Personalized ID Tags for Your Dog

M istakes can happen and our pets get loose. Children leave a door open, contractors leave a gate ajar, a squirrel has to be chased and a leash is dropped. Suddenly your dog is gone. How can you get him back?

Every FHGRR dog goes home wearing a tag that shows his rescue number and the phone number for FHGRR. In addition, every FHGRR dog is microchipped with a unique number that is registered to FHGRR to help identify the dog. BUT THAT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! It is very important that you take two simple steps as soon as you have adopted your dog. First, have a personalized ID tag made that includes your phone num-ber (cell phone is best) and attach it immediately to the dog’s collar. Second, contact the microchip company (all the necessary information is in the dog’s information packet) and add your contact information to the existing FHGRR microchip information. It is vital that someone finding your dog be able to contact you immediately to reunite you both. If your dog wears only his FHGRR tag, there will be a delay. That’s because the rescue phone line is monitored only once a day, usually in the late afternoon. So, if your missing dog is found at 6pm, it is likely that 23 hours will go by before we even know that someone has found him. Most people who find a missing dog can’t keep him, and if they can’t reach someone to let them know the dog has been found, they have no choice but to turn him in to the local shelter. You do NOT want this to happen! It works out much better if the dog is wearing a personalized ID tag. The finder will call you, and you can go get your dog. If the dog’s chip is scanned by a vet, local police depart-ment or shelter and you have registered your infor-mation, you will be notified and can get your dog. No delays and a quick and happy ending. FHGRR does everything it can to make sure a lost dog is reunited with his family, but the process is quicker and so much easier on your dog when he is wearing a personalized ID tag! Barb Watkins FHGRR Communications Coordinator

Golden Guardians

FALL 2014

Mission Statement: FHGRR is a full-service rescue dedicated to providing rescue and necessary veterinary care for unwanted, neglected, abused, homeless and displaced Golden Retrievers.

Contact Info

P.O. Box 9077 Greenville, SC 29604

Voice mail:

864-234-9739

Fax:

800-660-8554

Inside This Issue:

Recent Donations …... 2

The Benefits of Pets ... 3

Adoption Updates & Success Stories …... 4-6

Rainbow Bridge …… 7-9

Golden Gallery …..… 10

Upcoming Events …. 11

FHGRR Board Members and Staff …….…... 11

Page 2

Recent Donations

Golden Guardians

Recent Donations

A big paws-up to the following donors for their generosity!! FHGRR truly appreciates your unflagging support!

Bonita Arielly Audrey Love Charitable Foundation Gerard Bajek Marilyn Beals Karen Bjelland Paul & Lisa Black Grant & Tiffany Brittain, in honor of Dusty and Georgia Ronald & Jane Brock David & Linda Brown Leslie & Ronald Brown James & Susan Bufano Carroll County Kennel Club, Inc., Conway, NH Ron & Marjorie Cleveland, in memory of Sampson Teevan, Lucy, Lily and Wilford Jeffrey Collier Julie Cooley Caroline Cunningham Kassandra Defranco Mary Donald Joseph & Darlene Drake Marian Duncan Kathryn Edwards Robert & Linda Eichelsderfer, for the White Face Fund Katrina Elsheimer Christopher Eselgroth The Eskew Family, in honor of Bella Randy & Sheila Fender, in memory of Rev. Kenneth Donald Carol Fultz H.F. Gallivan III Julie Gibson, in memory of Ginger William & Linda Gilkinson, in memory of Maybelline Herrmann; and in honor of volunteers Marjorie Cleveland and Sandy Teevan Golden Rescue Naples Inc., for Bridges Golden Retriever Foundation, Issaquah, WA Michael K. Goode Ann Greer

