Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta
Some years ago Raven and I adopted Ladybug, a Golden Retriever, from Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta, or "GRRA", which changed our lives and introduced us to this wonderful organization.

This was Lady's first day with us.  We can recognize now by her expression how uneasy she was, but she adapted very quickly and really began to "smile" and become totally comfortable in her new home.

This is one of the first big smiles we got... she loved her new pool and couldn't wait for it to fill, and decided she was really going to like her new home!

The ever present smile! We are so fortunate to have miles of nature trails minutes from our door, and Ladybug dearly loved the trails.

Ladybug's favorite part of the park was the creek.  There's that smile again!

This is Ladybug with her kitty, Alice, who was also a "rescue".  Ladybug immediately volunteered to be permanent baby-sitter.  Her two favorite things... her kitty and her tennis ball.  We had some wonderful years with Ladybug before she passed away.  She was happy and healthy right to the end, then was mercifully taken quickly.

Through our dealings with GRRA, we became interested in becoming foster parents.  Goldens come into the program from shelters and from owners who can no longer keep their dogs, and are assigned to fosters who deal with any and all health issues and behavior issues.  After a few weeks the foster parents screen applicants and try make the perfect match.

This was taken at an annual Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta picnic, given in honor of everyone who has adopted from GRRA.  If you ever had any doubts about the breed being friendly, this is where you get to see about three hundred Goldens sniff and greet and wag, and we've never heard so much as a growl all day!

We have had the pleasure of fostering about ten dogs over the last couple of years.  It is incredibly satisfying to see them go to great homes to enrich the lives of other families.  People ask "How can you part with them?" But you just know that, as wonderful as they are, they belong to someone else, and you are there to help them find them.  When one comes along that is meant to be ours, we know it immediately.  It's not something you can explain easily. 

Rocket was found in a box in front of a convenience store.  Patches of his hair had fallen out and his head was bald on top from malnutrition.  He was very sweet but played so rough that he went through five foster parents in six weeks!  We agreed to keep him for a few days until GRRA's trainer returned from vacation.  The first night, Rocket was by my chair asleep and I commented that I couldn't see why he'd been a problem.  I looked back down and he had disappeared, only to come sliding into the living room from the kitchen with a bag of chocolate chip cookies from the cabinet hanging from his huge smile!  I was a goner!  We adopted him the next day.  With some good food and a lot of training, he is just the perfect dog!

Rocket loved it when we fostered puppies that he could play with, and he always got really sad when they left, so we knew it was time for a friend.  He got to choose.  He picked Jasmine.  She was skin and bones and very afraid but Rocket fell in love.  After a few days and some good food, Jazzy started to play with Rocket and they have not stopped since!

That is, unless someone is having a snack! 
That's Jasmine on the left and Rocket on the right.  "Jazz" and "Rock!"

Jazzy took over Ladybug's passion for tennis balls,

and Rocket has Ladybug's love of kitties.
Our daughter rescued this yellow kitty last Christmas who thinks she is also one of the Goldens. 
We know that somewhere, Ladybug is smiling.

Note: If you are interested, Raven wrote a personal tribute to Ladybug. It was so personal that
she didn't make the link available to the public, but now that more time has passed,
I have convinced her to allow me to post it.  To view Raven's tribute, click here.

To see pictures from the 2002 GRRA Romp CLICK HERE!

To find out more about Golden Retriever Rescue Of Atlanta, visit their Web site at www.grra.com

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