There are a lot of important things going on this week – and many of them are probably blog-worthy.But today, I want to give a shout out to my friend Goldie Hahn (yes, that’s actually her name) – a very large golden retriever who is part of the Hahn family, friends of ours for many years.

Once a week I go to the Hahn house to teach piano to their two kids. The Hahn’s are the only people I make a house call for – everyone else comes to me at one of two teaching locations. Anyway, last week I found out that Goldie had a large lump on her back, and the vet was very concerned that it might be cancer. The family was also very concerned, as Goldie is a much-loved, spoiled member of the Hahn family. (Note – photo above is NOT Goldie, but a generic internet photo of a golden retriever who very closely resembles Goldie).

I was concerned too – Goldie and I get along very well. Most weeks, Goldie meets me at the door when I come to the house, grabs my hand and walks me to the piano. She sits there by my feet and hangs out for the hour that I’m there, occasionally interrupting me to get me to scratch her ears, or other dog socialization stuff. She’s a great dog, and truthfully, I think I’ve become even more attached to her since the loss of our own dog, Mabel, almost two years ago.

Well, a few days ago we found out that Godie’s cyst was benign, and was completely removed by the vet. Good news! When I rang the Hahn doorbell on Tuesday, Goldie started barking,. Since she was a little disoriented by her pain medication, she probably didn’t realize that it was  Tuesday at 4:30. Anyway, when she came to the door and noticed me through the window, she walked away, picked up a rubber flip-flop and brought it back to me. I guess that was her little gift to me.

Actually, Goldie herself is a little gift to her family, to me and to all of her other friends. I’m glad she’ll be around for a lot longer.