I first saw Bridget’s face in early March 2009. It was hard not to fall in love with the blonde face and fluffy ears staring out from the computer screen. I had already been approved to adopt a Golden from TVGRR but hadn’t found the right one to fit into my pack of 3 (1 Golden, 1 Beagle mix, and me). Bridget seemed to be the perfect fit, on paper, but I wouldn’t know for sure without a nose to nose meeting.

I tried to prepare myself as I drove to PetsMart in Turkey Creek with my other two dogs in tow. You see, I was already in love with the little girl from Alabama and I really hoped that Otis and Millie would love her too. (I would settle for “like” at first and let them learn to “love” each other.)

Bridget had just weaned a litter of pups, been treated for fleas and ticks, and begun treatment for heartworms. My vet had assured me that there was no danger to my other dogs so I was anxious to see tails wagging. Relief flooded my heart as all 3 tails started going immediately. Success!

Bridget enjoyed the ride home with a brief stop to meet her new grandmomma. It didn’t take long for her to settle in to her new surroundings, but there was still a lot of work to do. First, we finished her heartworm treatment and she is now officially heartworm free. Second, her poor nutrition and other ailments had caused her coat to be thin and coarse, so fish oil supplements were added to her daily meals. Her teeth showed signs of extensive wear and her front teeth are completely worn down. There’s not much to do about that other than taking care of what she has left. With the help of some medication ( which she no longer takes ) and some behavior modification for both of us, she has been able to overcome some severe separation anxiety.

We are approaching the one year anniversary of Bridget joining the pack and we will celebrate her 4th birthday. The year has had its share of challenges, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. She is now healthy as a horse and has so much hair that I call her my fuzzy wuzzy dog. She learns more and more about being a dog with each day and I hope to have her swimming this summer. Her personality has blossomed into a clown who loves to meet new people and during our last big snow, she initiated play with her new brother and sister for the first time. She is always smiling and ready for a hug. She has become one of my favorite photography subjects and we took part in the 1st Annual Hawkins County Relay for Life Bark for the Cure walk.

When they hear her story, people often tell me that Bridget lucked out when I adopted her. Truthfully, she has taught me that there is no obstacle that can’t be overcome with the right support and a heart that refuses to give up. Oh, and there is no amount of trouble that a big grin can’t get you out of.

With thanks,

Stephanie Sorrell

We adopted Gabby in January of '04.

TVGRR pulled Gabby out of a shelter in Maryville. We first met Gabby at the Turkey Creek PetSmart, during a TVGRR adoption event, back in 2004. My wife was wanting a dog.... I was not. My wife Karen walked in and started petting noses and sat down on the floor among several of the dogs at the event. Gabby crawled right into her lap and Karen was sold.... I was not.

I love my wife and so we turned in an application and went through the home visit. Once we were approved, it was set for us to meet Gabby's foster parents out near Maryville to pick her up.

That day is one of the best days of my life. I remember greeting her in the back of the vehicle that she arrived in. I remember going straight to PetSmart to let her pick out a bed, toys and a rain coat (NOT my idea, she wore it twice).

I had been converted. I went from not wanting a dog in my house to not being able to imagine a day without Gabby. We camp, hike, watch football, you name it.....Gabby and I up for it.

Gabby is currently active in NADAC Agility where she competed in the National Championships last year. She qualified while competing with our daughter Ashley. They too are a great team.

Gabby has also been approved to be a HABIT dog through UTK Vet School. I hope she is going to be reading with school kids soon.

Our family once wondered how ANYONE could have ever let Gabby go. We no longer wonder about that, now we just wonder how we could ever go without having her as a part of our family.

Gabby lives with her 4 brothers and sisters Gretta (yes, another TVGRR Golden), Emma, Ben, and Finny (all Cocker Spaniels).She is the perfect friend!

The Echternacht family

This big, red boy came into my life in October 2003, and things have never been the same! At the time, this two-year-old s foster name was "Erick the Red," but I changed it to "Harley" and he took to his new name right away. At the adoption fair, while I spent time checking out all the other Goldens, I kept noticing that Harley was constantly watching me every time I glanced back at him. He was also recovering from being shot and was still a bit underweight and a lot overwhelmed. But one good look into those big, sparkling eyes of his and it was love at first sight.

Ever since the day I brought him home, Harley has been pure joy. I ve had several dogs over nearly fifty years, but none have brought his special brand of happiness. Harley instantly adapted to his forever home and he has the most perfect manners that I have ever seen inside the house and out in public. Everybody loves him, and every day with him is a blessing.

About a year ago, I saw a video clip about Therapy Dogs and I realized (as silly as it sounds) that Harley just has too much love for one home. So now, Harley is a H.A.B.I.T. Therapy Dog. We give up half a dozen hours of couch time each week to visit Brakebill Nursing Home and Peninsula Hospital, and a number of other places when needed. I can t tell you how many times I ve watched despondent and troubled faces instantly cheer up when Harley offers his paw and smiles up at them. There are so many folks who have given up hope or are sick or isolated. There are some who might not interact with their doctor, the staff, or even family members. And I ve been told a number of times that Harley is often the only visitor that many of these people ever see. But after just a few minutes with him, a light in their eyes gets switched on I see it happen over and over. And that might break my heart if it weren t for the fact that I know that they do feel better after spending even a short time with these wonderful, sweet dogs!

