Kirby

After losing my previous golden to gastric torsion (twisting of the stomach), I didn't think that I could ever have another golden that would be like him. I decided I could not lose another dog, so I would not replace him. After two weeks, I realized that the house was way too quiet and calm without a golden in it. I started searching for a golden puppy, but a friend suggested that I consider adopting, so I decided that I would give it a try. I wasn't sure what I was getting into, not knowing what the dog had previously been through left me a little unsure.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if these dogs have been through a terrible time, then they deserve to have a nice and loving home. I mean, who could possibly hurt or treat a golden badly (I'm afraid that there are people out there that do hurt them). But I decided that I can make a difference in the life of at least one golden. I started looking at your website and called and visited several dogs, but they just didn't have that connection to match up with me. Just when I thought I was about to give up on adopting, then came Kirby.

I went to the foster home where Kirby was and when the couple had me come into the house, Kirby jumped up and put his paws on my shoulders and licked me on the end of the nose. Well that was it, the connection made. We sat and talked for a think and hour or two and I didn't realize it, but I had been petting him the whole time. When the couple came to my place to see where Kirby would be living, I wasn't sure whether I was going to be considered worthy of adopting him and so I asked if I would be allowed to adopt him. They said, Oh yes, he's going to have it made. I guess they could tell that I spoil my goldens, just a little. Kirby had been kept away from people in the home he was rescued from, had been adopted and returned to the Rescue, and had been through numerous foster homes, so I wasn't sure exactly how he would react when he saw someone. Would he be afraid or people or would he be on the other end of the spectrum and "love" people too much?

Well, he LOVES people, especially small children. There was a little boy in my apartment complex when I first got Kirby that loved Kirby as much as Kirby loved the little boy. We had gone to get the mail and Kirby was trying to lick the little boy. When his mother told him to tell Kirby goodbye, he turned and grabbed Kirby by the muzzle and planted a kiss right on the end of his nose. Well, of course Kirby had to return the kiss!

Everyone in the apartment complex knew who Kirby was (we've since moved into a house). They didn't necessarily know my name, but they knew Kirby's name and I became "Kirby's Mom". Kirby and I were out for our walk one day when we were stopped by a 4-year old. He asked if Kirby was "a golden wetweava" and if he could pet him. I told him that Kirby would love for the little boy to pet him. He proceeded to tell me that he was 4 years old and I told the little boy that Kirby was also 4 years old. He said "he's awfwe big for 4 yeaws old." He said that Kirby was "not as light as most goldens, like the color of honey." After we talked for a while, the brother of the little boy ran back over to his bike and I told him that he had better go with his brother and ride his bike and Kirby needed to finish his walk. The little boy, very seriously, looked at me and said, "can we meet again, cuz I just wuv golden wetweavas?" I said sure, Kirby would love that. The little boy went running off yelling "we can meet again, we can meet again!" Needless to say, I do believe that Kirby just made the day a 4-year old!!

As you can see, the house is no longer too quiet or too calm, it's filled with the love of a golden. I want to thank NRGRR for providing me with my perfect "golden" opportunity.

With Much Love,

Pamela & Kirby

Bacardi aka Buddy

When our daughter Kimberlyn, a recent Elon University graduate, landed a dream job with the Carolina Hurricanes, she put her plans for grad school on hold and decided to stay with us until she could decide where to live. Born into a family of animal lovers, and still grieving the loss of our beloved golden Megan, Kimberlyn decided that things were just too quiet in our empty nest home and proceeded to look into adopting another Golden. Casual dinner conversations became "what if" discussions; before we knew it, we were talking about actual dogs with names and personalities and histories.

Bacardi's story was like many others: a rough life but lots of potential. Our business major daughter certainly knew how to market her plan, and our feeble arguments about not wanting another huge emotional investment were worn down and suddenly Bacardi was coming over "just for a visit". So much for a 'Get Acquainted' visit ~ it was love at first sight, a perfect match, and Bacardi (now Buddy) has never left Kimberlyn's side.

This one hour visit turned into an overnighter that never ended, and Buddy has lived happily ever after with us. Under Kimberlyn's loving care, Buddy has transformed from an underweight, scraggly coated, submissive dog to a magnificent, self-confident, happy golden that runs the household. When we take him to run free at Horseshoe Farm, he actually stops and looks back at us, his coat shining and feathers flying, and literally grins with happiness! He knows he has a loving home and every day he shows his gratitude.

Buddy is Kimberlyn's dog, no doubt about that, and we don't know who is happier when she comes home from a long day of work! Buddy has given us something that we didn't know was missing; and just as we believe we've given him a better life, we know he's enriched ours beyond measure. When Kimberlyn moves out shortly, we'll miss her greatly but fully intend to have partial custody of Buddy. Buddy completed our lives; just like in the movie, he had us at "Hello".

Kimberlyn, Jim, and Margo Hickman
Wake Forest, NC

The Perfect Match

I have been moved to write this letter because of my recent adoption from the NRGRR. I would like to start by saying that it took me several months to find what would eventually turn out to be the perfect match.

I looked at the SPCA, all the rescue groups throughout the Triangle and even shelters out side of the Raleigh-Durham area. It was an ongoing search, night after night, day after day. I was ready for my pet companion but it seemed to be very difficult. Some shelters didn't know enough about the dogs to make me feel comfortable enough to want to make that commitment, other shelters were just too busy to take the time with me that I needed. It was becoming frustrating and it was beginning to consume a lot of my time.

On a Saturday morning in August, I decided to check out the NRGRR web-site, as luck would have it, they were having an adopt-a-thon at the PetsMart on Glenwood, so I decided to go. It was fun, I pet a lot of pooch's, filled out an application, talked to a couple of volunteers and met Martin. I put on my application that I would be interested in learning more about Martin. About a week later my application was approved. The really strange thing was, I had been approved through a lot of other shelters and I kept looking and looking, this time, I relaxed and all of a sudden I stopped thinking about it. I remember telling a friend that I was not consumed with it any more, I felt like my interaction with the volunteers was good and someone was going to help me find my match. That's where Sue comes. She kept in contact with me week after week. She would tell me about a few dogs and always concentrating on the things that were important to me. The dog that was mentioned in every conversation was Martin. Martin was heartworm positive upon his arrival to NRGRR, therefore he was on his treatment and could not be visited. I waited until he was a week away from being able to be adopted and went to visit. I knew when we met that he was the one. We are companions now. He is a wonderful dog. He is extremely loving, wanting to please, smart, friendly and faithful. I get greeted when I wake up in the morning and when I come home. He hangs out with me in what ever room I am in. My experience with NRGRR has been wonderful. Thanks to the NRGRR I have my pet companion and Martin has a forever home and a human companion.

The rescue is made up of volunteers and without the care from them NRGRR would not be what it is. I thought others should know that Sue does a great job and it really shows that she cares, not only about the dogs having a good home but I felt like she cared about me having what I was looking for and I was not put at the bottom of her list. I would like to add that Martins foster mom, Beth, was equally helpful. She was willing to take her time talking about Martin, she was accommodating when it came to visiting and picking up and she has checked on him a couple times since the adoption. At one point I was starting to believe that I was not meant to have a dog, now I know why, I was meant to go through the NRGRR and end up with Martin, which by the way, I have changed his name to Charlie. In the picture, Charlie is on my left.