So, what's in a name? For us, a lot! First, there is Golden, as in Golden Retriever, the breed we have come to adore and enjoy sharing with the world through breeding! But then there is Honey, where did the Honey in Golden Honey come from? Actually, it has it's origin in a Belgian Malinois who changed our lives forever...
Honey joined our family the summer of 2004 when we were on our way home from our last family trip for the summer to the mountains. We spotted her on the side of the road emaciated and scared to death. She was a very scary looking dog but we did not see that at the time, all we saw was a starving animal in need of help. My husband approached her carefully and she immediately responded to him with submissive affection. The kids had some Lil' Debbie snacks in the car and before anyone knew what they were doing, one was tossed to her. She devoured it like it was her last meal and that was it! She was coming home with us until we could get it figured out. The next day was straight to the vet. No tags, no tattoo, no microchip. So, a full checkup and battery of shots later, just to make sure, the only thing we knew was that she was young and a mystery. Over the next week, we visited vets all over the area we found her in and put fliers up in markets and stores, etc. But all to no avail, not a single call! Well, we did get one call, from a breeder of Rottweilers! And her reason for calling? She had no idea where this mystery dog came from or who owned her, but she was sure of one thing, that our mystery dog was a Belgian Malinois. We immediately searched google and there we sat looking at a picture that might as well have been our mystery dog! So, our final results? She was young, at least part if not full Belgian Malinois AND, the most important part, she had no home. At least, she didn't until that day on the road...
She was named before she even got in the car good! Honey! Because she was so "sweet" and her fur was the color of honey! One look at her and she looks just like a "Honey", right??? We all laughed and fell in love with the name immediately. And the kids got it right! She was a honey. She bonded with our family immediately and was the most affectionate and protective dog anyone could possibly hope for. We enjoyed her insane fetching skills, psychotic staring abilities, and near knock out blows when she wanted to be petted for 10 years, and we adored and cherished every second of it! We joked that she was training our Golden Retriever, Max to be a Golden Malinois, the way they used to play! She had an intensity about her that conveyed her immense love for her family and she will be remembered and missed forever!
