We rescued Goofy in 2008 when he was a still teething puppy tied to a parking sign. We believe someone who loved him tied him there, in a prominent spot, so that he would be seen and so he couldn’t run into traffic. We had 6 rescue cats at the time and were building a new home, so a puppy was not exactly in our life plan, but we quickly fell in love with him and his goofy, huge ears (that’s how he got his name!). We immediately did a genetic test on him so we would know exactly what we were dealing with for training purposes. The test came back 1/2 German Shepherd, 1/2 Bull Terrier.
He is brilliant, with a clown like personality, so clearly the best of both breeds. He has been the heart of our home for almost 13 years, warmly welcoming another rescue pup, Daisy, in 2012. Daisy is a terrier mix, half his size, and she runs him like a corporation CEO – he has happily let her take the Alpha position and he does whatever she tells him to. Goofy has been the heart of our home for almost 13 years and he is in the sunset of his life.
He is graying more every day and is almost completely deaf now. He still runs and plays some and is still able to jump onto and off of the couch and into my car, so we know he still has plenty of life in him for now. When the day comes, we will both be with him and we will let him go, grateful for all the love and devotion he has shown us. It may take us awhile to grieve, but we want to get through that fully before we take the step of welcoming his genetic twin. We know it won’t be Goofy, exactly, but his twin’s upbringing will be virtually the same as his has been and we know we will love Goofy II every bit as much as our beloved boy.
We are so happy we saw the story about Viagen on tv and that we reached out to them. The experience with them has been wonderful. The staff has been so responsive and helpful, answering all of our questions honestly and expeditiously. I never thought that we, who have always rescued animals, would be thinking of cloning, but Goofy is incredibly special. We look forward to one day welcoming his twin.