“I lost my last golden, Buddy, about 6 months before I met Mariah,” reports Nadine. Buddy and Nadine had a very close connection that she thought would never be possible again…until she met Mariah. “It was an instant connection and I could not stop smiling!”
Mariah, who already lost one eye and was in danger of losing the other eye, was rescued from Oklahoma and pregnant. Once the puppies were old enough to be separated from their mom, Nadine was able to adopt Mariah and bring her home. “After Buddy passed, the song from Fast and Furious, See You Again, was always playing on the radio and the lyric, It’s been a long day, without you my friend, and I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again, etched into my head. A character in the Fast and Furious movies is Mia, which was actually close to Mariah, so I decided to rename her Mia.”
“Mia is truly amazing in many respects. She shares my love for sunsets and was telling me one night that I needed to go outside with her. I peeked out and didn’t see anything, but Mia was insistent. When we finally walked outside, she sat down and looked up at the sky. There was a beautiful sunset we watched together! Mia has an amazing talent for detecting an upcoming asthma attack prior to my knowledge just by smelling my chest. Recently I experienced a very bad flare up and she kept waking me up by putting her nose on mine when I stopped breathing while sleeping. I have never had a dog do this before. It is truly incredible and I feel so much safer with Mia nearby.”
Mia loves to play games, especially nose work ones, and enjoys chewing on antlers and bones but believes they are only enjoyable when carried outside. She likes greeting neighbors and their canines during our walks, hiking in North Carolina and walking along the water in St. Pete when we visit family. Mia will always give you her paw when she is excited or when she just wants you to hold hers. She is a big fan of hugs and will sit on her butt and gently place her paws on your shoulder. Because Mia’s favorite thing is cuddling, Nadine has to set her alarm 30 minutes earlier just so they have cuddle time in the morning before getting out of bed.
“A 
few months after adopting Mia, I adopted Rocky, who is a golden mix. Rocky was found on dead dog beach in Puerto Rico. They believe he was severely abused for a year then left on the beach for another year. He was terrified of everything, especially humans. He stayed in my bathroom for three months and I had to teach him basic things like walking through a door and accepting treats. He needed extreme rehabilitation and we are still working with him. Mia has helped tremendously and taught Rocky how to be a dog. Also, it has helped him to observe how she interacts with me to help him feel safer around humans. I could not have done this rehabilitation without her assistance! Mia is such a good big sister to her sibling Rocky and has brought happiness back into my life!”
Mia and Rocky have their own Instagram page to share all their cute antics with friends and family members. Check it out!
