Golden Recovery Retrieving Retrievers Rescue Midwest A 501

This Page is dedicated to GRRRR dogs who have gone to the "Bridge", and the loving families who adopted them. The pain of losing a beloved pet is difficult to bear. For those families; comfort only comes from knowing that the Golden you adopted, may never have known love until you opened your heart and home. We are certain that their gratitude was boundless, shown daily by the wag of a tail, or an adoring look. Although your time together may have been short, please know that they understood that they were loved. From all of us at GRRRR, on behalf of these dogs, we thank you for your love, care, and generosity. Without you, they may never have known what it meant to be "home".

Daisy (Ashley) Koman

Daisy came to GRRRR as Ashley, as stray, probably 6-8 years old. She was adopted by the Komans in August of 2001. When adopted she had a really bad "summer" haircut that made her look like Lab with fuzzy ears. As you can see, the haircut never mattered, nor did her age. Daisy was a special little soul who loved children.

From Becky Koman:

Daisy was very much my 14 year-old's dog. She truly was the best dog. You could always count on Daisy greeting you at the door with a "friend" in her mouth. She never barked, jumped or licked, but you always knew she was there when she would "nudge" your hand as if to say "Hey dummy. I'm here, pet me". We all miss her presence in our lives. Though we only had her for a short while, we were truly blessed the day you gave her to us.

Abbie Wilcox, April 2006 (cancer)

Dear Friends and Family,

Our sweet Abbie dog lost her valiant 4 month-long battle with kidney cancer on Friday, April 7. She fought hard to live and savored life, even when she didn't feel great. She loved going for hikes with us in the woods, cuddling with her family members, going for rides in the car and digging for moles!

Abbie was only six years old, much to young to develop an aggressive kidney tumor, which was removed in February. We thought she had it licked, but then the remaining kidney began to fail before we could even try a few rounds of chemo to get any cancer that had spread. We are so sad.

We only got to enjoy her for 18 months, but we are thankful for the time we did have. She enriched our lives so much, and we are grateful to all of you who helped us find her, bring her home (from a Golden Retriever Rescue group in Kansas) and care for her. The dedicated folks who rescue these dogs are heroes!

Abbie loved our kids, and Hannah, who was terrified of dogs when we got Abbie, learned how sweet dogs can be and was really affectionate toward her near the end. Joseph loved playing with her and watching her dig for moles. Abbie loved pestering my mom at the dinner table. She always stood right at her knees and put her wet nose on Mom's hand, which made Mom yelp in surprise! Me, I loved everything about her and only wished for us to have more hikes, more snuggles, more time together. We miss her, sweet pup!

I'm sending a couple of photos along. Thanks for listening!

Love, Andrea

Fiona, September 2005 (cancer)

Maizie, December 2004

In the words of Maizie's Dad: When I chose, or perhaps more accurately, she chose to adopt me, I wanted a friend a companion, of course you discover that it becomes much more than that. I knew that she was an older dog, and that she would not have as long a time with me than a younger dog would, but I didn't hesitate saying "Yes!", when she was brought over to my house that first day. Not sure if it was common, but I was allowed to keep her right then, not sure if you could tell who wanted to be with the other more, but certainly you could tell we were a matched pair.

We didn't lead an exciting life, neither of us needed excitement, I didn't need an obedient dog, and she didn't need a master, but we both discovered that we needed each other. Maizie was everybody's dog in the neighborhood. Not that it mattered, but I wondered if she wanted to be with me more than anyone else, that was answered the day she declined a car ride with my girlfriend because I wasn't going. Mind you, their was only one thing that she liked more than car rides, and that was food.... Yeah, Maizie would have gone with her if food was involved, but at that point I knew that she preferred to be with me, over a car ride.

Again, that never mattered to me, as long as she was happy, I was happy.

Riley, December 2004

Riley's family had to let him go on December 23, 2004. He had been doing pretty well but took a downturn and went down very rapidly. His Mom says "I know you know it hurts, but I also feel remarkably comfortable because I know it was the right decision. I didn’t feel putting him through a battery of tests would have lead to a different outcome. I know he at least is in good company with Shadow and Rusty (Merlin). When I have a chance to think a little clearer I’ll try to send some other thoughts you could use for the memorial page when you get a chance to update it."

