A Message From Our President | |
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Hi Friends,
Happy Valentine’s Day! Only a month in and this year is in full swing with activity. We've brought in 12 dogs this month, which puts us on track for another very busy year. Most of our dogs continue to be owners needing to re-home their dogs, with the most common reasons being health issues within the family and not having enough time. The trend we are seeing so far is older dogs coming into our care, with several being retired from a life of breeding. We also have 3 bonded pairs, which we have not had in quite some time. We are still averaging about 2 applications per day.
Today we are kicking off a fun raffle for a beautiful beach condo vacation. You can purchase your tickets here. We have also added a new feature to our website. “Where Are We Today?” to update you on some of our adopted dogs.
I mentioned last month we want to provide more education for our GRR community. I am working with some of our training partners to develop webinars to hold throughout the year, and we want to hear from you as well. What topics would be of interest to you? Please let us know by emailing training@grr-tx.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Warmest Regards,
Michelle
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If you know of a Golden in need or one to be rehomed, please always remember to contact our intake team or call our hotline at 512-659-4653 as our social media pages aren’t monitored for posts of dogs in need. | |
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Do you have questions or comments for the Board?
We value your input. Please send a note to the GRR Board and include Questions For The Board in the subject line. We hope to hear from you! The next GRR board meeting is March 22, 2025.
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A Fabulous Opportunity for a Vacation!
Beach Condo Raffle in Port Aransas!
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Enjoy 4 days/3 nights at Sea Gull Condominiums
Port Aransas, TX.
Raffle tickets are $10 per ticket
February 1, 2025 – February 15, 2025
Check out the beautiful photos and a chance to win!
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Mark Your Calendars
March 5th and 6th!
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GRR would like to shine the Golden spotlight on former GRR pup, Winter Wednesday (23-111), now known as Willow! Willow (Winter) came to GRR after her original family made the difficult decision to surrender her once they realized their children were allergic to dogs. Initially, when Willow was adopted by her fur-ever family, she showed some anxious reactivity (to new or unknown sounds, experiences, etc.), had some definite “puppy behaviors”, but was both beautiful and boisterous!
Oh, what a difference a year makes! Willow has transformed in so many ways. She loves playing, being outdoors, and loves to stretch out for a snooze on the bed (her human’s bed, that is). Willow has PLENTY of personality, she aims to please, and when her humans arrive home or a new person comes over, she will show off one of her toys with such pride (she doesn’t just wag her tail, she wags half of her body with joy)! Willow is quite vocal and will alert humans that she wants attention or to play with a groan-like grumble. Overall, she has grown so much and has become a comical, cuddly, beloved part of her family!
Thank you, GRR for providing Willow with a second chance and a bright future.
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The More You Know - Volunteer Orientation | |
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Please join us for a high-level overview of Gold Ribbon Rescue. All are welcome to attend to learn more about GRR and volunteer opportunities available.
When: Wednesday March 19, 2025
Time: 6:30 - 7:15pm
Where: Microsoft Teams Meeting
Please RSVP to Susan if you are planning to attend.
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Options to Join:
Meeting ID: 244 350 669 127
Passcode: 6rX3Av7C
+1 689-206-0321,,213411719#
Find a local number
Phone conference ID: 213 411 719#
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Copy and paste this link into your browser.
Download Teams
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Looking ahead in 2025!
February: Fabulous Beach House Raffle in Port Aransas
March: Amplify Austin, March 5-6 which is the Austin Community’s Day of Giving
April: Third Annual Largest Golden Retriever Meetup in Texas
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Look Who's Here! Welcome to GRR! | |
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Callie 25-001 is a 2-year-old from the Austin area who was rehomed because she has too much energy for her owners and has been living outside for a while now. She went directly to board and train initially and is now settling in with her foster family.
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Dixie 25-002 is an 11.5-year-old who was rehomed along with her bonded pal, Sophie 25-003, because the owner can no longer take care of the dogs and is experiencing financial hardship. They went initially to Dog Gone Tired Kennels because we didn't want to wait to bring them in due to the cold weather. Both girls are now together in their loving foster home. They are cousins and both came from breeders in Alabama in 2013.
