Transportation Co-Coordinator

A few years ago, our Golden named Guinness passed away. At 120 lbs., he was our gentle giant who kept our kitchen floor clean, helped me eat my peanut butter toast, and chased the squirrels from the yard. At the dog park he was more interested in meeting people than playing with other dogs. He loved playing in the snow, so we made a snow fort for him.

When he passed away, my wife and I had started to plan our retirement. As with all dog owners, Guinness’s passing left a void in our lives. And it was a given fact that we wanted and needed to have another dog in our lives. And the dog had to be a Golden Retriever. We love all dogs but are especially devoted to the gentle personality of Goldens. Being the practical one in our family, my wife said that we are too old to take a puppy into our home. That meant that we were looking for an adolescent or adult Golden.

A search of the Internet resulted in us finding the GRRoM website. We filled out the foster application but were not very optimistic that it would lead to finding our forever dog. Afterall, how many Goldens would be available for foster and adoption. It was a surprise that shortly after submitting our application, GRRoM contacted us asking if we were interested in a 7-year-old female Golden named Miya. The process of fostering and adopting moved at a very fast pace and before we knew it our beautiful Miya was transported to us.

Miya has picked up where Guinness left off. She keeps our kitchen floor clean and helps me with my morning peanut butter toast. She takes my wife and I for two walks a day. For each walk, she picks the route in our neighborhood. Through Miya we have met many neighbors on these walks who we now consider to be friends. When they see us coming many will call out her name and she replies with her own unique howl. Because she is a Golden, Miya loves people, especially children. Her tail wags especially fast when she hears the voices of children.

In short, Miya has rescued my wife and I, not the other way around. She keeps us healthy by taking us on walks. She keeps us happy by snuggling with us on the couch. She guards the yard by chasing away the squirrels and has made friends with the local deer family. We cannot walk past her in the house without telling her what a good dog she is. And for all of this -- I thank GRRoM.

In my retirement years, GRRoM not only gave me Miya, but it also has given me the opportunity to volunteer for an organization that is unconditionally dedicated to the rescue of Goldens. I have met many amazing people who I consider to be good friends. It has given me the opportunity by volunteering as a home visitor to meet families who are interested in fostering Goldens. As a transport volunteer, I have the honor of bringing a Golden to its forever loving foster family with a new lease on life.

Rescue Tips

• Try to give your dog as much unconditional love as they will undoubtably give you.

• Let your dog rescue you. It’s called emotional therapy.

• Let your dog take you for a walk. Going on walks is their opportunity to be a dog. Let them smell, look and listen as much as they want. What’s the hurry? They just want time to explore.

• Don’t try to correct their behavior by using loud “mommy or daddy” voices. Use simple one or two words spoken calmly instead of loud rambling sentences that they simply will not understand.

• If they have an accident in the house, so what??? Don’t get angry! It’s not a big deal! What’s more important, your carpet or your dog? If you are going to try correcting the behavior, do it in a calm and timely manner.

• Tell your dog 100 times every day that they are a good dog and then scratch their tummy..