A relationship between a human and a dog is truly beautiful and lasts a lifetime.
No matter when you got your first dog, you’ll always remember the first time you went for a walk, shared a cuddle, or received the sweetest, warmest kiss from your four-legged friend.
For Makenzie, that soul dog is Rafeal, a Golden Retriever who has been by her side since high school. They spent thirteen wonderful years together in Florida, and even though he’s now a senior, they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon!
This is Mom’s soul dog
The best thing about Makenzie and Raffi’s relationship is the fact that they’ve known each other through almost every phase of their lives! This golden boy has been with his mother through high school, college and his adult lifesharing endless memories together.
At the age of thirteen, Raffi began to slow down and lose his rhythm. He was no longer able to walk around like he used to and he certainly no longer had the strength to jump around the house and zoom around.
And that’s when Makenzie’s brilliant ideas came to life!
Instead of leaving him at home to “enjoy his retirement,” this big-hearted dog mom decided not to leave his lifelong friend in the lurch.
Instead, she did everything she could to continue to include Raffi in everything, like she did before. She bought him a nice blue wagon in which she regularly takes him on daily walks and trips with her and her other dog, Benny.
This way, Raffi could still enjoy Saturday morning market shopping, afternoon coffee trips, trips to the dog bakery, and all the other things he loves so much!
And the best part about his little “wagon idea” is that Benny loves it too! Every time Makenzie starts preparing Raffi for a wagon trip, Benny gets so excited to know that his older brother is going on an adventure too!
Besides the wagon idea, Mackenzie also came up with a practical way to help Raffi get on the couch and into bed safely.
Naps on the couch and in bed are definitely Raffi’s favorites, but now that he’s older, he doesn’t have the strength to climb up on them by himself. That’s why his mom built him two ramps to help him get there easily.
And little by little, this smart guy figured out how to use it!
Even though it was so sad for Makenzie to see her golden ball of fur unable to do her favorite jumps on the couch, it was still rewarding to help her in some way.
“The first time Raff successfully used the ramp, I was a little emotional, because part of it is mourning. Change is hard, and watching someone you love very much age is hard, but we also celebrate the fact that he has a way of sitting comfortably on the couch,” Mackenzie said The Dodo.
Every moment spent together is precious
Knowing that Raffi is in the autumn of his life, Mackenzie wants to make every moment with her Golden Boi memorable.
Besides spending quality time at their Florida home, the two still enjoy taking the occasional trip to the beach and look at the golden housed.
During these precious moments, Mackenzie decided to use another idea she saw online: make Raffi a real Picasso!
She sometimes uses a canvas, puts it in a Ziploc bag with paint on it, then puts peanut butter on it and lets Raffi do the magic and paint the sweetest work of art that she will keep forever.
All of these things take a lot of time and patience, but Makenzie is very grateful for the opportunity to cherish them.
Having Raffi by your side for so long is definitely a gift, and she wants to make sure she doesn’t miss it. After all, he’s her soul dog!
You can follow the daily adventures of Makenzie, Raffi and Benny on their Official Instagram!