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Sophie 25-003 came in with Dixie 25-002 because their owner couldn't care for them any longer. The girls are together in their foster home, adjusting to life as GRR Goldens. We're so happy that they have joined the GRR family. | | |
Sunny Skies 25-004 is 8.5 years old and is being retired from her life of breeding along with her pal, 7.5 year old Honey 25-005. Their breeder is a friend of the breeder we received Starr 24-126 and Sunny 24-127 from right before Christmas. They are the second bonded pair that we took in within a week's time and both are settling in with their foster mom. | |
Willie 25-006 is a 4-year-old who was rehomed from his owner in Devine, TX. His original family moved from a house with a big yard to an apartment and Willie is not suited to life as an apartment dog! After a few months,.Willie was rehomed to a new home where he was living outdoors. He LOVES the outdoors, but Willie will need to learn how to love living inside as GRR policy is that we do not allow our Goldens to live outside….period. Because we wanted to get Willie in from the cold, we nabbed him at the time of the intake evaluation and he was boarded at Dog Gone Tired until he moved to his fabulous foster home where he is enjoying life as an indoor-only dog. | | |
Please welcome Otto 25-007 to GRR! He is an 8-month-old boy who was rehomed to us because one of the children in the home was extremely allergic to him. Otto had been rehomed previously from another family, also due to the child's allergies. We are excited to learn more about this adorable boy and know we will find him his perfect forever family. The third time is the charm! | |
Henry 25-008 is an 11-month-old from Georgetown who was rehomed because the owner has horrible allergies and, even with medication, she suffers. She has two other dogs (a Cocker and a Chihuahua) and it was only after she brought Henry home that her allergies begand to be a problem. | | |
Malone 25-009 is a 1 - 2-year-old who was found as a stray in the Rio Grande Valley. This handsome blondie was running loose near a busy intersection, so Good Samaritan Daisy stopped her car and Malone jumped right in! Daisy called our Hotline: "Hi, I found a Golden today after my lunch break and I still have the dog. He does not have a chip. I've been posting on several RGV lost and found sites and no luck there as well. He is a really good dog. He is very sweet but now I don't know what to do. I know I cannot keep him.I do have an organization reaching out to me that they can keep him, but they are in Virginia so he would have to travel all that way so I'm looking for a closer solution." GRR knows what to do! Our volunteer jumped in her car and brought him back to become a GRR dog. Such a good boy who will make some lucky family very happy! | |
Please welcome Tex 25-010, an almost 8-year-old, who was rehomed to GRR due to changes in his previous owner’s situation so that he could no longer care for Tex. Tex is with his Hope to Adopt Family and we are excited to see him settle in and adjust to his life as a GRR Golden. Welcome to your new life Tex! | | |
Bella 25-011 is an officially retired breeding dog from Scurry, TX. Her owners have rehomed other nice breeding dogs/puppies to us in the past, so it made perfect sense that they reached out to see if we would take Bella. We of course said YES! Bella just turned five years old in October and has had a total of two litters, having had eight puppies in her last litter. As with any of the breeder dogs we rescue, we know little about them, so we are really looking forward to seeing Bella adjust to being a companion Golden. | |
Brody 25-012 is a 9-year-old cream male who is a big boy who weighs between 90 and 100 pounds. He is a gentle soul and really likes kids. He came in just before month end so we are anxious to learn more about him. | | |
My Dream Really Did Come True! I Got Adopted! | |
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We are so excited to announce the adoption on January 12th of Merci 24-115 to Eric and Jackie and their three daughters. They are so excited to make her a part of their family, and are actually going to keep the name Merci. She came to us at about six months old from a home that kept her outside most of the day. She was neglected and in a dangerous situation, sometimes escaping not far from the interstate. She made good progress in her foster home and is just a lovely young pup now!, Congratulations to the new family.