Sterling Grooms, for Bridges GSK, matching a donation from Steven Eggeston William & Joanne Heider Linda & Ronald Helm Connie Hennis, in honor of Marjorie Cleveland Doug Hexter, CEO of Wooftrax, Inc. Nelda Holder, for the White Face Fund Melinda & Bob Hoover, in memory of Emma Kaner-Bibb, Jebb Burdette, Patton Heidi, and Sampson Teevan Bob & Melinda Hoover, for Jessie; and in memory of Sammy Kuchar Valleti and Fry Van Bergen Kathleen Huey Richard & Nancy Hughes, for Nellie Margaret Hunter, for the White Face Fund Lee & Elaine Huntsburger, for the White Face Fund Lois Joerling, in honor of Emmy Lou Reverend R. Michael Jones William Homer Jones, in memory of Rev. Ken Donald John & Susan Keller, in memory of Tom Clark Wendy Kimbel, for the White Face Fund Vivian H Kline, for Hunter's Fund Susanne Kogut, Petco Foundation, San Gabriel , CA Virginia & Otto Kohler, in memory of my dad, Nick Nichols Peter & Lisa Larocque, in memory of Casey and Cody Joseph & Jill Lawrence LazBoy Furniture, matching a donation from Stephen and Corrine Goodwin Luther & Shirley Lippert, in memory of Eden Parker Grace Lyle, in memory of Annie Susan Lynch, in memory of Sunny Wilson Mrs. Edgar Lyngholm Ramona Martinez Derek & Beryl Marsh, in memory of Sampson Teevan

John & Nancy Mathewson Janet McAfee Donna McDonald Therese McGlone David McGrath Robert & Brenda McLain, in memory of Jake Cutrell Gyorgyi Mezovari Lynn Million Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence Minette, in honor of Marjorie Cleveland Herbert Moses Mt. Nittany Dog Training Club, in honor of Tony Hinson Theresa Natwick Tish O’Connor and Susan Libera Caroline Otten, in memory of Rev. Ken Donald Marcia & Albert Paiewonsky Claudia Peterson, in honor of Nelda Holder William & Sue Pogue, in honor of Susan McNamara Christopher & Elizabeth Reddick, in memory of Eli Reddick Leigh Rodgers, in honor of Jan Nunziato Lawrence Rogan Veronica Russo, in memory of Sampson Teevan Jim Saxon Marian Spencer, in honor of Nelda Holder William Stuart, DMD PA, in memory of Rev. Ken Donald John Sturman David & Marcia Tanner Mary Titus, in honor of Marley Travelers Community Connections, matching a donation from John Wagner Larry & Nancy Turner John & Betty Jean Tyler Brenda & Gerald Uttaro Barb & Pete Watkins, in memory of Sampson Teevan and Eden Parker Denise & Jon Wells Mary Woodside

Fall 2014

Dogs and Our Health: The Benefits of our Furry Friends

By LabDoor.com

For thousands of years, dogs have been domesticated and bred to have qualities humans deemed suitable – a literal transformation from wild animal to man’s best friend. They are our companions, friends, family, and service dogs. That feeling we get when we see our furry friend jump with joy, give us a kiss (and accidentally hit us with that wagging tail!) is well known. The health benefits of dog ownership, however, is often less talked about. Here, we round up the scien-tific evidence of how dogs can significantly enhance health and quality of life.

Dogs Enhance Physical and Mental Health

• Dog owners reap amazing cardiovascular benefits, including lower cholesterol and reduced blood pressure.

• Dog owners have a lower likelihood of visiting the doctor.

• Dog owners have a lower likelihood of being on medi-cation for sleeping and heart issues.

• Dog owners have a lower likelihood of health deterio-ration after losing their significant other.

• Dogs help fight depression.

• Dogs allow humans to have responsibility, purpose, and support.

• Dog owners feel safer outside when walking their dogs.

• Having a pet can save you money on health care due to less frequent doctor’s visits – a result of better and more stable health.

Dogs Have Big Benefits for Children

• Children who have dogs at home are more active. This leads to a more physical and healthier lifestyle.

• Children who owns dogs generally become more nur-turing adults.

• Children with pets have higher self-esteem.

• Children with pets have an enhanced immune system and experience less allergies than children who are not around pets.

• Dogs make children feel safe.

Dogs in Hospital and Nursing Homes

• Dogs help patients become more responsive, alert, and happy.

• Residential dogs in nursing homes resulted in less fatigue, less depression, and increase in vigor for patients.

• Residents of nursing home socialized more with each other when dogs were present.

Dogs Can Speed Up Recovery From Illness

• Dog owners are more than 8.6 times more likely to be alive after a heart attack than non-dog owners.

• Pets allow humans to cope better after learning they have a major illness.

• Pets allow humans to feel like they have a sense of support before, during, and after their illness.

• Recently widowed women with dogs are on less medication and experience less symptoms of disease than their non-dog owning counterparts.

Dogs Provide Unspoken Therapy

• Dogs help soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Some programs allow dogs to be trained for the dis-abled by prisoners. This help boost the prisoners’ self-esteems and teaches them nurturing skills.

