Golden Retrievers Enjoy Their Golden Years at BrooksHaven
[From the Fall 2023 Showcase of Homes Magazine]
Written By WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH | Photos by PEGGY FREZON AND ROY GUMPEL
Dog-lovers Peggy and Mike Frezon of Rexford are on a mission to provide love in abundance to rescued senior golden retrievers in their homebased sanctuary, BrooksHaven. Whether the dogs have been lost, forgotten, neglected or abused, the couple provides them with a loving forever home with nutritious food, regular medical care, and enriching playtime—including plenty of balls and ‘stuffies!’
Named BrooksHaven in honor of their very first golden, the Frezons’ sanctuary is currently home to three golden retrievers: Ernest, 14.5, Sophie, 10, and Pete, a relative youngster at age six. Although the couple dreams of expanding BrooksHaven, it’s just a two-person operation at present, and Peggy and Mike are seniors themselves.
“Providing our dogs with a loving home is the easy part,” says Peggy. “Veterinary bills are the biggest expense, especially medications and surgeries. We are considering working toward becoming a non-profit, which could help allow us to take in more dogs.” In the meantime, however, they’ve chosen to keep things manageable and expand cautiously.
Brooks, their first senior, entered their lives 12 years ago. Mike was smitten the moment he spied the downtrodden golden at a parking lot adoption clinic. But Peggy was hesitant to take on the elderly dog, fearing he’d break their hearts all too quickly. “He was scrawny, tired and withdrawn,” she recalls, “with gangly legs and crooked teeth. His golden fur hung in grimy patches.”
“But he needs us,” Mike nudged gently. His words melted Peggy’s heart. “I’d never looked at it that way before,” she recalls, still awed by the revelation. “At that moment, I realized it’s not about what they can do for us. It’s about what we can do for them. We could give this dog a warm, loving home for however long we had together. We could give him the comfort he deserved in his golden years.”
Brooks went home with Peggy and Mike that day, and—although they only had 11 months together—it was a miraculous time for all. “The minute we got him home he began to transform,” says Peggy. “Amazingly, he had no behavioral problems, anxieties, or fears. He was easy and sweet, and just loved being with us. Instantly, he let go of his past and started living in the moment, as if he was thinking, this is where I am right now, and this is good. Really, all he needed was love.”
Peggy and Mike were brokenhearted when Brooks passed, but the love they’d shared inspired them to welcome even more elderly goldens into their home. With Brooks, they’d come to realize that older dogs fit perfectly with their own more leisurely, senior lifestyle.
“Older dogs enjoy shorter, slower strolls. They play hard in shorter bursts, and they take more naps,” Peggy says. “But, best of all, Brooks just loved just being with us. If I was reading, or gardening, or working on the computer, he was stretched out beside me.” And, as the busy author of six books about the animal-human connection and a longtime contributing editor to Guideposts and its sister publications, Peggy spends plenty of time at her home computer—which translates to plenty of time with her dogs!
Last year, the Frezons welcomed their “most broken dog yet” into their home and their hearts. “Ten-year-old Sophie had spent her entire life breeding in a puppy mill,” Peggy explains, “living in appalling conditions in a cramped cage stacked upon other cages. After a rescue worker posing as a dog broker got her out, we adopted her right away.
“Initially, Sophie was afraid of everything. She’d never been in a house before, never been out of a cage. She'd just lean against a wall and close her eyes, refusing her meals, just sitting under the table, so dreadfully still.”
Given time, though—sensing that she was finally safe and loved—Sophie blossomed. “Watching her transform was like watching the sun rise,” Peggy reflects. “She just filled more and more space with her beauty. Coming out from under the table, she started running in the yard and playing with toys. I think she still can't get over how much room she has now, and how big her world has grown.”
Over the years, several BrooksHaven senior goldens have become certified therapy dogs, trained to help people in nursing facilities, hospitals, schools, and colleges. This past June, Sophie, too, became a Canine Good Citizen and certified therapy dog. “Imagine the difference in Sophie’s life,” Peggy beams, “going from a breeding dog in a puppy mill to a therapy dog, bringing comfort to others.”
Looking ahead, Peggy says she’d love to take in more senior goldens at BrooksHaven. “More dogs would mean more love all around, but we want to grow smart. My goal would be to never have to turn down a senior golden in need. I can't even imagine that . . . but only God knows what's next.”
Peggy Frezon will be signing her books about the human-animal connection on Saturday, October 14th at The Saratoga Book Festival’s Literary Marketplace, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the City Center. Stop in and say hello!
To learn more and subscribe to Peggy’s Dogs of BrooksHaven newsletter, check out peggyfrezon.com or visit her on Facebook.
