[MycrazyGoldengang]

I wondered if there was any adoption/rescue stories out there to share.

We adopted Bella from a family who had purchased a labradoodle and felt Bella was to much of a stressfull dog to carry on owning.

We visited the family home along with Elle and they hit it off straight away we handed over £150 and collected her the following week, well that was 4 years ago in April and i am now looking at the most adorable Golden.

Bella came with a lot of baggage that would have sent most people stir crazy.

The 1st thing we had to let her know that is was ok to walk around the house. Every time she came to the threshold of a room she would stop and go no further, the 2nd one was to make her feel secure the 3rd one was her stubborness that she still has today but is getting better all the time.

A lot of people would have given up on Bella, but now she has turned into the most loving dog that is very rewarding for us.

We learnt it can take upto a year for both dog and owner to really get to know and understand each other

Bella is a sweetheart who adores the log fire, loves walks and shows her warmth by being a real lover, maybe she never experienced that before.

 

[OldeEnglishD]

Well Griffey sure is a success in our house. We adopted him from the local humane society 4 months ago. According to his paperwork he was there because someone in his old house was allergic to him. When we went to see him you could just tell what a sweet dog he was. I knew a lot of people may be put off that he was 6 years old, had been treated for heartworm, and had a little grey in the muzzle, but to me that didn't matter at all. I took my oldest son (6 at the time) with me and when we took Griffey outside you could just see his eyes light up. He loved being around my son and played fetch for 10 minutes straight. I brought my wife and both sons back later that day and once we say how gentle he was with my youngest son, we filled out the paperwork. He has been a perfect fit for our family. Both my sons adore him, and he is included in all of our activities. Griffey is my first Golden, but because of him I feel that this is the only breed I will ever have.

 

[Ithaca]

I've always had cats and just love them so much, but I dreamed of having a dog as well. I had been looking at specs of dogs available for adoption at our local shelter for a couple of weeks when one Friday, I left work early and went straight to the shelter. There had been a virus going around at the shelter so all the dogs were in quarantine and not available for adoption except for the two who had arrived after the quarantine was declared and had been kept in a separate section.
There was a rather calm but strong-minded German Sheppard and a young bouncy GR. I walked them both and chose the GR. Poppy was 4 1/2 months and had been at the shelter for less than a day.
I look back now and think I was SO lucky to find her. She was already potty trained, did not cry at night and did not bark (oh, maybe one bark per month, just to make sure it still works). She's a true gem and I could not dream of a better dog. I don't know how successfull I would have been at raising her in her first few months. My first dog came 'ready to love' with all the hard work done. I just have to give her daily exercise to spend her extra energy and that's all. Speaking of which... she's waiting for me right now to go for a run. Geez... it's - 19 Celcius (-2.2 F) without the windchill. How do you explain to a dog that it's so very cozy inside?

 

[cgriffin]

Does it have to be an adoption story about a Golden?
My older golden Sam, had died of cancer and I was not ready to get another dog for a while. Well, my sister had adopted a dog from a rescue group and visited one day. So, the thought about checking rescue groups and shelters for a GR was planted in my head. I was checking petfinder one day and there was a GR listed in one of the kill shelters just across the state line. Hubby and I went there. Well, we were too late, the GR was already adopted out but we decided to look at the other dogs. The person leading us took us to a 10 months old black lab mix puppy's run and said: "Thunder is soo sweet. He has been with us for 2 weeks but his time is up. He is a black dog and they do not get adopted out. This is his last chance." We looked at Thunder and he was wagging his tail so hard, his butt was moving, just like our old golden had done. But, I was still grieving and had my heart set on a Golden, so we could not decide and left. About five minutes down the road, I kept thinking about Thunder and his waggy butt, lol. I said to my husband: "I am thinking about that black dog and how much he looked like our Sam wagging his tail so hard." Hubby replied: "I was thinking about that too. You want to go back?" So, we went back, spent some time with Thunder and adopted him. He has been with us ever since, Thunder will be 11 years old in March. He is so sweet and precious and he is a great big brother to the GR puppy we added a couple of years later. They just love each other.
Last year, a little dachshund showed up at our house daily and I thought he was the neighbor's dog because he slept on their porch. He was a scrawny puppy and I fed him whenever he showed up and played with my two boys. One day, he showed up dragging one of his hind legs, he had been hit by a car. I went to the neighbors house and banged on the door, nobody was home. I left them a note, saying I took their dachshund to the vet. I put "Dachsi" into the car and took him to the clinic. Luckily the leg was not broken, but he had to stay for a couple of days. That evening the neighbor called and said, that the dachshund was NOT their dog, it was just a stray and she was goind to take him to animal control anyway. I told her that I will pay for the vet bills and keep him, which was just fine by them. So, Dachsi was patched up, neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested and joined the family. All three boys get along beautifully. Anyway, I did not really believe that Dachsi just showed up at the neighbors. Those are my dog adoption stories.