• Dogs are a great stress relief for students during exams.

• Patients with schizophrenia feel safer and less stressed with friendly dogs around.

• Dogs provide love and relief from loneliness.

Dogs Help People Be More Social

• Dogs make you get out of the house.

• By walking more, you meet more people and socialize more.

There is clearly a mutual relationship between hu-mans and dogs. This explains why our bonds with our dogs and other pets are so strong.

Dogs Are Good for Your Health

Page 3

Nate

Thought you would enjoy seeing how "Nate" is doing! He has gained 12 pounds and has fit in comfortably with our family of four boys, two cats and a senior golden! We installed an invisible fence so he has the run of over an acre, and he loves it! He finally went in our in-ground pool and then wouldn't get out because he loved it so much! He is a great addition to our busy house and we can't imagine life without him! Thank you! – Claudia Dibb

Luvett

I am sitting at my desk with a beautiful sweet little golden retriever curled up at my feet. Her name is Luvett (because I “love it” so much) and she became my forever friend in July of this year. I put my appli-cation in to adopt in December and I waited for the word that my Golden match had been made.

I work in a retirement community and it is very im-portant that my match have a good temperament and be a good candidate to be a therapy dog. The president of FHGRR knows me and my circumstances, and in July she found what she thought would be a good match and sent me an e-mail and a picture. It was just by chance that I checked my e-mails, because I was in Cincinnati at a convention. When I saw Luvett’s (her original name was Sassy) picture, it was love at first sight.

As it turned out, timing was crucial. Luvett had been in a shelter, had kennel cough and worms and was be-coming very depressed being in quarantine. Although she was being treated for Bordetella and worms, she still needed to be spayed. But FHGRR came to our rescue. They picked Luvett up and kept her until I could get home from my trip. She went in to get spayed and was a member of my family the next day.

We started our therapy training in September, but she is already a part of my family and my retirement com-munity. She stands by my front door waiting to go to work each morning and my residents come looking for Luvett to tell her how beautiful she is. She is a happy girl, and my life is greatly enhanced by her presence.

Thank you, Foothills Golden Retriever Rescue!

Page 4

Adoption Updates and Success Stories

Golden Guardians

FHGRR WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS:

Those who donate their time to bring in, socialize, transport and work at events for our Goldens. A special debt of appreciation goes out to our loving foster families!

Without you, and the efforts of all our won-

derful volunteers, we couldn’t have saved more than 1,200 dogs to date!

Miss Mouse

You could say I have a long history with golden re-trievers. My first two goldens, Cassandra and Moose, came from breeders two years apart. Some time after adopting them, I discovered FGHRR and decided I would be a foster for them.

Charley was my first "foster failure," or as I call it, my "foster to forever." Then came Chase, who was brought into FHGRR as a stray. At four months old, he had to have his right rear leg amputated and I offered to foster him for a weekend. He has been mine for six years now.

I went to bring Belle Starr into rescue as an owner release. She met me at the door and dropped a toy at my feet. I knew right then she was mine.

Sadly, I lost Belle to kidney failure last spring. After Belle passed, I vowed not to adopt another golden and lose more of my heart.

Then in July I learned that a new golden was coming into FHGRR and fell in love with her picture. Shy little Mouse (formerly Holly) is 49 pounds of pure love. I brought her home and introduced her to the boys. They sniffed her head to tail and she them. Chase gave me the "Really, Mom, another one?!" look and that was it. Now Mouse rules the roost.

Miss Mouse is learning leash manners and soon will learn down, down/stay, come and heel so she can become a therapy dog along with Moose and Chase.

Thank you to all of the wonderful FGHRR members who do such wonderful things for our Fur Babies!

– Linda Dobson

Home, Sugar Sweet Home

In 2002 I was considering getting a dog. After much research and looking, I finally gave up and turned it over to God to “have a dog show up at my door with a bowl in his mouth.”

Before the month was out, I was introduced to a sweet little Foothills rescue dog, by his foster mom – at church, of all places. Need I say he has been with me ever since?

As my Sweetie boy grew older, I started considering getting another dog. I was afraid if something hap-pened to him and I lived without dog hair all over my house for too long, I probably wouldn’t get another dog.

About that time, a girl at work steered me to a picture that led me once again to FHGRR. Of course, I knew there could not be another perfect dog out there like my Sweetie, but I looked anyway.