Salem, October 2004 - Lymphoma

We are so grateful to GRRRR for Salem and the five years we had with him. He went to the Rainbow Bridge far too young after six months of treatment for lymphoma. Everyone who knew him will remember his "grin" and mischievous personality. A friend read an article at the vet's office about retrievers who are like Peter Pan, they just never grow up -- she said she knew exactly which retriever they meant -- SALEM! No counter was too high for Salem to surf, and fresh-baked bread was a personal favorite of his. He was a loving and playful companion to our four boys. He was Angela's "baby grin" -- he never quite adjusted to our three new kids being called baby, after all he was the baby! We will always hold his memory dear in our hearts, the best dog ever.

Thank you, Angela Powell

Booms, April 2004 - Hemorraghic Gastroenteritis

Boomer was hand picked for us from Bill and Linda and Pat, and he wasn't ever featured as an available dog on the web site--we adopted him too fast!

We were very saddened by the loss of our beloved Boomer--he was a wonderful member of our family and the most wonderful dog in the world--his death was very sudden and a shock to us all...but we will always remember the best times and how fun it was to spoil him rotten, which he deserved! We, as a family, wanted to grow old with him and nurture him forever, but it's always the best ones that pass on too early...We are in the process of adopting another Golden to fill our house with the loving companionship Goldens provide. Although a new dog will never replace Boomer, we feel we can provide another dog with a loving, safe environment. We love this web site and want to be in the GRRRR family for a long time!!!!

Thanks so much, Joe, Chrisan, Rach, and Zach

Goldy, 15-16 (old age)

I was surfing the web and happened upon GRRRR-Midwest's website. I wasn't looking to adopt.... I had adopted a golden from a shelter and had been volunteering for a mixed breed group and fostering for them. Goldy was a little old lady to be sure.... she was senior, she was petite, she was a golden - from the looks of it a BADLY bred one, she did not have a flowing coat, her front legs resembled a bull dog, she was sway backed from TOO MANY litters of pups (former kennel wench - nice way of saying that she was a breeder for a mill!).. and from what little experience I had at the time.... not a likely candidate for adoption at all. I read her story..... and like most, I closed the page and went on my way... but I came back, several times... her story touched my heart and I wrote to her foster mom. After many emails and a few phone calls, I decided it was fate and filled out an application for adoption and had a home visit. One thing led to another and I met Goldy at a little park. I took Toby (my golden) with me.... what a miss-matched pair they were; Toby was about 90 lbs, white-blonde in color with a silky coat and feathers... Goldy was a little thing, red wavy coat on the course and thin side, sway backed... a little slower in the step but full of love. They were instantly best friends and each others protector. She came home! The volunteers got a laugh out of the first picture of Goldy that I sent them... it is the one of her laying in a chair..... I told them that the dogs were not allowed on the furniture, Goldy could do whatever she wanted! She had earned at least that much considering her previous life. Goldy was a playful girl until advanced age really slowed her down and we were content to let her be a couch potato, then a rug potato when she could no longer jump on the couch. Goldy lost the use of her back legs eventually and we tried pain meds and different treats to no avail. She was simply too tired, her body too old and frail. With lots of love, cradled in my arms, with my tears covering her face, we took away her pain and let her run free again.

A special Girl (Sierra)

Sierra was a special girl GRRRR accepted into the program. Read about her story and her special fund (for similar special dogs) here: http://www.goldstockfund.org/TGF/mainSierraFund.htm

Rusty (~1993 - 2003)

Rusty (formerly Merlin) overcame his early eye removal shortly after his adoption by his forever family and went on to lust after the cat's food and cheese slices. He started having some problems in getting up during Summer 2002 and succumbed gracefully to old age on March 24, 2003.

He would also come up and nudge my hand and MAKE me pet him and rub his ears. He came to live with us Father's day weekend 2001. He was my sweetheart. Just like human kids, they're each special for their own reasons. I love Riley dearly, but Rusty was just so special. I would tell people how I watched his coat improve with his better diet. When I first got him he wouldn't let me mess with his feet like to wipe them off if he had been out in the rain. Then, he would let me. I even got to where I could trim his nails. Oh and the time when Riley ran into him and stirred up his arthritis in his spine. He was in so much pain, but NEVER tried to even nip at me even when I had to lift him up in the back of my SUV to get him to the vet. The vet said he had never seen such arthritis. I finally found a vet that came to the house so I wouldn't have to lift him up and down, just on the occasional eye doc visit. Lori

As with many of our rescues, the love, comfort and security Rusty knew the in the last years of his life erased the memories of the hardships in his earlier life.

