Goldengael Golden Retrievers

Goldie was adopted through Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida as they know we’ll never turn down a senior. Goldie was surrendered by her owners at the age of 14 years. Yes, that’s correct, she was 14 years old when the owners told the Rescue coordinator that they couldn’t imagine caring for their aging parents and an aging dog at the same time. I was dumbfounded when I heard this. I’ve heard almost any & all excuses you can give for not wanting to keep a dog as have many other “rescue coordinators”. We just nod our heads, pick up the dog, and try to get any and all paperwork to look for evidence of spaying or vaccination records, then get out as quickly as possible. What was so sad about Goldie is that she was a kind, loving, and devoted Golden for 14 years then gets dumped. Without any hesitation we knew that we wanted to have Goldie in her forever home as quickly as possible. We made the trip the same day to pick her up from Charlotte, her incredible foster mom. Charlotte is one of those incredible caring women who will do anything do assist in the breed of the Golden Retriever, the breed we love so very much. Goldie was completely deaf, but knew some hand commands which were very helpful. She also had severe allergies, which turned out to be a non-functioning thyroid, so her rashes that had been thought to be allergies began to clear up very quickly once we got her on the proper dosage of thyroid medication. Goldie lived another 9 months and it gives us great joy knowing that her final 9 months were full of love, empathy and compassion. Goldie is buried here at GoldenGael, and that gives us all great comfort. She ate 2 scrambled eggs each morning and whole yogurt in the evening. She smiled each day and it warmed all of our hearts.

Emily’s Oven

CONTRIBUTOR'S NOTE:

I was lucky enough to be the one who went to rescue Pebbles out of the barn stall where she had spent most of the last 4 years. Her teenage owner had gone off to college and left the nearly 11 year old Golden home. Of course, the parents wanted no part of this, and made it very clear to the daughter who was 1000 miles away. Pebbles was flea infested, NOT spayed, in need of dental cleaning and would refuse to be caught by the owners. Pebbles went through a complete physical, thorough blood work up, tested heartworm negative, was spayed, and had a much needed dental cleaning. Pebbles is an amazing girl who harbors no ill will towards anyone and always has a smile on her face. Her spirit is typical Golden, which is why we love our breed so much and will do anything for them. Pebbles has stirred emotion in many MFGRC members, along with others hearing of her needs. Additionally, Pebbles found a dear friend in a 5 year old girl named Emily. The real beauty lies in the fact that Emily and her mother, Marie, had not even met Pebbles, only saw photos that I had sent out. That unconditional giving is one of those life lessons we can certainly all learn from. From the generosity of many MFGRC members, a special 5 year old girl named Emily, and Pebbles' new Mom, GoldenGael raised $987 in total. Since this far exceeded the medical expenses incurred by Pebbles, GoldenGael can assist more of our beloved Goldens in need. Emily, her mother Marie, and their 4 month old Golden, Charlie, came to meet Pebbles on the morning Pebbles left GoldenGael for her new home. Pebbles now lives in Merritt Island with her new family on a 10 acre horse ranch. It doesn't get any better than this. Thank you doesn't begin to cover the heartfelt gratitude to those who helped make the difference to Pebbles and the others that will come to GoldenGael Farm.

Jovonnie Androy~GoldenGael Farm

Emily’s Oven

While most children spent their Spring Break taking time to relax from their regular school workloads, five year old Emily spent the week working hard to make a difference in the life of one dog.

"I can do it" Emily said as she steadied herself on the stool while carefully pressing down the dog bone shaped cookie cutter. She had become an expert cookie maker in only a matter of days. Only these were not the type of cookies most five year old girls would enjoy eating.

Our Golden Retriever Charlie was only three months old when we first heard about Pebbles, a Golden Retriever in rescue needing surgery. After taking one look at her pictures, we knew we had to do something to help pay for her surgery. It wasn't long before we decided to bake doggie treats and sell them in order to raise money for Pebbles. We had already been baking the doggie treats for Charlie and a few of the neighborhood dogs for several weeks; so making the connection to use them to help Pebbles just seemed natural.

Because we wanted to help fund as much of Pebbles' surgery as possible we set our goal at $200.00. A rather big goal for a five year old, but she didn't let that intimidate her.

"Hi. I am selling these homemade doggie treats to help Pebbles, a Golden Retriever in rescue that needs surgery. How many bags would you like?" Emily practiced and rehearsed until she got it just right. When she was certain that she could say it with ease she set out with Mom close by, just in case. She went door to door asking every person she knew if they would be willing to help her. If she had tripped on her words, no one noticed. They were too moved by her sincerity in wanting to help this one dog named Pebbles.

As word got out, even those that didn't own dogs started purchasing the treats for their dog owning friends. A local store even carried a few bags of the treats in order to help her reach her goal.

Emails started circulating and the orders started pouring in. At one point we even had to use the neighbor's oven as well as our own full time in order to keep up!

By the end of the week Emily had sold 77 bags of treats from her home in Florida with orders reaching as far west as Colorado and as far north as Michigan.

With a little hard work and a lot of love and generosity from so many people, Emily not only reached her goal of $200.00 she almost doubled it! To date she has raised $385.00 to benefit Pebbles and future Goldens in need.

Upon asking Emily what was the most important thing she learned? She responded: "to save all of the Golden Retrievers in rescue."

“We are going to need a bigger oven!”