This woman literally has a 'retirement village' for Goldens and this household loves these senior dogs with all their heart. Sommerville Harris Culbertson in Tennessee opened her home to foster Golden Retrievers.
Some of the dogs are on death's door and suffered years of neglect. Harris Culbertson is teaching her family compassion and makes sure the dog's 'golden years' are spent napping and eating treats.
"If more people gave it a shot, they'd enjoy during it too."
Harris Culbertson tells us WBIR News that since 2001, she has fostered 40 dogs through Adopt-A-Golden Knoxville.
"I've always really had a soft spot in my heart for seniors," Harris Culbertson said. "I started taking on more and more seniors to foster. Jokingly, people started saying that I had a dog nursing home. That turned into 'retirement village.'"
Even though the time she spends with them is often brief, she said it's immeasurably rewarding.
Enjoy this news story with Harris Culbertson.
It's important for her to teach important life lessons to her daughter. WBIR also reports that her daughter is learning about compassion for animals.
"She's learned that there are dogs and humans out there who don't have families, and we can help that," Harris Culbertson said. "Even if the time is limited in our human time frame, a year of living inside and being part of a family, for a dog, that's 10% of their life."
These are wonderful lessons for any child and I'm sure she'll grow up doing something wonderful for animals that need help.
Have you ever lived with a Golden Retriever? Please leave us a comment below!
This post was originally published on August 26, 2019.
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