Well, ladies and gentleman, it only felt proper to kick off my very first blog post with the one and only Martin Marshiano-Pioli.
(Just a side note, this will be much longer than most future posts, because he's my dog-sibling. You understand.)
I could talk about this little goober in novel-sized depth, but for the sake of time I'm going to focus today on the story of how he came into our lives.
Martin, a pumpkin colored purebred Golden, came barreling into our hearts in June of 2009. It was a little over two years after our first dog, a Siberian Husky named Samantha, passed away in mid-2007. My family was absolutely crushed, particularly my dad. While no dog could EVER replace Samantha, me, my mom and my sister wanted to get another dog to help ease the pain we were feeling. But it was very obvious my father was definitely not ready, so we let it go for the time being.
One day a few months later, my dad was reading the paper and saw a local news article about a place called Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights, New York. The facility bred purebred Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers to train for the visually impaired. The article praised their amazing work, and stated that dogs who got cut from their strict two year training program could be adopted by the public.
The waiting list for a dog was around two years, and my dad figured by that time he would be emotionally ready to give canine companionship another go. So we added our name to the list, and then we went on with our lives.
Fast forward about two years to May of 2009, I was finishing up my Sophomore year at Marist College. One day while I was at my desk deleting e-mails when I saw a message from Guiding Eyes. It stated we were just 1 spot away on the list to adopt a Golden Retriever, and they wanted to make sure we were still interested. I had completely forgotten we signed up! I then jumped out of my chair, grabbed my phone, and frantically called my dad. I was a little worried he may still not be ready for another dog, but thankfully he shared my full excitement.
On June 23rd, 2009, I went with my family to pick him up. I'll never forget that day: they walked us into a small office, and we sat impatiently for what felt like eons for them to bring him in.
Marty was not a puppy when we picked him up. He was most likely between one to two years old and full grown—but he ACTED like a puppy. He came thumping into the room like a bull in a China shop, not sure who to maul with kisses first. His tail sailed back and forth like an unstoppable wrecking ball, and he left tufts of beautiful golden dander all over our clothes.
After 5 minutes of hugs and, "hello's", they explained why Martin was leaving the program. Besides some occasional carsickness, the main reason was that recently at a dog park, he bit a Poodle in the face who had stolen his toy. He was with his wonderful trainer/temporary caretaker, Jamie who believed this to be an isolated incident. Martin had never really showed aggression before (or after, for that matter), but because these dogs are given to visually impaired people, it is incredibly obvious why this could be a problem.
So we signed the papers and took him home, and the rest is history. Martin is around 8/9 years old now, but still has the exuberance of a small child who's eaten a Costco sized tub of Pixie Sticks. He filled a huge hole in our hearts that losing our first dog left, and I have to say after having a Golden Retriever, that they are sincerely one of the best breeds. I think besides retrieving tennis balls, Golden Retrievers were put on this planet purely to love their masters.
That may be my favorite thing about dogs—the fact that they show just as much excitement to see you when you return from being gone for either two minutes or two months. I think that's an amazing quality we should learn from dogs; that if you care about people, you should let them know a lot and often.
Full Name: Martin Marshiano-Pioli
Nicknames: Marty, Martypants, Smarty Marty, The Golden Beast, Farty Marty (he can clear a room if he wants to)
Favorite Toy: Whatever toy is in your hands! If you aren't holding one, it's whatever toy my mom bought him most recently. Right now, it's a plush elephant I named Larry.
Fun Fact: He can poop on command! If you tell him, "Get Busy" he will find a spot to do his business!
