Joy is a golden named Joanna!
Changed from Merida to Joanna by her adoring parents on the magical day they adopted her, she repaid the favor by changing their world for the better and filling a hole in their lives in ways they could never have imagined. Describing themselves as being loving, adventurous and goofy, Joanna fit in perfectly, making them a picture-perfect pack family. And despite their set routine, at the center of it was, and still is, love: the love Joanna gives them and the love they give her in return.
Always eager for the next great adventure, Joanna LOVES nothing more than going on road trips with her parents. An excellent passenger in the car, she’s accompanied them on trips short and long, including one cross-country trip, one trip to White Sands National Park, and joined them on numerous hikes in Arizona and New Mexico.
As for the goofy part? According to her mom, since Joanna is a golden retriever, the list is long. But the silliest thing the family does together is chasing one another around the island in their kitchen at home. They have done this since she was a puppy, and they still do it to this day.
On Joanna’s own list: She loves her toy sloth more than any other toy, napping, and going to doggy daycare to play with her many human and canine friends.
Trained in all the basic commands and very obedient, Joanna and her parents are still working to reduce her fear of storms and low noises, while her proud mom considers how well socialized, she is to be her greatest accomplishment. She and her husband think back to the day they first met her and celebrate how much she has grown and all she has experienced and count themselves lucky to have her in their lives.
