SPECIAL NEEDS GOLDEN  -   HAZEL                                                    

On September 19th, NRGRR rescued a beautiful, 12 year old female from a kill shelter.  We named this sweet girl Hazel. In addition to being obviously neglected with long claws and matted fur, we discovered that Hazel is also blind.  Hazel’s blindness is due to Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration (SARDS) which was likely caused by malnutrition and stress. Her blindness is irreversible, BUT, there is a slight chance that Hazel could regain partial sight after being fed a high quality diet high in anti-oxidants.  Imagine waking up one morning suddenly and completely blind?  Although it is unlikely that Hazel will regain her sight, it doesn’t mean she can’t still live a fun and enjoyable life.

Poor Hazel also has Giardiasis, which is most often caused by eating or drinking dirty food or water.  She is not contagious.  This parasite blocks nutrient absorption and produces toxic substances, which has made Hazel quite sick.  Hazel’s foster reports that she searches for water sources out in the yard, trying to drink from the saucers under pots and even going as far as trying to drink the dew off the grass in the early morning, leading us to believe that she never had access to her own clean water, so she found it where she could.  Hazel now has a home with fresh drinking water and is quite partial to the water “fountain” drinking bowl for the cats, because she can hear it and she knows to go to it to drink.

Hazel’s Foster reports “She is the sweetest little special golden girl I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.”  She looks like a little lamb as her fur is curly and fluffy now that she is clean.  Hazel loves baths and brushing and loves to be/needs to be with other gentle dogs.  She has taken a liking to her Foster’s male golden and uses him to guide her around the house.  It only took her a few days to figure out her foster house with her nose.  Her foster has also purchased some very stylish pink goggles for her to wear so she doesn’t poke her eye out on branches etc while she is outside.  Hazel is not too fond of the goggles so far, but her loving foster is working on that with her.  Hazel is 90% housetrained, but has difficulty waiting all night.  Her foster mom has been getting up early with her to prevent night time accidents.  She is crate trained, spayed and micro chipped.  She is not yet leash trained but loves her safe, fenced yard to explore.  She is very active and otherwise healthy for her age and tends to go with the flow of the energy of the house.

Hazel’s is a truly tragic story, but due to the efforts of NRGRR and our wonderful volunteers, sweet little Hazel is safely tucked in bed at night, and won’t get wet if it rains, or frightened if it thunders.  She will be lavished with attention all day, and has a safe yard to sniff around and companionship with fellow Goldens and loving humans – something she obviously has been neglected of for a long time.  Hazel also has FRESH water to drink and nourishing food to fill her belly and help her regain her strength and immune system and she will never have to lick the dew off the grass when she is thirsty again – NRGRR will make sure of that.

Update November 10th:

Hi everyone. My foster mom is letting me write an update because I feel SO much better. I am so excited that I am feeling good again. My foster mom says that I don’t have any bugs in my system anymore. I don’t know what that means but I do know that I feel good enough to let myself in and out of the house to go do my business (my foster mom thinks that I’m quite brilliant for that) and I can go up and downstairs by myself, too. I just needed some time to memorize them. I’m a happy mellow girl who is looking for a home to hang my leash. I can do anything my fur brother and sister do. I am not handicapped. I am a normal golden girl who is just special. I will only need a couple of things in my new home…a fenced yard and someone to let me out. Oh, and someone to brush me and love me since I didn’t get that before. I really think I like that. It makes me wag my tail a lot. That’s it. Please ask about me. I promise I will love you and make you smile.

Update November 21st:

Hi everyone. My foster mom tells me I have fans! Wow, I never thought I'd have a following. I'm writing with great news. I've found my forever family! I have two kitty siblings and a Bearded Collie sister who is blind just like me and who is also deaf. How cool is that that I will have a new sister who knows what I'm going through. My new mom says I can be her ears and let her follow me around. We have a safe fenced back yard and my new mom and dad tell me they love me no matter what. Gotta go meet my new family...and to all you potential adopters out there, don't forget about us seniors. We're the best.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can help dogs just like Hazel, please e-mail or call us at NRGRR@hotmail.com  or  919-676-7144

If you’d like to help defray some of the costs NRGRR has incurred in the rescue of Hazel, please visit our donation page.