Rusty (~1991 - 2003)

When Rusty was about 7 years old, his owner’s decided they no longer wanted him and took him to the pound. Luckily a worker recognized him as a golden and gave me a call. I went to meet him and was not all that impressed. He was big, dirty, matted and seemingly uninterested in me. I took him to the vet, where they discovered what turned out to be a cancerous tumor. Rusty underwent radiation therapy and I reluctantly offered to foster him for hospice care. Rusty’s true personality slowly revealed itself. He was a huge love bug, never met a person he didn’t like and looked for every opportunity to be pet by putting his huge head in our laps. Belly rubs became his favorite, and a stuffed toy was always in his mouth. He preferred indoors, but always wanted to be included on our walks—as long as he could carry a stuffed toy. He would only sleep in a round bed and would often put himself to bed if we were staying up too late. Thunderstorms were very scary, but he was calmer if I slept with him in the closet.

After a couple months, we knew that Rusty was not going anywhere. We were in love. Rusty exceeded all our expectations and lived with us for 3 ½ years. His round bed is empty now, and the back field is littered with stuffed toys that Rusty dropped on his walks. He is gone now, but will always be in our hearts.

“If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I’d walk right up to heaven and bring you back again”. Jeanne and Peter

Lucy, Gastric Torsion

Lucy was a lovely old girl who never made it to a forever home. Lucy had just a few short months of love and care with her foster family . A frantic trip to the Vet was just not enough to save her. Her sweet, smiling face will be missed by everyone in her foster home.

Kelly/Hope, Osteosarcoma

Kelly came to Rescue as a stray, estimated to be 7-8 year old. Hope was GRRRR's senior "poster girl".

After Hope had been adopted we came to find that her name was really Kelly, and her adoptive home found that this suited her just fine. Kelly was truly a wonderful dog who loved everyone she met, and adored her adoptive family, who told her often that she was "the best dog in the whole world". Like most senior Goldens, Kelly asked for little, an evening walk, and a family who loved her. She received all of that and more for the little over 3 years that her adoptive family had the pleasure of her company. Kelly was a special girl who loved, and if the smile on her little girl's face is any indication, was loved in return. She is greatly missed by the people who loved her. Kelly will always remain our beautiful little poster girl.

Abe, Reluctantly Euthanized for Aggression

Abe came to Rescue as a stray. We estimated Abe's age between 7 and 9 years. Abe was a lovely dog who possessed an "edge". He was with his foster Family for many months. While he had displayed tendencies to be overly assertive, his Foster Mom felt that there was a sweet side to Abe that just needed nurturing, and indeed he could be a love. We felt that Abe needed an adult home, and after placement he did fine for several weeks. After a time, Abe had 3 incidents of unprovoked bite behavior. With great sadness and in the company of his Foster Mom, who could always find love in her heart for Abe, we reluctantly made the decision to send Abe on to a better place. A place with no more pain, no more fear, and only perfect peace. Our greatest regret is that Abe did not come to us sooner, before his unknown past had made a devastating impression on his future life.

Belle, Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease

Belle came to us from a shelter. Listed as a mix, and garnering no interest due to her age and several very large growths on her neck, tail and back, Belle was dangerously close to being euthanized. For her foster Mom it was love at first sight, and when the growths were removed and proven benign, Belle found her forever home. To her foster/adoptive Mom, Belle was an Angel in a fur coat. Belle never met a human or another dog that she didn't like. She was truly Golden in every way. When Belle's health began to deteriorate, and she began having terrible seizures, tests were run, and X-rays taken that revealed that this sweet gentle dog, not only suffered from chronic lower respiratory disease that had severely damaged the right ventricle of her heart, but she had been riddled with BB's and had, at some point in her life, a "finish nail" driven into her left Tibia. When Belle could no long stand on her own, and spent many nights gasping for breath the decision was made to send sweet Belle to the Rainbow Bridge. She is greatly missed.

