“But he needs us.”

Mike Frezon looked up at his wife, Peggy, from a pet supply store parking lot as he patted the golden retriever they’d come to meet. Mike had seen the ad for the homeless dog the week before and had fallen in love with him. Although the rescue worker held onto the golden with a leash, the dog looked like he wasn’t going anywhere, keeping his gaze to the ground.

The golden had been on his own for some time after being abandoned, and it showed. He was skinny, had patchy fur and crooked teeth. And he was 11 years old.

“Oh, Mike,” Peggy said, “this poor guy probably has a dozen health issues. We’ll fall in love with him, and he’ll become part of our family. Then he’ll break our hearts.”

But when Peggy gently tilted the dog’s chin up and looked into his big brown eyes, she saw the potential of a beautiful, loving pet. Still, she hated the thought of only having him for a short time.

Mike thought differently. “But he needs us,” he repeated.

Four simple words, but words that changed Peggy’s mind in an instant.

“Retirement Home”

“For the first time, I looked at rescuing not as what dogs could do for us, but what we could do for them,” Peggy says. “I realized Mike and I could give this scraggly, scared dog a warm, loving home and the comfort he deserved for however long he was part of our family.”

That realization proved to be the defining moment in the Frezons’ desire to rescue senior dogs. Peggy is convinced God had been preparing her and Mike by giving them hearts of compassion based on many years of raising and rescuing dogs. Early in their marriage, they had a Dalmatian and a yellow lab, and then a cocker spaniel-dachshund mix. With this golden retriever—their first senior rescue—whom they named Brooks, God began to teach them what they could offer these homeless seniors: the very best kind of “retirement home.”

Thus began what they now call “BrooksHaven,” named for that once-mangy pooch in the parking lot they took to his forever home and a new life.

Sophie’s Choice

“During our short but very sweet year with Brooks, we realized that older dogs fit perfectly with our more leisurely, senior lifestyle,” Peggy says. “Older dogs enjoy shorter, slower walks, and they take plenty of naps.”

After Brooks passed, Mike and Peggy believe God led them to adopt more senior goldens. One by one, the couple added Ike, Ernest, Pete and Sophie, all golden retrievers.

Peggy and Mike live in upstate New York on a large piece of property that offers lots of room for the dogs to run and play.

Or just sit and stare, like Sophie did.

When the Frezons drove to the rescue shelter to meet Sophie just over a year ago, they were brokenhearted to hear the conditions she’d lived in. Sophie had spent her entire life as a breeding mother in a puppy mill. She lived in abysmal conditions, with no vet visits, no proper nutrition, and no room to run and play. Her home consisted of a tiny cage stacked upon other cages. Sophie had been bred until she was too old to produce.

“We took her home and promised her she would never live in another cage,” says Peggy. “Because Sophie had never been inside a house before, she was very hesitant and overwhelmed. She hid under the table most of the time and wouldn’t eat. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, blocking the world out, afraid of everything.”

Mike and Peggy gave Sophie space and time. She loves to sit in the yard and simply look out over the expanse of lush green lawn.

“Watching her transform was like watching the sun rise,” Peggy says. “She just filled more and more space. She came out from under the table, started running in the yard and playing with toys. I think she still can’t get over how big her world has grown.”

Sophie went from a breeding dog in a puppy mill to a certified therapy dog, bringing comfort to others.

Learning to Trust

Rescuing seniors is a way for the Frezons to help homeless dogs. It’s also become a way for them to share experiences that demonstrate God’s love for humans.

“As an author, and regular contributor to devotionals such as All God’s Creatures Devotional for Animal Lovers, it’s one way for me to use the lessons I’ve observed in these dogs to teach others about the Lord,” says Peggy. “Since most rescue dogs have gone through some degree of neglect, abuse or abandonment, they often have emotional baggage.”

Peggy explains that the animals must be brave to enter new homes and new environments.

“They have to trust us to help them,” Peggy says, “even if in their previous experience people haven’t been kind.”

Peggy sees God in many ways through the rescue of the dogs who were once broken but are now thriving.

“God loves us unconditionally,” she says, “even though we’re flawed. With His help, we can face new and challenging situations, and learn to trust others and Him.”

Peggy is amazed at how much the Lord is teaching her. She loves to share what she learns from connecting with these dogs to help others.

Mike and Peggy are looking toward the possibility of turning BrooksHaven into a non-profit in the future, which would allow them to take in more senior dogs. Their goal is to get to the place where they never have to turn down a senior golden in need.

“I can’t even imagine that,” says Peggy. “But only God knows what’s next.”

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