morning and found that Marley could not get up out of his bed, very worried we took him to the vets and they said that his leg looked slightly swollen so he gave us some painkillers and told us to come back in a couple of days, meanwhile he said he will any information from the previous owners vet about any pre existing conditions. When we went back he told us that he had an operation on his front leg which was giving him the trouble and also that he has very mild hip displaysia. We were dumbstruck, the vet could not believe that anyone would not say anything about a medical condition that needed ongoing care and maintenance.

Having a great time in the snow with my daughter.

The operation on his leg was a success and is fine but should not over do it. His hip problem we can only hope it does not get to bad, he takes Synoquin tablets every day which is a joint support supplement and has an otherwise healthy active lifestyle. Marley has brought us so much love and enjoyment to our lives that we would not swap him for the world, and we dont really hold a grudge to the people that we got him from because if they had told us of his medical condition then it would have been likely we would not have taken him home with us. 

What a loss that would of been for us.

 We love Marley to bits!