Aster, Hemangiosarcoma

Aster and her sister Daisy came to GRRRR at the age of 11. Being Collie mixes and senior girls their foster Mom was well aware that they would most likely never be adopted. After a year with their foster Mom Aster refused to eat and became lethargic. Emergency surgery confirmed Hemangiosarcoma. Aster was never revived from her anesthesia. Daisy, who is now 12, and slowing down some with age, still enjoys life in her foster/forever home.

Boomer, Gastric Torsion

Our dear sweet, totally messed up Boomer. Boomer suffered from almost every malady known to Goldens.

Boomer had idiopathic epilepsy, separation anxiety, cataracts, and was just plain difficult. For anyone who had ever met Boom Boom, with all his problems it was hard not to like him. He could be an angel one moment, and a toothpaste stealing, pillow shredding demon the next. Thanks to the efforts of his foster Mom, GRiC, and a very generous public, Boomer was able to have cataract surgery. His foster/adoptive Mom never gave up on the Boomer boy. Anyone who had ever spent anytime with Boomer grew very familiar with hearing the refrain.... "BOOOOOOOMMMMMER!"...poor Boom was in trouble again! He just never seemed to understand the "program". For his foster Mom, and those of us who knew and loved him, in spite of his problems, we hold only fond memories of the sweet little boy he could be. when he tried really, really hard.

Zeus, Chronic Ehrlichiosis

When Zeus was taken into our program, it didn't take very long for his Foster family to realize that he was a one-in-a- million dog. This gentle, loving, affectionate dog, had endured hardship after hardship, and never lost his ability to trust, and love. Adopted from a shelter, by an individual, he tested Heartworm positive, and was treated successfully, but never placed on preventative. Relegated to a pen, unloved and uncared for, when he came to us, he was once again, not only heartworm positive, but suffering from Ehrlichea. We treated for Heartworms and the Ehrlichea, with little success. In a last ditch effort his foster/adoptive family even tried a drug that was just recently approved in US for treatment of chronic Ehrlichiosis. Zeus made a truly valiant effort to rally back from years of neglect. His spirit was more than willing, but his body could never quite win the fight. For a brief time, with his foster family, Zeus knew unconditional love, and returned that love many times over. In the end Zeus lost his battle, his foster/adoptive family lost an exceptional dog., and GRRRR grieved along with them for a truly Golden life wasted due to neglect.

Chelsea: 10/28/88 - 3/1/01 (Cancer)

Chelsea came to rescue as an owner release and a senior at the age of 10. Chels was definitely an "alpha" girl and had a rather ugly incident in her first foster home. A call was made for a new foster home. Chelsea came to live with me, my family, all our goldens and a couple of kittens. Through some gentle reminders that I was the "Alpha" of the pack, Chelsea settled in quite nicely and became my eyes and ears when I was not in the room, roo-ing when one of the other dogs was doing something that she felt was not right. (the ultimate tattletale!) She "assisted" in making sure that the residents and any fosters were towing the line. A growth developed and a biopsy confirmed cancer. Several tumors were removed. Chels always kept a happy face and everyone in line. When the cancer progressed to her lungs we knew that her time with us was coming to an end, counting our time would now be in weeks instead of months. She rallied back every time and exceeded expectation. Even on the day that she let me know that she was too tired to fight anymore - she was still giving kisses for cookies and wagging her tail. It took some talking (and I would guess a little arm twisting) but I did get to officially adopt Chelsea before she left for the bridge.... she has been missed and was much loved while she was with me. Cindi and family (2 and 4 footed)

Nugget, Osteosarcoma

Nugget came to us as an owner surrender at the age of 10. Nugget had cataracts and suffered from undiagnosed hypothyroidism. His foster home was diligent with is medication and diet and Nugget quickly went from 110 lbs to a svelte 85 pounds. While Nugget had never been abused or truly neglected, he had spent many years going form the yard to the basement to the yard, without benefit of the attention and care that he needed. Nugget was adopted by a wonderful individual who had cataract surgery done, provided Nugget with abundant love, exercise and attention, only to lose him in a few short months to Osteosarcoma. Nugget was a sweet, pretty boy, whom we are certain, never failed to show his appreciation for being granted his last months of life being truly loved.

Rose, Osteosarcoma

Reggie/Rusty, Cancer

Goldie, Cancer

Jarvic, (center) SAS (subaortic valvular stenosis)

Sugarbear, Cancer

Breezy, GR mix, Osteosarcoma