B.J. Stokes

Golden Light #1 is Shalom's Benjamin Jacob (1999-2009).

Circa 2002, B.J. and Alan 

Shalom's Benjamin Jacob (B.J.) was born on January 17, 1999.  Alan and Anne Stokes purchased him from Diane & Joseph Cudo who were breeders who lived in Elk River, Minnesota at the time. He died on December 16, 2009 after a mouth cancer diagnosis. His illness was diagnosed by the caring professionals at Patterson Veterinary Hospital in Mason, Michigan. B.J.'s remains are buried in the Heavenly Acres Pet Cemetery in Howell, Michigan in their unmarked field.

B.J. was a mascot at the former Salvation Army Silver Lake Camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota for 5 years. Longtime Golden Retriever enthusiast and camp physician, Dr. William Carr, expressed disappointment one day that B.J. was neutered and wouldn't be reproducing because of the superior personality that B.J. had in representing the breed.

B.J. was a very gentle dog although he weighed in at 110 pounds. He moved with his family wherever duty called and despite his size didn't complain about spending a year in a one bedroom apartment. He was the first Golden Retriever that the blogger of the "Light Blog" Series owned and in tribute to him, he is being named the first Golden Light.

The poem "My Golden Retriever" was written in honor of B.J.

Golden Light Honors the Lives of Golden Retrievers.