Golden Rescue – It’s all about second chances
Golden Rescue… It’s All About Second Chances
By Lorie Steiner
How can you resist those eyes, that grin, that rub my tummy and stay with me always look? It can’t be done. Once one of those furry, friendly Golden Retrievers begs you to come hither, you’re smitten.
That’s why I was astounded to discover an organization called Golden Rescue. Since 1990, Golden Rescue has been finding homes for abandoned, unwanted or displaced Golden Retrievers throughout Canada. With no government assistance, corporate sponsors or grants, every dollar raised comes from individual donations, adoption fees, legacy donations and events – and 100% of these funds go directly to the care of the Goldens.
I reached out to Viive Tamm, co-chair of Golden Rescue for insights into why this beloved breed needs to be rescued. Her answers are a wake-up call that I just had to share.
Viive: Rescue is all about awareness. I got involved with Golden Rescue over 20 years ago. My husband and I were walking around the Sportsmen’s Show and there was a booth with some Goldens there (always a magnet), so we went to say hello to the dogs. When we saw the words Golden Rescue, our first instinct was: Goldens don’t need rescuing. They must be training the dogs to do rescue work. But when we talked to the volunteers, we found out that Goldens do need rescuing.
H: Where do the Goldens come from?
Viive: We’re coming up to our 5,000th rescue and every story is different. Many are owner surrenders. People who are moving, or realize they don’t have time for a dog, or they developed allergies, or a family member passed away and no one wants the Golden. Those are what I call the understandable reasons.
But we’ve also found abandoned Goldens. A few years ago, we found Thelma & Louise north of Montreal; they were 11 and 12 years old and someone had cut their microchips out and dumped them in the forest. Casino Rama called us once and said there was a Golden running around in their parking lot with the word ‘FREE’ spray painted on either side of it. Another time, someone was driving along Hwy 7 and the vehicle in front of them threw 10-year-old Asher out of a moving car. These are the horrific stories. There are also puppy mills. In the fall of 2024, a backyard breeder was being shut down just outside of Winnipeg and we got 25 Goldens from them.
Every rescued Golden goes to a foster family in Canada. Let’s say we get a Golden from the Huntsville area. If we can’t find a foster in the region, but there is one available in BC or Halifax, we might even drive them or fly them to the foster home. We don’t do kennels, we want them to live in normal home environments, so we can get an accurate assessment on how they’re doing.
H: Is Golden Rescue all volunteer based?
Viive: Yes. Four directors, no paid staff, over 1000 volunteers. Many just help out at events but we also have a dedicated team of about 500 volunteers including the fosters. It takes a lot of work and we need to raise almost half a million dollars every year. Many supporting vets give us discounts, but we still spend a lot of money beyond that. Some Goldens are healthy when they come to us but others have conditions that cost thousands. We also hear from veterinary offices, where they have a Golden with a broken leg and the owner can’t afford the care, so they want to put it down. We tell the vet to fix it and then we take the Golden into foster care.
We’ve also brought close to 2,000 Goldens here from Turkey and Egypt but that has stopped because of a CFIA ban to prevent rabies from coming into the country. We were rescuing 40 Goldens at a time on cargo planes and now the strays are being killed on the streets. We’re lobbying to get the ban amended because rabies is 100% preventable and dogs can be tested before they come to Canada.
H: How does the adoption process work?
Viive: The first step is to fill out an adoption application from our website. It’s fairly detailed because we consider ourselves a matching service. When a Golden is ready to be placed with their forever family, our fosters tell us their wish list. For example, he needs a fenced yard. He doesn’t get along with cats. He’s rambunctious and may knock over children. He might have separation anxiety, so someone who is home a lot is preferred. There are literally hundreds of boxes that we tick.
When someone applies to adopt, we want to know what their lifestyle is like and what they’re looking for in a Golden, then we try to find a good match. Once that happens, we do a home visit and then arrange a meet and greet. Most people fall in love with the Golden in a few seconds and take them home that day. Every Sunday we send out an adoption eblast which highlights all the Goldens that are up for adoption. So, if you’re thinking of adopting, please sign up on our website goldenrescue.ca for the newsletter and you may spot the Golden of your dreams.
