ANGEL SMITH
 
Angel is a very well bred 8yr old Golden Retriever who was adopted with her half-sister Allie in January 2008 after Aileen, their foster mum “failed” when she fell in love with them. Angel was the more timid one of the two and had a few problems with her skin when she first arrived but she is doing very well now thanks to Aileen’s TLC. 

 ABIGAIL ANDERSON
 
 Abigail is a 4yr old Golden Retriever. She was rescued from a puppy farm where she was used as a breeding bitch. Her fears of the big wide world were overcome with the help of 2 Labradors but, sadly, recently, the older one went to Rainbow Bridge. She also lives happily with a cat and her special mum, Judy, in Wiltshire.  

MOLLI FIEVEZ

Molli is a 3yr old, very tiny Golden Retriever who now lives in London. Molli or "Tonks" as she was called, is a rescue from Dublin. Unfortunately, the family had split up and the husband had to sell the family home so he found he could no longer keep her. She is settling well and has undergone some extensive lead training etc, as she seemed to just be familiar with   running from the house and the back of the car. Unfortunately, she had a few health problems but is now a very happy, healthy, well behaved dog now.

 LOUIS PHILLIPS
 
Louis is a 2yr old Labrador who is now living happily with Joan and her little crossbreed rescue dog, Sophie, in Devon. His relationship with the cat is still a work in progress as is his mistrust of men. Louis came as a stray, half starved and totally terrified of men in 2007 so he has come a long way since then. He has worked his way through a succession of homes, always managing to blot his copybook in some way and usually through no real fault of his own. He is a very intelligent dog and he has taken to training like a duck to water in Joan's capable hands. There is still a long way to go but it is definitely 2 steps forward and only one back now. Louis totally adores Joan and is finally beginning to realise that she is prepared to work through his difficulties with him and isn’t going to abandon him, like everyone else has. 

DAISY TUCK
 
Daisy is a 2yr old Golden Retriever who was put up for re-homing after her owner went to university and the parents were no longer prepared to look after her, this already having been her second home in her short life!  She went to Anne and family in Somerset to be fostered with a view to adopting if she fitted in with the rest of the pets but, once Anne saw her there was no way she was leaving again. 
 
Anne says ”Daisy was only 18 months old and terrified of everything, you lifted your arm to take something off a shelf and she cowered.  She had not been trained at all, didn't know the meaning of no, sit or stay.  As she had come from Wales I wondered if she had been trained in Welsh, but a Welsh friend tested that theory and we came to the conclusion she just wasn't trained at all and she didn't even have a name when she was brought to us.”

”The first thing we did was take her to our local field, which is totally enclosed and safe, and let her off the lead to run, she couldn't believe it, the look on her face was pure pleasure and she ran and ran.  She came back by the time we had reached the gate. We have attended dog training classes and we are winning, though we still have a long way to go. Daisy loves to play with our son’s Flatcoat Retriever, Bella, and our younger son's cocker spaniel, Denzil.”
 
 A new male Golden retriever puppy has since joined the family so fun and games will be had by all. 

 McKENZIE SEAL
 
Mac is a Labrador who is about 18mths old. He was re-homed to an older couple in Wiltshire in 2007 but they found him to be too lively so he was unsuccessfully tested as a sniffer dog. Eventually he found Richard who loves him to bits and he is now very happy living in Hertfordshire. He was quite poorly recently and has us all very worried but, thankfully, the cause was found to be a bite from some type of spider and nothing more sinister.
 
Georgia says “ McKenzie was adopted by my Brother in Law, Richard, in Feb 2008 and this boy has been fantastic. He is such a sweet loving boy and we are proud to have him in our family. He has so much love to give and we are all looking forward to giving it to him too. Thank you for finding McKenzie for us” 

SAMSON SANSOM

Sam is a 3yr old Golden Retriever who was labelled as a child biter because of one incident with a very nasty, vicious child.  This was despite him having lived happily with a lady who was a child minder. The whole family were devastated when they were forced by the child’s family to re-home him. He appeared to be very depressed at first but he was actually also very poorly and needed some veterinary treatment. Sam is a different dog now and is very happy in Somerset. Pauline and Chris say “We have had no problems with Sam and our grandchildren or children outside and everybody adores him.”

JOSHI CORNALLY
 
Joshi is about 2yrs old and is probably a Retriever x Collie. He is very intelligent and has a nicetemperament but he can be wilful sometimes. Unfortunately, poor Joshi was extremely ill due to the adverse effects of a conventional wormer and he still suffers the occasional fit because of it.  Fortunately, Kay, who “failed” as his fosterer absolutely adores him and is doing everything possible to get him well again.

