10/06/2026
🐾 SOMETIMES WE RESCUE A DOG… AND SOMEHOW, THEY BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. 💛
This is the story of “Boots”.. But it’s also the story of a friendship that began because one abandoned Golden Retriever needed someone to care.
In June 2018, a stray Golden was found dumped near an office. Someone there offered her food, water, a bath—and then called a friend who just happened to be GRRH’s Rob Lamy.
Rob and his son Harrison came to the rescue.
The frightened, matted girl was given the name Boots, and almost immediately, something special happened…..Boots adored Harrison.
She trusted him enough to fall sound asleep while he carefully clipped the painful mats from her fur in the bathtub. That night, she slept right beside him. For perhaps the first time in a very long while, Boots knew she was safe.
And that could have been the happy ending.
But rescue stories have a funny way of becoming something much bigger.
Next came the adoption process…and Renee and Jan Harden.
From the moment they met Boots, it simply felt right. Boots had found her forever family. But something else happened that day.
A friendship was born. You see the Foster family and the Forever family stayed connected—not for a few weeks or a few months, but for the next eight years!
This past week, Boots passed away from liver failure at the age of 10.
And our hearts are broken. But what a life she lived. ❤️
The dog who was once dumped and abandoned became a treasured family member who was loved, protected, spoiled and cherished every single day.
And the people brought together because of her remained friends long after the adoption papers were signed. That is something we don’t talk about enough in rescue.
Yes-We rescue dogs.
But along the way, these dogs introduce us to people we might never otherwise have known. Fosters meet adopters. Strangers become friends. Lives become intertwined.
And sometimes those friendships last long after the dog who brought everyone together has crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
Boots did that. 💛
And apparently, the Hardens weren’t finished with their GRRH love story either. In December 2024, they opened their hearts and home once again and adopted Bluebonnet (Bonnie) from GRRH.
So today, we grieve Boots.
We remember the abandoned Golden who fell asleep beside Harrison because she finally felt safe.
We celebrate the incredible life Renee and Jan gave her.
And we celebrate something Boots probably never realized she created:
An eight-year friendship between two families whose paths crossed simply because one little Golden Retriever needed rescuing.
Rest peacefully, sweet Boots. 🌈🐾
You were rescued once.
But the love, friendship and family you created will live on for a very long time.
Sometimes rescue saves more than the dog. 💛
