MEET SYDNEY

50% adventure buddy. 50% professional napper. 100% convinced she’s in charge.

Sydney has spent the last several years saying goodbye.

We’re looking for the family who can finally say, “Welcome home.”

Sydney is an 8½-year-old chocolate Lab with a huge personality, a wonderfully ridiculous sense of humor, and an impressive ability to turn almost anything into her business.

Give this girl an inch and she won’t take a mile. She’ll sign up for the full 26.2, enter the race, and somehow still finish dead last because she was too busy supervising everyone else.

She’s been known to patrol the neighborhood like she’s on the HOA board, conduct daily garden inspections, steal zucchini and cherry tomatoes, and make it very clear when the drive-thru isn’t moving at an acceptable pace.

It’s exhausting being this committed to public service.

At home, Sydney has also discovered that sleeping in the human bed is apparently a constitutional right. She’s trustworthy when left alone, loves lounging in the sunshine, will happily supervise your gardening, and after a good day will settle in for a nap accompanied by a very respectable snore.

But outside is where another side of Sydney comes alive.

Sydney’s papa brought her home as a puppy, and his family told me something that changed the way I understood her: Sydney has loved the water from the very beginning.

She grew up adventuring with him, including surfing and exploring the Oregon Coast.

That love never left her.

Put Sydney near a river, lake or ocean and you’ll see it immediately. She loves swimming, beach trips, fishing adventures, camping, boating, paddleboarding, hiking and anything else that means getting outside with her people.

She doesn’t need to spend every waking moment exercising. A few good walks during the week, opportunities to stretch her legs and run out her zoomies, and regular adventures keep her happy.

Then she’s ready to come home and do absolutely nothing.

Preferably in your bed.

Sydney can also share those adventures with another dog.

As she’s settled into foster care, a funny, playful side of her has emerged that I didn’t fully appreciate when she first arrived. She plays with her foster brother, has enjoyed multiple adventures with other dogs, and has spent hours running and playing with canine friends at the Oregon Coast. We also know she previously lived successfully with dogs and cats.

She’s still bossy. That’s simply Sydney.

The right canine companion will be easygoing enough to let her be herself and wise enough not to argue over organizational structure.

And then there’s the reason finding the right family matters so much.

Sydney was deeply loved by her papa. She was with him when he became the victim of a random assault and, after months of hospitalization, he passed away.

She eventually found another loving home with a longtime family friend who already knew and loved her. Then he suffered a stroke and could no longer care for her.

Sydney spent nearly three months in a boarding kennel before coming to Golden Bond Rescue.

Through circumstances completely beyond her control, she has had to start over again and again.

And somehow, she hasn’t lost her joy.

She’s still funny.

She’s still playful.

She still loves people.

She still loses her mind over a good stick.

She still believes every trip to the river might be the best day of her life.

That’s Sydney.

She doesn’t need another stop along the way.

She needs her last home.

River days. Beach trips. Camping. Gardening. Happy hour. Long naps. Muddy paws. Rump scratches. Maybe a four-legged partner in crime.

If that sounds like your life, Sydney might be your dog.

Sydney has spent the last several years saying goodbye. This time, we’re hoping she gets to hear, “Welcome home.”