 ABIGAIL McAVOY  (was SANDY)

Abigail is a 4 yr old Golden Retriever who lives with Belinda and Terry in Somerset. Abi (was Samdy) and her sister Heidi (was Creamy) are both ex-breeding bitches.
They were inseparable when they first arrived and went to foster with Belinda and Terry.  After some TLC, and some help from Connie and Millie (both IRR rescues
themselves) they developed their individual personalities and have both found their separate forever homes.
 
At first Abi refused food and water and was so timid she just wanted to stay in her crate. But after  just a few weeks, a shampoo and a brush, the flower essences seem to be doing their work. She now has a bed of her own and sleeps happily with Connie and Millie who behave as if she has been here all the time. Abi is very good with children and has even met the cat without incident!
 
Belinda says “Going for a walk was impossible at first because she would just lie down at the slightest noise, but, gradually, she has become happier about wearing a collar and getting in the car so we can all take a walk together.”
 
She is the most beautiful and gentle little girl and is already very happy in her perfect forever home.

SCAMP

Scamp is 5yrs and was the stud dog who fathered Creamy and Sandy’s babies. He was surplus to requirements when a younger, fitter stud dog came on the scene. Unlike many of the dogs who have been used at stud, Scamp is a lovely friendly boy, getting on well with male and female dogs alike. In fact, we don’t think there is anything that Scamp can’t get on with... he has a wonderful temperament. He was fostered by Joanne and family in the Midlands and, unsurprisingly, the curse of the failed fosterer struck again and they have recently adopted him.

BOB

Bob is about 3 years old and was in quite a mess before Sandie cleaned and tidied him up. He was also painfully thin. He was also fostered in the Midlands, his fosterer being Jane. Helped by Jane’s Labrador, Tess, he soon came out of his shell and, in the end, became quite cheeky. Apparently, Bob likes all the attention (he probably had very little before) and, if Tess got fussed, he would muscle in and push her out but not in an aggressive way. He went on a few walks with Scamp and they learned
the delight of mucky puddles together. At Jane’s he lived with cats and was no problem at all which meant he was just the right dog to go and live with Mike and his daughter Serena. Bob has really fallen on his feet as he now has several acres in Oxfordshire in which to run and play. He is a very lucky boy but it is no more than he deserves.

FERDIE (was FREDDIE)

Ferdie is a 14mth old Labrador cross who came over from Ireland as a puppy last year with his sisters, Maya and Melody. They were found under a shed where their mum had given birth to them. Freddie, as he was then, went to live with a family but he grew too big for them to handle so they asked us to take him back for re-homing. He was fostered by Pauline and Steve and became their 4th “foster failure” after 2 weeks. His name was changed slightly to Ferdie as Freddie was the name of their beloved GSD who went to Rainbow Bridge 2 years ago. He is very intelligent and quick to learn although he does have a bit of a stubborn streak.

ISSY BOWLER
 
Issy is an 11mths old collie x retriever who was originally thought to be a Leonberger cross but "in real life" she was a lot smaller. She is an extremely pretty girl and created a lot of interest amongst potential adopters. After an overnight stop in Somerset, she was fostered in the Midlands with Simon and family and their two dogs where she was very popular.
 
She has now gone to her forever home in Wiltshire with Diane and is already settling in very well. Needless to say, she is loved to bits by her new mum.

SAM CANNON

Sam is an 11 year old golden retriever, and although a tiny bit shaky on his back legs occasionally, he's generally in good health. He was handed in to the rescue by a family who were emigrating and who decided it was better for Sam if they didn't take him with them. He was a great hit with all Sandie's visitors (but especially Lorraine) when he was staying with her before making his trip across the water.
Having spent some time in foster with Andy and Val, he eventually moved to Lorraine who promptly “failed” as his fosterer after 24hrs. Martha was really pleased to see him and took to him straight away. He can be a stubborn old chap sometimes and, apparently, he particularly enjoys pulling the legs off his nice new toys.
 

Lorraine is our UK co-ordinator and works tirelessly finding just the right homes for all the Golden Retrievers who come into our care. Apart from spending hours on the phone doing this, she also often helps with the transportation of dogs, picked up at silly times in the morning, and this will  sometimes involving hours of driving to get them to their destinations. As her passion is the older dogs, she will often do homechecks and help transport for the Oldies Club too.

 REILLY MORGAN
 
Reilly is a 3yr old Golden Retriever who came from Ireland after living with an elderly person who went into care. Maureen says “He had several foster carers before coming to us.  Reilly is a lovely dog who is brilliant in every way except he is not good with other dogs.  He has settled well with us and we love him to bits.  We hope in time he will be able to run free with other dogs but, unfortunately, until he has been socialised more, he will have to remain on a lead and muzzled when out walking.
 
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