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Butter 22-034, now Molly Jean, was adopted on January 12th by Kyle and his two children. They love her to pieces and are over the moon about becoming her family. Inside and outside (and under the covers), Butter adores being part of her family’s routine. She snuggles all of her charges, has learned to shake and give high fives and recently taught her family to give her belly rubs on command. “She is a dream and honestly the absolute perfect girl,” says Kyle. We agree. | |
Mayo 24-130 was adopted on January 18th by Mona. She is so excited that this fun-loving puppy has joined her family, and who wouldn’t be? He is positively enchanting! Mayo now has a three-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer sister, Birdie, to play with and show him the ropes. He is in for a beautiful life. | | |
Fresco 24-131, now Archie, was adopted on January 18th by Jake and Natalie and their teenage son. An outgoing, friendly, and energetic floofer, Archie bears more than a passing resemblance to a well-known dog toy. Despite outweighing Pearl, the family’s 13-pound Yorkiepoo, he is very much the baby of the fold. | |
Sweet Kelce 24-095 was adopted on January 20th. She has been through so much in her four months with GRR! She came to us with her two puppies, Elway and Brees, on 9/6/24, tested heartworm and Anaplasmosis positive along with a case of hookworms and being seriously underweight and was extremely shy, but she loved affection. In addition, Kelce had surgery on 10/22/24 to repair a femur that had been previously broken and untreated. The great news is that now she is walking with NO limp and is heartworm free! Kelce is with her forever family and will have a wonderful life! | | |
Chester 24-119 was adopted on January 21st by Nick and Lana and their two daughters. He came to Gold Ribbon after a Good Samaritan called us because his coworker was taking Chester to the shelter because the children would not help with his care. A few stops later through Einstein K9 and foster families, he finally found his way to his forever family. We are so excited for Chester and his new family! | |
Centurion 24-100, now Chiku (Hindi for Sapodilla fruit), was adopted on January 23rd by Pavan and Nidhie. The name denotes a very sweet fruit that has a certain grittiness to it; just right for a darling puppy who beat parvo! Chiku is already best buddies with his 15-month-old canine brother, Yuzu. This is absolutely the best news that Chiku has found the best home imaginable. We're so very happy for all of them!! | | |
Thoughts, Prayers and Remembrance... | |
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Kali (Kiska) 14-142
Turk (Arcadia) 20-083T
Andre 21-050
Molly (Flirt) 14-017
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The moment we met Kali, we fell in love with her. She was still in foster care, but GRR let us foster her through her heartworm treatment and ultimately adopted her. Initially she was very emaciated and had had puppies at a very young age. Eventually she put on weight and her health improved. But despite all she had been through, she was very loving and happy around her "people."
When extended family moved in with us with their black lab, it took her awhile to get used to "Dessy." But once she did, they became the best of friends - we used to call them salt and pepper. Any time Dessy experienced anything unpleasant, Kali was right there to console her. Kali also used to make her rounds throughout the day to check on everyone in the house and offer cuddles, especially her best friend, Ryan. She helped him through some very difficult times and knew just how to make him feel better.
She loved going on walks and taking rides in the car. Any time anyone took her in the car to pick up Ryan's nephew from school, the women in the line would get all excited and exclaim, "Kali's here!" She was a favorite due to her sweet disposition. We also all swore she was able to laugh and had a delightful sense of humor. She had some serious issues with her stomach on occasion and was terrified of the vet, so when she was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor that was inoperable, Ryan refused to have her final moments at the vet's. He had a vet come to the house to help her cross the rainbow bridge and then Ryan helped carry her out the door for one final walk.
We all miss her so much - she brought us so much joy. Thank you GRR for the privilege of bringing such a very special girl into our family.
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Turk (Arcadia) 20-083T
Susan
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Our very good boy, Turk (Acadia 20-083T), crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Monday, December 30, 2024 due to cancer. Although he was only with us four years, we loved having this smart, lovable guy in our lives. Many, many thanks to GRR for bringing him to us from Turkey. He was just the best.
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Andre 21-050
Jamie and Ryan
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It is with the heaviest of hearts that Ryan and I announce that our dear Andre (21-050) passed over the Rainbow Bridge on January 17, 2025. We didn't have nearly enough time with him, and yet every day spent with this sweet giant boy was filled with love. In the end, as with most large dogs, it was cancer that took him. He was still mostly as active as Andre ever was, but there were a few concerning signs that needed to be checked out. He was coughing a great deal and not eating. It was not going to get any better and as heartbreaking and sudden as it was for us, we did not want him to suffer.
I can't express enough how much we loved working with GRR and felt welcomed by the community, even though as a Great Pyr, Andre was only an honorary Golden. I know he was well loved in the group, especially by his foster mom Hara and her family, who gave us so much support even after his adoption. Please if you can, go snuggle your furry friends, for us and for Andre.
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Molly (Flirt) 14-017
Mary and Randy
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We wanted GRR to know that we said goodbye to our sweet Molly, GRR Flirt 14-017, on January 11th. She would have been 14 years old in February, and we had her about 10 years. She was a wonderful companion for Kirby, also a GRR dog, who passed away in 2016. As Molly aged we adopted Bogey, GRR Scout 19-055, in 2019 to help keep her active. He did a great job, considering how long she lived a very happy life. We all miss her terribly. We hope to add another Golden to the family this year. Thanks very much to GRR for giving us such wonderful companions.
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Newsletter Editor: Dori Olsen
Send comments or suggestions to: newsletter@grr-tx.com
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The Gold Ribbon Rescue newsletter is published monthly. Articles reflect the opinion of the authors and do not necessarily reflect GRR policy. Gold Ribbon Rescue and its Editor(s) seek to publish accurate material, but neither assumes responsibility in the event of a claim of loss or damage resulting from publication. | |
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Gold Ribbon Rescue | 512-659-4653 | 1101 W 34th St #336, Austin TX 78705
www.grr-tx.com
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