JoanMerriam.com
Official home of Joan Merriam:
author, college instructor, speaker, inveterate gardener,
metaphorically
sword-wielding
advocate for
justice,
lover of frogs and roses, and adoring aficionado of Golden Retrievers

Welcome to
Joan Merriam's digital
home-away-from home!
Whether you're a student, a friend, a reader (thank you!), or someone who just stumbled onto these pages on your way tooh, say, a web site on ancient Sanskrit riddlesthanks for stopping by.
Feel free to get comfortable...have a cup of coffee...and stay as long as you like. As the weeks go on, we'll have more to see and do while you're here...but for now, enjoy your visit!
Goldens in My Life
I'm
a huge fan of Golden Retrievers. Period. End of sentence. Drop
voice.
My first Golden came to me in June of 1995 in the person of a beautiful boy I named Shiloh, and who was with me for 14 years. A year after I adopted Shiloh, I adopted a sweet little girl named Sammi, who stayed with me on this earth until she was 14½.
Now, I have brought another Golden into my life and heart.
Casey came to me through the wonderful people at Homeward Bound
Golden Retriever Rescue (www.homewardboundgoldens.org)and
even though I wasn't planning to adopt an older dog, you
know what they say about those best-laid plans. I firmly
believe that the spirits of my Shiloh and Sammi played a part in the
whole thing...and when this gorgeous, 85-pound 7-year-old boy walked
over and looked into my eyes, it
was all over.
Casey has now become a Certified Therapy Dog through Therapy Dogs, Inc. , and we visit convalescent facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers and schools together. (In the picture at left, he's wearing his Therapy Dog jacketin purple, of course!)
I'm looking forward to many more years of companionship, love, and adventures together!