Gold Ribbon Rescue Adoptables

----- Original Message -----

From: Margo Biba

Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 3:07 PM

Subject: #99-75 Lily (Sammie Rasavage) sad news

GRR Gang -- Lily/Sammie entered rescue when a gaggle of University of Texas girls found her & hid her in their dorm room until Monique & I could nab her. There was lots of giggling & secret agent type sneaking during this fun rescue. :-) I'll never forget this old girlie. We were all thrilled when the Rasavages adopted her & treated her like a princess.

Sandy & Pat & Keal -- And just think, you originally planned to adopt Sammie for Granddad! She was meant to be with you instead -- thank you for loving her, all these years.

From: Monique Lenczycki

Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 10:49 PM

Subject: RE: #99-75 Lily (Sammie Rasavage) sad news

I'll never forget this one either. Agent Biba forgot to add it was Halloween night and Sammie was being hidden in the middle of frat row at UT! All the houses were ghoulishly decorated and we got there about 11 pm - it was definitely an adventure and she was well worth it!

Sandy, Pat & Keal - I will never forget the instant mushy love she felt for you all, especially Keal. She laid eyes on him and picked her new home - period. She did have a wonderful life with you and I know she enjoyed every minute of it.

Today was a very sad day in our home. Our beloved Sammie girl [GRR 99-75 Lily] let us know in no uncertain terms that today was the day she was to cross over to the Rainbow Bridge. She's been in quite a bit of pain for months now. We've had her on just about every kind of pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, etc...but nothing seemed to cut through her old age aches and pains. When she was unable to walk this morning, without extreme wobbling & trepidation, we knew immediately! In some ways, today was a joyous day for Sammie, cause she is no longer in pain. She no longer has to suffer through her labored breathing, her achy joints. She can now run free and feel young once again! She can hear again, she can see without cloudiness, and her legs can take her anywhere she wants to roam.

I know Sammie has found our beloved Lucky boy by now and they are playing ball.

I felt I needed to tell you our sad news. Even Jackson [01-65] is grieving with the rest of us. But we find great comfort and tons of laughs from him. He's a true companion.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. God bless you one and all, and we wish your families & pets a Happy New Year!

Written by her adoptive mom, one year post adoption, Nov. 2000

The dictionary’s definition for sassy is impudent, saucy; vigorous, lively; distinctively smart and stylish. These are the terms we use to describe our Sammie (her name was Lily with GRR). My family adopted this little red headed girl just before Christmas 1999. Our teenage son will agree, she’s the best gift we received!

Gold Ribbon Rescue didn’t have much history on Sammie (she was found by college girls), but we know after living with her for almost one year, she had to have been greatly neglected & ignored in her earlier years. She thrives on all the love, attention, & play we can give her. She appears to be absolutely thrilled to live here with us. Sammie is a “senior” golden retriever estimated to be approx. 7-8 years young.

Through it all, she has remained a perfect lady, with a loveable sassiness to her attitude. She is a typical female, wanting her way, and nosing in when she feels it’s necessary. Dinnertime especially has to come promptly at 5:00 pm or she lets us know right away we are late! She obviously did without a few meals while out on her own.

Sammie gets along beautifully with our other senior golden, Lucky (whom we’ve had since a puppy). She is very much a part of our family, and we have often wondered what we did before she became a member. Lucky & Sammie adjusted immediately to one another, and you can often catch them “kissing” each other.

Sammie is great with her commands, but acts a little stubborn at times (showing her feminine side). She responds quickly & eagerly to new training, and she is very intelligent. She loves her walks, and does beautifully on her leash. She had a history of running away, but she’s only tried that once with us. I think she realized all too quickly, she had a great thing going, and she better not mess it up. She remembered that she had a warm bed, lots of toys, plenty of food, and oodles of hugs & belly rubs at her new home.

When Samantha came to live with us, she was still starving for acceptance, belonging, and a healthy lifestyle. In her former life, she must have been kept outside for long, neglectful periods of time, without much attention. Her fur was very thin and sparse. Now, months later, her fur is thick, long, and supple. I figured that being a dark red golden, her fur was supposed to be thinner and less dense. WOW, was I ever wrong! She is absolutely gorgeous! I wish her foster mommy could see her now! She is a raving beauty! I hope you can get just a glimmer of how healthy she is, and how vibrant her coat is now from the pictures.

For anyone sitting on the fence trying to decide if adoption is the right way for you to go, listen to our story. We’ve been down both roads, and we wouldn’t change either situation. However, raising a 6 week old pup to adulthood, is tons harder than training a mature golden to live by your house rules. Samantha is the love of our lives; we should have done this a long time ago.

A warm thank you goes out to all the Gold Ribbon Rescue volunteers that made this possible for us. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This is definitely a match made in Heaven. God bless you all and your countless hours of hard work & undying love for these wonderful creatures.

Sandy Rasavage,

Midland, Texas