Because of the dedication of everybody at TVGRR (and all the foster families and volunteers!), so many dogs are saved and so many people s lives are blessed, often in ways we can never measure. Harley is much more than just my best friend. He is also a kind and sincere comfort to hundreds upon hundreds of folks who truly need him too.

Thank you, TVGRR for giving me the privilege of being the one who gets to hold Harley s leash.

Sincerely,
Todd Maurer
Knoxville, TN

On November 14, 2009 I went to a home in Chattanooga to pick up "Daisy" who was being relinquished to TVGRR, since her owners could no longer care for her. Daisy was kept in a small 5 x 7 pen in the back yard. She was very shy towards me. It took about 30 minutes to coax her out of the dog house and then out of the pen itself. I took Daisy immediately to a local vet for a check up and vetting. At least she was already spayed. I found out that she is 10 years old. She was about 25 pounds underweight! Most of her teeth were worn down to the gums and her coat was so matted that the vet had to shave her down to the skin. Admist all of these issues, I was delighted Daisy was found to be heartworm negative. What a blessing for this sweet girl.

Four days later, I brought Daisy to my home to foster her until she regained her health. First item was that Daisy needed to gain some weight. She also needed to be inside a home, around people who could give her the attention she desperately needed to recover and to socialize. I soon found out that Daisy could not go up or down stairs. This was a concern since she would need to so she could potty. In the meantime, my back deck had to be cleaned daily. After starting on Deramaxx, her discomfort eased up...she was walking better and she was able to manage the deck steps. That first day at home, Daisy hardly ate or drank water. After a couple days, she began to feel comfortable and her intake of both improved to almost normal. She even liked cooked vegetables! Of course, she loved her treats too! Although it took her almost a month to eat in kitchen with other Goldens and not alone in the bathroom.

Daisy felt safe in the small bathroom off the kitchen (about the size of her pen) and stayed there for several weeks. She stayed in there 24-7 until I would bring out the "magic pink leash" and walked her to the living area or outside. After several weeks of this, she would go outside by following the magic pink leash. She also began coming into the living room on her own. In latter weeks, Daisy stayed in the living room even when I left the room.

Daisy never barked while she was with me. I have three other Goldens and one is a real barker but Daisy never picked barking up. Until a few weeks ago, Daisy kept her tail tucked under and would not wag it at all. Then one day, her tail started coming untucked and staying out more. She even wagged a couple of times. She always got along well with all three of my dogs and was not food agressive.

I did have some potty problems with Daisy the first month and half. I took her out hourly but she still had some accidents. In the last few weeks, she either realized what the outside was for (or what the inside was NOT for) or her body learned it could hold longer.

I'm really glad I had the chance to foster Daisy for two months. Daisy needed the time to come out of her shell and gain some weight before she went to her forever home. I love hearing about her progress from her adoptive family. She has made herself right at home with them, wrapping them around her sweet little paw.

Update:

Jazzy/Daisy (I think we're going to call her Bella ('beautiful' in Italian)) is doing really well. Just in the day and a half she's been with us, she seems a bit more relaxed. The other dogs initially got excited, but she was very calm as they checked her out, and then they went off to do their own thing.

She has had no accidents in the house, and now walks out across the deck and down the 5-6 steps to the patio/yard by herself! She immediately does her business then walks a good bit around the fenced yard, checking everything out. She seems most relaxed outside in the yard (which I guess is to be expected). Her tail now actually sticks straight out, horizontally, as she walks outside and I thought I even detected a slight wag for a minute there. Coming back up the stairs is a challenge for her and she needs help with her hind legs. I'm hoping with a bit more exercise and muscle build-up this won't be so hard for her.

Once in the house, her tail goes back down, but it seems it's less tightly curled between her legs and more just straight down. She's still a bit lost in the house, but seems to like our small bathroom downstairs during the day. When I'm home, I close that door so she'll come out with us and she's even walked in and laid down in the other big dogs' open crates while I'm seated at the table. At night I couldn't bear to leave her alone downstairs, so my husband carried her upstairs to our bedroom. She slept on the dog bed next to my side of the bed with our smaller golden. I noticed the first night she didn't sleep that much, but last night she did.

She's eaten at each mealtime, but not the full dish of food. We've tried a few snacks--some she liked, others ho-hum. But she really liked the roast beef scraps last night!

I adopted Charley from TVGRR in February 2003. He will be 9 years old next month. I'm sending you his Valentine picture so you can see how handsome he is! He has been such a blessing to me. I now love him more than ever. I'm so glad I adopted him!

I just wanted to let you know that we had an awesome Christmas with Grayson. He is such a super dog. He was great with our granddaughter and he is making an extremely fantastic big brother to our new family member.

I don't know what we would have done without our Grayson!!!

