Dan’s happiest memory of the day he and his wife Kara adopted Luke was that, after walking him around the yard on leash awhile, he unleashed him, whereupon Luke began running circles of the yard in joy! Kara remarked, “There’s something really beautiful about a red golden running around in green grass.” It meant even more to Dan because Luke not only reminded him of his own childhood dog, he knew that their two children would have the same happy memories he does.
Luke is particularly passionate about people and absolutely adores his family. He loves following them around the house, keeping tabs on all four of them, sometimes circling the house to check on everyone. Since his mom works from home, he always lies quietly in the room with her while she does. Luke is also especially empathetic. When his family’s excited, he gets excited. When things calm down, so does he. Incredibly intuitive, he knows when someone’s sad, gets a toy and brings it to them to help them feel better.
Always making his parents laugh is that, despite weighing over 60 pounds, Luke thinks he’s a lap dog! His dad spends quiet time in the morning drinking coffee and reading before the rest of the family gets up, and he has to keep Luke busy with a feeding toy. Otherwise, he’ll try to crawl up into his lap, sometimes succeeding.
Because there’s a nearby park, Luke loves hiking along its trails through the woods with his parents. And over the summer, he gained the confidence to get into their pool. While he prefers to wade or lie down on the top step to enjoy the cool water, if his parents stay close, he’ll venture in for a few doggy paddles. As for his favorite game: tug, and he plays to win! “You can be ‘tugging’ with him on a smooth rug or on the tile floor and drag him all over,” says Dan, “but he refuses to let go.”
Luke’s most endearing traits: He captured his family’s hearts the moment they met him, and he won over his older hound sister, Abby, within months. While his feline sister Sophie’s still not a fan, he’s very patient and tries to get a little closer to her each day. Luke has lots of fluff around his ears, and sometimes resembles the iconic photo of Albert Einstein with his tongue sticking out! He’s also a quick learner and his parents can “see” his brain working when they train him, however small or large the lesson.
