Stephanie Brocoum has found her fur-ever family in Marblehead one silly, slobbery smile at a time.
Brocoum, owner of the interior design company Moontide Studio, organized this summer’s fluffiest event: the “occasionally annual” Golden Retriever Family Portrait, where dozens of Marblehead’s Goldens came together to sniff, play, and make new friends.
“The whole point is just to celebrate community and get people together and see the beautiful sights of Marblehead,” Brocoum said.
At the event, John
D’Agostino of Swampscott introduced his happy-go-lucky Golden Retriever Finlay, who he said loves nothing more than chasing balls.
Nearby, Carly and Nancy Hood doted on Essie, their 5-year-old “COVID baby” described as “loyal and protective.”
The youngest participant,
5-month-old Quinn, drew plenty of attention. Owners Tom and Andrea Kelleher said he’s earned the nickname “The Mighty Quinn” from neighbors near Abbot Hall.
Some dogs even had their own Instagram followings. Hudson, a nearly 5-year-old Golden, came with owner Debra Klein, who shares photos under the handle “Hudson and Calvin Klein the Dog.” Klein said, “His purpose in life is to spread joy.”
The event drew both longtime residents and newcomers. Quimby, a 16-year-old pup from Salem, attended for the first time with owner Theresa Kennedy, who said they’ll soon be moving to Marblehead. Kennedy said, “A friend told us, ‘You need some new friends,’ so we came.”
For Marblehead resident Grace Elmer, the day was about celebrating Skipper, her 2-year-old Golden with “the best recall of any dog ever.” Others shared similar pride — whether about pets overcoming challenges, like
9-year-old Murphy recovering from injury without surgery, or Aspen, a Golden Retriever who finally conquered her fear of water.
When considering how this puppy party has been running casually on-and-off for the last decade, Brocoum shared that it all started with her and her husband walking in the rain.
“It’d be pouring rain out, and we would have no dog,” Brocoum remembered. “I was like, ‘If we’re going to walk anyway, we really just need a dog.’”
She said the English Golden Retriever breeders she spoke with were all rather passionate about what they do, and she wound up taking in her first English Golden around 2005. His name was Beaulieu.
“Beaulieu was a really special dog. He was beautiful; he was calm; he was this very content, lovely dog, and people really, really liked him,” Brocoum said.
She beamed when thinking back to her beloved pup Beaulieu and how he inspired her friends and family to also become English Golden parents, some even using the same breeder.
“I just feel like we’re so lucky to live with dogs,” she said. “It’s like the biggest luxury in my life: being able to live with dogs and have them in my life. They just bring us so much joy.”
Soon after joining the Brocoum family, Beaulieu gained a brother, Birdie, now 12. And shortly after Beaulieu passed, Brocoum brought home Booker, now 8. Brocoum explained that Birdie and Booker “have very different personalities.”
Brocoum described Birdie as “shy” and “a little bit awkward.” She added, “Sometimes he can be a little grumpy,” which makes sense for the senior pup. Meanwhile, she said little brother Booker “has a great sense of humor, and he’s very easygoing.”
She mentioned that this summer’s Golden Retriever Family Portrait attendees joked around that they’re going to go home with the wrong dog, as they all look so similar. But she emphasized, “Once you know an animal, you would never mistake that animal for another animal.” She added, “When we get them all together, they’re like a pack; they just behave like dogs.”
“They bring such a sense of community,” Brocoum said. “… Dogs just connect with people in a way that really makes you so happy and just brings out the best in people, and for us, it’s literally built a community here because it’s people we know from dog walking and people we know literally because they stopped us because of the dogs. It’s been one of the things that we’ve literally built our friend group and our community around.”