Well, who should show up but Sugar? I still find it hard to believe how much she has turned out to be just as well-behaved, and has a similarly sweet dispo-sition as my Sweetie. They are like two peas in a pod . . . And they even look like Me and Mini Me.

Thank you, FHGRR!

– Susan Churchill, Foster Failure

Fall 2014

Adoption Updates and Success Stories

Page 5

Brie

The year 2012 had been a really rough one for my wife and I. She was getting better and I had been sick for most of the first half of the year. Then we lost our long time pet, Coco, after 16 years in May. At that point, we weren't sure if we wanted another dog. Finally, in the fall, we started to think we were ready for a new dog. We remembered meeting some of the Foothills volunteers and rescues at Whole foods in the past. So we began following your website and decided we wanted to apply to adopt a golden. After the home visit we were made aware of a gold-en girl named Brie. We arranged to meet her at the local vets office. Both Judi and I adored Brie from the first time we met her!! She was a little older and had some medical needs, but that didn't deter us one bit. She was just fabulous. So we fostered Brie with plans to adopt her. After about 24 hours there was no doubt we wanted to keep Brie forever!

Brie is a wonderful golden that had come from a great home and had obviously been given much training and love! She has wonderful manners and a beautiful, lov-ing personality. Brie is wonderful with kids and all of our friends and family. She displays such a sense of knowing who needs her. She was a tremendous friend to Judi's mother when she stayed with us for an extended period of time, dutifully accompanying her on her walks and staying by her side without any urging from us! Brie even slept at the foot of her bed. When you think of a rescue, you think of the animal that YOU are rescuing. But it is my opinion that Brie has rescued US! We are thankful to FHGRR as well as to Brie’s previous owners that cared for her so well. We can't thank Jeannie and Marjorie enough for lead-ing us to Brie. She now occupies such a huge place in our home and in our hearts and has lifted us up from some really difficult times. Thank you, "Breezy"! – Rick and Judi Bourn

Page 6

Adoptions and Success Stories

Golden Guardians

FHGRR wishes all our adopters, fosters, volunteers

and their families a

Wonderful Holiday Season

and a Happy New Year blessed with Goldens galore!!

Thanks for all your support in 2014!

Fall 2014 Page 7

Memorial for Bo

We adopted our sweet boy Bo (aka Bunker) from Foothills Golden Rescue in 2002. He was the light of our lives until he passed away on 9/22/14. Our hearts are broken. Thank you for rescuing him in 2002, and for letting him rescue us for 12 wonderful years.

– Richard Ward

Memorial for Sampson

About two weeks before Christmas last year,

Sampson came into rescue and into our home as a

foster. In February 2014, we adopted him. Even

though Sampson was about 9 years old with many

health problems, right from the beginning we knew

he was quite a character.

He would start his day by taking sneakers, slippers

or clothes from the hamper and running down the

hall with them while tossing them in the air. We

spent a lot of time looking for our stuff around the

house!

Otherwise, he was always by our side. While we

watched TV in the evening, we had to hold his paw

so he could go to sleep in front of the couch.

In June, we had to have his spleen removed and his

bloodwork indicated a very aggressive type of can-

cer. We only had him another 6 weeks, and during

that time he still was full of his old antics.

Although we only had Sampson for seven months,

he brought us big smiles and made us laugh. He may

have been mischievous (and that’s putting it

mildly!), but he was also such a joy.

This picture above was taken two weeks before he

went to the Rainbow Bridge. As you can see, he was

a very handsome lad! He loved his two golden broth-

ers, and we all will miss him deeply.

– Sandy and Ron Teevan

Rainbow Bridge

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They

don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” – Milan Kundera

Memorial for Neil

It is with great sadness I report that Neil went to the bridge on April 16th, about a month before his 14th birthday. His health took a sharp decline and he was struggling. He had almost six months of a happy and carefree retirement. Like most Labs, he had a great appetite, was one of the sweetest and most loving boys ever. He thor-oughly enjoyed laying in the sun and watching the goings-on in the garden. He loved to get up on the futon or bed and managed to completely cover him-self, with just his nose sticking out of the covers. Our daughter, Jennifer, was his puppy raiser. At age 16, she took on the responsibility of caring for Neil. She crate-trained him and took him to all kinds of places, including high school, to prepare him for the guide work that would be his calling. A Guiding Eyes for the Blind pup, Neil left us at the age of 22 months old to guide a lovely blind woman named Patty in Manhattan for 12 loyal years. We stayed in touch and even visited them a few times. We were very honored and blessed to have had Neil spend his retirement with us. It gave us the chance to spoil him as he so deserved. Our hearts are broken over losing Neil, however he will be with us in spirit always. – The Herrmann Family

Memorial for Casey

We were blessed when Casey (Timber, #533) came into our lives on 2/5/2005. He was a wonderful friend and companion with a heart of gold.