 

[maggie1951]

I have always had rescue dogs that have come with baggage but they have all been ok in the end.
But Charlie who i have now along with a good Daisy and Blarney i could write a book on Charlie she is so naughty but as we say the lights are on but no-one is end.
We don't know what happend to her the vet thought she had been hit by a car or badly beaten she always holds her head at an angle and can never lay with her head straight down.
I post my stories on here about her it makes people smile i am just about to post one.

 

[Hali's Mom]

Mollie's Story

Mollie came from a kill shelter in KY, she was slated to be PTS on Memorial Day of this year. She was an owner turn-in at the age of 10 mos. because they didn't have enough time for her. (translation....cute fuzzy puppy grew to be a big puppy). I was holding out for a red male golden since we had just lost Hali in Feb. My husband said we could start looking over the summer when our daughter was home from college. Back to Mollie, I was able to find a rescue to take her, Peppertree in NY. I was also able to get her on volunteer transport to rescue. The first weekend the transport was only going as far as Rochester NY so I said I would take her off transport in Erie, where I live, and keep her until the following weekend when she could jump back on a transport and continue on up to Albany. She was so well behaved, walked well on a leash, was crate trained and got along with the cat AND she won my husband over. I contacted the rescue and asked if they minded if we kept her. It was a definite YES you may, actually they were hoping that would happen as they knew I had lost Hali.

 

[Deber]

What heartfelt stories and so glad you shared. Our last little rescue girl was not a golden, but an Eng. Toy Spaniel. My cousin (vet) called from Cal. and said her breeder had brought her in at 4 wks to be put to sleep because she had a bit of a nose. She wanted the pup killed because they should have a flat face! Of course I said Yes, but my Cousin kept her until she was 8 wks to be sure she would be able to eat on her own and first shots.

Well we just sent our ole Millie girl to the RB last Friday. She was a few days shy of 16 yrs. I would like to think she had a wonderful life and she was definately our families Heart Dog. Wonder if that crappy breeder would have been surprised and glad to know Millie had a good life nose and all?? I would hope so cause we sure loved that old girl.

 

[MycrazyGoldengang]

Thanks for your stories, doesn't it give you a warm feeling writing about your dogs when they come to you and you give them something they may never had.

What makes it even better they are only to pleased to return it......

 

[Goldens R Great]

When my golden Addy was four years old I decided she needed a companion. I looked on Petfinder and saw a picture of a beautiful two-year-old golden in a kill shelter a few hours away from my house. I called the shelter, asked about her personality and put her on hold. When I went to the shelter the next day to meet her she was laying on the floor in a kennel with her chin on the ground looking very sad. I tapped on the window and she looked up. After a bit she stood up and her tail slowly started to wag. I stood there smiling and waving at her (it was through a window) and she put her front paws on the glass and started smiling at me. I felt an instant connection with her and couldn't wait to take her home. It's my understanding she lived with a guy that traveled a lot and his parents tried to keep her, but they were older and it just didn't work out so they took her to the shelter. Annie didn't have any issues or baggage and she proved to me there are absolutely wonderful dogs in shelters. Addy and Annie were soulmates for 8 1/2 years until Annie passed away in late 2009. Annie was a wonderful girl and I was so thrilled to have her in my life. I will always miss her.