Thank you

Terry, Kathy, Grayson, and Reese

Dear TVGRR

On January 4, 2009, we lost Rex, a rescue golden that we adopted on his way to the St. Louis Golden Retriever Rescue group. It s a long story about how we got him before he got to St. Louis, but suffice to say that we had him 6-years and it just devastated us when we lost him. We had always said that when all of our pets (and at one time we had two goldens and three cats) were gone, we wouldn t get any others. We wanted our freedom (the kids are married and gone).

Well, freedom isn t all that it s cracked up to be. Several weeks ago, I was in Auburn, Alabama doing some work down there and on my way out of my hotel I saw a guest walking a golden. Being the (then) former Golden owner, I went up and hugged and kissed on this stranger s golden (all Golden owners are idiots in this way). It was then that my wife and I decided that we would adopt another Golden. I contacted TVGRR on line, filled out the application, received phone calls, and arranged with some local Huntsville area volunteers to meet some Goldens while they conducted a home inspection (a step in the adoption process). Two wonderful volunteers, Bethany Marbut and Ronita England, traveled some 50+ miles (one way!) to introduce us to Valerie. As the famous movie line goes, she had us at hello.

We just absolutely love this young lady! I ve always thought that rescue goldens seem to appreciate things a little more. Valerie just fell right into our routines and IS the most polite golden we ve ever had. She is just a pure joy!

The guilt part is that a) we ve owned goldens before and know their language, so the learning curve was too easy, and b) Valerie has NONE of the less attractive attributes of our other two boys, such as she is not afraid of thunderstorms ( Rex was terrified) and she doesn t slobber or beg (our oldest did). Valerie is the PERFECT golden and some person who never owned a golden before would have had the perfect adoption experience. But we ll take this wonderful experience as a true blessing that is! I know that down the road many years from now we ll probably adopt again.

Again, we could never thank TVGRR and its local volunteers located all throughout the Tennessee Valley area enough for the wonderful experience and the gift of Valerie!

Claus & Sanda M Rogersville, Alabama

Just a quick update to let you know that our Louie is settling in very well. He continues to be on his best behavior and is such a lover.

Thanks again for all your help and wonderful care for the boy, and for meeting me on Sunday. Thought you might like to see a few photos from yesterday....

Warmly, Nora

My husband and I adopted Sandy back in November of 2006. Sandy made rescue animal family member number 3, but our first ever rescue Golden. What a blessing!!!! She has made us happy beyond belief and that is the main reason we ve chosen to become more involved with TVGRR by helping with home visits and fostering.

Sandy has come a long way since the wandering dog found on the streets whose ribs were showing. Her foster mom, Ronita, took such great care of her and helped turn her into the beautiful, healthy, strong Golden she is today. We are so grateful to Ronita and to TVGRR for helping us find the missing member of our family and helping others find their beloved Golden too. I know it seems as if we are saving them, but when most of us really look at it I think we d agree that most of the time our Goldens end up saving us; saving us from the stress of the everyday world, by being a continual source of love day in and day out no matter what.

Sandy loves to run and play. Her most prized possession is her tennis ball and she would chew on it 24/7 if we would let her! Fetching it in the lake is by far the most fun, though she ll settle for the backyard when we are at home. Sandy loves her stuffed animal babies and is gentle with them as she carries them from room to room, inside and out. She is also so incredibly gentle with our nephews and tolerates so much from them as well as the foster Goldens that we bring in that are instantly drawn to want to play with Sandy. Sandy, however, prefers her nice arm chair by the window, which she stays in most of the day watching the world go by while we are at work. When we get home she can t wait to cuddle and play and neither can we. She is such a joy!

Sandy is an amazing girl
one who has blessed us far more than we could have ever dreamed she would.
She s moved us to help save the Goldens - for what an amazing breed they are!!!!
Thank you for our Sandy!!!!
Bethany & Michael Marbut

Just wanted to give you a little update on my Emma. She is the fastest Golden Retriever in the sport of flyball still has been for 2006, 2007, and hopefully nobody will beat her in 2008! She is now eating a raw diet, so all allergy problems have subsided. She got a little brother last year, and they are best friends.

I included a video from the flyball national championships last weekend so that you could see Emma in action along with the rest of our ALL golden retriever team we put together!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y05A8NuUyvg

We took FIRST place in the fastest division that day!!!

Tripp, a TGVRR dog, was featured on WBIR/NBC tv on November 7th, 2007. The story was entitled "Three legged dog hailed as a hero" A link to the website article is here. To watch the video click

Tripp, a TGVRR dog, was presented with the G.R.A.C.E. award for heroism on Sept. 20, 2007 in Seattle, WA. In Jan, 2007 Tripp saved his family from a house fire. What makes this even more amazing is that Tripp is a 3-legged dog! TVGRR is very proud that one of its own won the award for heroism. His mom, Ellen Franklin, and his foster mom, Linda Mason, accompanied Tripp to Seattle to receive the award and march in the Parade of Rescues held during the National Golden Retriever Club of America's Speciality Show, For more information click on G.R.A.C.E.