He loved to run like the wind in our back yard and occasionally provide some excitement for the squir-rels. His favorite thing to do was to swim in the lake and retrieve floating dummies. He taught our other rescue how much fun that was.

He broke our hearts yesterday when he left us for the Rainbow Bridge. He was a loyal and loving friend and words can not express how much we miss him.

– Lee and Elaine Huntsberger

Page 8

Rainbow Bridge

Golden Guardians

Fall 2014

Memorial for Bucky

We lost Bucky in early April to throat and mouth cancer. We are devastated with his loss. A sweet, loving boy that wanted nothing more than to be loved in return. We certainly did that.

We lost two in less than a year. Heartbreaking! Over the years we have had nine Goldies and all but one had cancer. There needs to be an answer some-where to correct this problem. – Joyce Merkle

Memorial for Sunny

Sunny, our sweet angel, passed on and went to the Rainbow Bridge. Sunny was a kind sweet soul who loved his work as a therapy dog with Sunshine on a Leash at Martin Memorial Hospital and Martin Cancer Center. We loved him deeply, and our hearts are broken. – Elizabeth and Mark Wilson

Rainbow Bridge

Page 9

Memorial for Zackie

Zackie loved going to work with Bryan almost every day since fall, when Bryan was hired as the pro-gram manager with the new UNC PAWS program. Zackie greeted all visitors and supervised Bryan's computer work from his very own couch at their office. About seven weeks ago, Zackie started limping inter-mittently, and seemed to be favoring a front leg. Bryan took him to the vet, X-rays were taken, and the results were inconclusive. Our vet prescribed Rimadyl, and recommended a followup when the medicine had all been taken. Zackie seemed better on the medicine, but two days after it ran out, Bryan took him back to the vet. The new X-ray showed a bone tumor, probably osteosarcoma. At the vet's recommendation, Zackie started on pain management, and Bryan took Zackie to visit their friends and make the most of his last days. On April 10th, Bryan took Zackie to the vet and she helped Zackie go to the Rainbow Bridge. We are so sorry to lose such a sweet, joyful, furry boy. We want to thank FHGRR for giving our family, and particularly Bryan, such a wonderful companion. – Donna Ragan

Page 10

Golden Gallery: Scenes from 2014 Events

Golden Guardians

Happy Faces from FHGRR Education Days at PetCo and Whole Foods Market

Photos courtesy of Marjorie Cleveland

December 6 , 2014 – Education Day at PetCo

– 10am to noon. Bring your Goldens and fosters to highlight our rescue at PetCo Cherrydale’s location. 3270 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville.

January 3, 2015 – Education Day at PetCo –

10am to noon. Bring your Goldens and fosters to highlight our rescue at PetCo Cherrydale’s monthly adoption day. 3270 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville.

Stay tuned for more FHGRR events in the new year!

Fall 2014

Upcoming FHGRR Events

Page 11

FHGRR Board of Directors and Staff

Rescue Director/Adoption Coordinator – Andrea

Beeler

President/Foster Coordinator – Jeannie Herrmann

Vice-President/Intake Coordinator – Cheryl Parker

Treasurer – Kim Burdette

Communications Coordinator – Barb Watkins

Intake Team – Logan Bagley; David & Linda

Brown; Marjorie Cleveland; Carol Fultz; Cathy

Lagerman; Sandy Teevan; Barb Watkins

Web Master – Jim Nunziato

Newsletter Editor – Linda Lee

Post Office Box 9077

Greenville, SC 29604

Phone: 864-234-9739

www.fhgrr.com

FIRST CLASS MAIL

FOOTHILLS GOLDEN RETRIEVER RESCUE DONATION FORM

An acknowledgement will be sent for tax purposes

NAME: _______________________________________________________________________________

STREET ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE, ZIP: ______________________________________________________________________

AMOUNT DONATED: __________________________________________________________________

IN MEMORY/HONOR OF: _______________________________________________________________

Please return this form with your check or money order to::

FHGRR, P.O. BOX 9077, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA 29604