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New Stories Coming Soon! If you have adopted a dog from us and have a success story, please submit it to us.

I didn't know where to submit this on the website, so I thought I'd send it to this email address. We already have a featured "success story" for our GRR Golden Sam on May 2005, however I feel compelled to write yet another update. He is now nine years old, and is in great health and condition. He's put on some weight - he is now 65 lbs, impressive given his thyroid and heart issues.

In addition, in those three years since we've adopted Sam (fka Casey), we've had a child. Sam was always an extremely gentle, loving dog, but we really never knew exactly how much until our daughter was born. He is the perfect dog for a family with a small child - remarkable because it is something many dogs aren't since children do not know dog protocol. He is so gentle with her, and patient. He never touches her toys or acts too boisterous around her. He remains still as she pets him, except for when she talks to him and he feels compelled to give her a kiss. Sam is her first experience with a dog and what a wonderful experience that is. My first experience with dogs actually frightened me, but she doesn't have that fear because Sam is so good natured. We are so blessed to have this dog in our family, and your organization made it possible for dogs to find loving homes. I do get sad, however, knowing that at 9 years old, he will not be growing up with her and she will most likely have to face the reality of death, but while we have him I am glad he gives our family joy. Thanks again Gold Ribbon, for all of the work that you do.

We started looking for a Golden Retriever once we decided that was the right kind of companion for us. We had barely made it through the home interview when the call came. A dog was waiting to be fostered who was actually a return who got adopted last year. Sam (though I believe the original GR name was Casey, which actually was originally K.C. for killer canine....yeah, right!) was a 6yr old guy who'd been brought back. We went out to meet him, and here was this dog, pulling on the leash as hard as possible!

Regardless, we took him home. And from the first day he made an impact in our house. Of course, his first impact was thinking plants were bathroom areas! But we remedied that by moving plants up high. His second impact was on our hearts. Because of his situation, he was very clingy those first few weeks, but as time went by, he began to understand that Mom and Dad were only going to work and that he had a healthy assortment of toys and things to keep him busy. We'd come back home to him every day! He really likes that part.

Poor Sam didn't seem to be real socialized with other dogs. Sure he loves humans (no loyalty with this one, if you have hands, he wants to be petted, regardless if your dog gets jealous!) We placed him in training classes (Sam didn't seem to even have base knowledge of commands) and the first night was a disaster. He was staying near us, and didn't want to train at all. He wouldn't go near other dogs. So we placed him in daycamp, and within two days of starting it, he came out of his shell! While he easily prefers to hang with smaller dogs, large dogs that are nice don't faze him anymore. He chases the ball and sniffs and greets like the rest while in daycamp. It really brought joy to us to see him break out and really begin to enjoy his daycamp time!

But there was another bright side, he no longer froze up in training classes, and as of May 4th, he graduated! And of course, he went from being our foster dog to being out companion at the picnic when we officially adopted him.

At home, he's wonderful. He'll stay in the room with you, but prefers to lay down and just watch you. Don't worry, you can't sneak out without your shadow coming along! He's gots lots of toys (all of which squeak) and our house has at least 3 in each room now. He loves to sleep in on Saturdays and Sundays (what's good for mom and dad is good for Sam apparently) and when we come home, he's ready to play and greet us. He's got a few medical conditions (thyroid, heart murmur) but aside from taking some pills, you wouldn't know it. And if you throw a ball, he's always ready to fetch it!

He's still a little rough around the edges (he likes to door dart, loose leash walking will take some time) but he is most certainly a diamond! He's definantly found his forever home with us!

Tim and Ria Garza

Hi there,
Pardon if I sent to the wrong email address, but my husband submitted a success story for our dog Sam (aka KC, Casey, Sammy, Capitan Slurpo (our nickname) ). He captured a lot of it, but I'd like to let you guys know how special this dog is that you gave us. He is the sweetest of even the Goldens, and he has made big strides in little time. He is a very smart, very loving dog. For a dog that had little to no obedience training his entire life, he was the quickest learner in his PetsMart class (of course I'm biased, but *still*). He learned down/sit stay (for up to a minute, even two minutes) in about two days. Of course, we refresh just to reinforce, but he is always progressing rather than digressing. The way I see it, this dog is directly what you put into it. It was definitely a minor challenge to religiously go to training classes, even when my husband was away traveling and I had no car, handle a full time job, plus train your dog, but the results are phenomenal. All this guy needed was love, time and patience. Like I explained to kathy, you find yourself evolving as well as the dog. He has been great training ground for when we decide to have a child, because they too require time and patience, and sometimes even more so!

I should also let you know that now he is 60-61 lbs, vs. the 55 he was when those pictures were taken shortly after his arrival. While he will probably always be underweight due to his condition, he at least is sporting an actual "average" figure vs. the ribcage he had earlier. He goes to day camp three days per week and while humans are always his preference, he has finally learned simply how to be a dog. He sniffs butts, plays ball…he has really come out of his shell. He is so resilient, so forgiving, so…I can't think of enough adjectives to describe this guy. Personally, I would love to adopt another older dog, but we're new pet parents and it is best that Sam gets us all to himself for awhile. You couldn't ask for a better animal. He is getting better with the door darting..and as for loose leash, he's a dedicated puller probably all of his life. We use the gentle leader, and it makes things so much better. Of course, one day it'd be nice to not have to use it, but if it does the job, it doesn't matter to me. I don't see his pulling as not acknowledging us as leader, because he does when he complies to our commands, it's just a bad habit that he's been doing probably from puppyhood that hasn't been corrected. It's like teaching a 40 year old who had bad habits that went uncorrected. Not saying it's impossible, but you will need LOTS of time.

I do hope that he lives a full complete life with us. Sometimes I get sad thinking about one day, when my kids are still young, Sam will pass. But at least his life would be filled with love, right? That would not discourage me from adopting another older dog. In fact, that's all I probably want to adopt - older dogs, regardless of medical issues. They deserve to have the best of life in their senior years.

Thank you Gold Ribbon, for giving me such a wonderful companion. It makes me tear up thinking about how lucky I really am, even if sometimes he irritates me when he chooses to pant in the middle of the night (like one day my kids will) :)