By: Vuyolwethu Nzolongwane
Demi Naude has always wanted to have a golden retriever and when she finally got Skye who was only eight weeks at the time, she fell deeply in love and realized she had more love to give and yearned to be in the company of more goldies.
“I have always wanted a golden retriever and when I finally got one I fell in love and I wanted more than I could afford. I thought of a way to bring golden retrievers together and creating a club was the most efficient way to do so. My goal was to bring like-minded dogs together so they could socialize with dogs who would be similarly minded to them,” said Naude.
The club has not been around for long and there haven’t been any set times for playdates as yet as everyone has different schedules but from the playdates that have been successful so far, there has been lots of fun for the dogs as well as for their owners.
The playdates that have been had so far have entailed swimming in the ocean or the lagoon at Nahoon beach and a birthday party for one of the golden retrievers. The club guarantees a fun time for both pets and owners as well as growth for the pets.
“My dog used to be so scared of the ocean as it was loud and intimidating. She is fine at lagoons and rivers but the ocean was something else for her. The water would come towards her and she would run away. After she saw the other dogs running and playing in the water, she has come to love it. This is just one of the positive influences that this group has had on my dog,” said Naude.
There is no formal process for joining the club but the only requirement is that the doggies’ vaccinations need to be up to date.
“This group is something for the dogs and members to bond over. It creates a conversation between people that have never met before and happiness between dogs that have never met either. It is a happy environment for everyone to be in and it has been blissful every time. We have a couple of members in our group already but we would love to expand it as far and wide as we can. We are all very happy to welcome more members and doggies to our group,” said Naude.