Callie (AKA Wendy), is coming along.  She is enjoying a little alone time with me and the other dogs while my husband and his big clunky footsteps are away.  She had her first non-emergent vet check up visit last night. I brought Rigby along for her checkup as well, and as predicted, she followed Rigby in.  Callie even took treats and nuzzled with the vet.  Much better than last time when they had to bring out the gurney to scrape "pancake Wendy" off the parking lot asphalt.  Milo's technique of biting her rear to get her to chase is still not winning her love, but I know she has a crush on him.  She lets him into her food bowl!

If you want to read her full rescue story, you can find it on the website:  http://sunshinegoldenrescue.com/wendys-rescue.html

An update on the sweet Venus, also known as Nessie...

Venus is doing fantastic! She gets along with anyone and everything. Rarely barks, always giving kisses. The boys adore her (both the young boys and the old one (my husband)). Mhina and Venus are best friends – they have their sisterly squabbles from time to time but they are forgotten very quickly.

 Venus is eating very well. We are still using up the 40 pound bag of Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs but are cutting it with the Grain-Free Kirkland dry food that we normally feed. Venus eats right away and usually tries to help Mhina finish her food. As a result, Mhina has started eating faster.

The only problem (which is not really a problem) is that Venus wasn’t 100% housebroken like we thought she was but we are working on it. We did try to crate train her but she is deathly afraid of the crate. I would have thought she was kept in a crate at the vet so she’d be used to it. Her accidents are few and far between now so I think we’re almost there.

Venus is such a honey. As with all my rescues, I can’t imagine anyone giving up or abusing these animals. They are just perfect in every way. Venus’ eyes. I could look into them all day. They are the kindest, most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. Besides the gorgeous color (light caramel), they are so gentle and loving. It’s like you’re looking into her soul when you look into her eyes. Just breathtaking.  But everyone who meets Venus falls instantly in love with her.

She does so many things that Denver did. It’s like he’s still here with us. I miss him so terribly much but Venus (and Mhina) have helped me so much.

An update on Stevo from his new mom...
"He's fine!!  And I do believe his is settled in and knows this is his home where we love him...


Funny....the sofa in the living room is draped with a lovely designed blanket....I straighten it every night before I head upstairs to bed.  I have been noticing that when I come down in the morning, the blanket is all pulled down and the throw pillows are not where I left them...THAT is how I know our Stevo is at home now, because he is sleeping on the sofa after we go to bed!!!!  Too funny!!
 
He is losing weight on his diet, and with all his walks and ball catching...we can actually see a difference.  He also is not limping anymore!!

We got a ramp for him to get in and out of the back of the Jeep....he can't get up or down without it.
  
He's the sweetest boy and such a joy to be around.  I steam him green beans and zucchini and add a cup to his food every day to fill him up since he gets so little food.  He seems happy with that.  The weight will come off little by little.  The vet wants him to weight 90 lbs....  Jeff said he weighed 120 and on our vet's scale he was 126....so we will go by that.  If he doesn't lose enough weight on this food, the vet wants him eat a prescription diet that always works...  So we will see the next time he has a visit.
 
Thanks for asking....we couldn't be happier with our new family member!!"

"Single Mom and Seven Year Old Daughter Seek Distinguished Older Gentleman...

For peaceful early morning walks, afternoons at the beach, playing catch in the backyard, tobogganing in the snow and enjoying sunsets on the back deck.  Must be independent as we all have our day jobs and always anxious to greet us with kisses when we get home.  After enjoying a nice dinner, we love to watch TV together.  A snuggle at bedtime or when one of us is sick is always appreciated." 

This could have been the ad we would have placed but instead we applied to Sunshine Golden Retriever for a “senior” dog.  Our baby has never seemed a senior and always has been good mannered and natured.   We are so lucky to have been offered Ike as our Southern Gentleman.  Being a full time working Mom I knew it would be unfair to try to raise a puppy.  We told them we were willing to accept a senior and he has so far passed our dreams for a wonderful companion, playmate and protector.  If you have ever wanted a dog but were concerned about the puppy stage we highly recommend adopting a senior from Sunshine Golden Retriever.  We told them he had to be good with kids and cats.  Not only was he great with them but he has never been a chewer or biter or barker.  We do not know how old he was when we adopted him, we were given a range from 5 to 9 years old, 6 years later he acts basically the same so we are very lucky.  Thank you to everyone at Sunshine for giving us such a great distinguished southern gentleman to share our home and lives with.  He is my now 13 year old daughters best friend and she tells him every day.  You can’t get better than that!

From Maggie's (fka Honey) Mom - 
Hi,
Thought you would like to see Maggie on her graduation day from Level 1 Obedience Class. She is a very smart dog and performed very well.  I guess she received the watermelon bandanna be cause she is from the South? (But we love it up here, too.) She has settled in quite nicely and is gaining more confidence each day. She is much better with other dogs. We love her so much and she is so sweet with everyone she meets.  Our grandkids love her! We will keep in touch to let you know how Maggie is doing. 


Great job Maggie!  Your Sunshine family is proud of you!

Rescue is definitely a team effort – from our volunteers in the South who pull our dogs from the shelters and start them on their journey home, to our volunteers do intake in the North, to our volunteers who help with the application process, to our foster families who open their homes to dogs in need, to our adopters who lovingly give our dogs their furever homes.

Last week was a key example of how important this teamwork is! 

Due to a mixup with our usual transport company, we ended up with 3 of our Sunshine Seniors without a ride north to their families!  Our Southern volunteer Lisa sprang into action and pulled everything together to use our new Sunshine Van for a private transport for seniors Magnus, Big John and Molly directly to their new homes – how’s that for service!  The two volunteer chauffers were from a fellow rescue in Mississippi that we’ve collaborated with before.  They started their journey North on Thursday morning, and delivered the pups to their new homes on Friday.  As two of the three have some medical problems, getting the private ride helped ensure they received the special treatment that they needed. 

Without our Van, this would not have been possible.  So big thank you to Lisa for pulling it all together, to our volunteer drivers, and to YOU our Sunshine supporters for your help in our getting the Van.  We could not do it without all of you!

(The picture is the drivers’ view from the van as they headed home: “Beautiful drive, thank y’all for letting us be a part of this amazing, rewarding trip.”)

The dog formerly known as Lady Phoebe Summer Lucy Baby-Girl, is now and forever known as ZELDA! This beautiful Golden girl wound up being returned to SGRR several times, through no fault of her own. She spent some time with trainer, Eddie Simon, to regain her confidence. She is doing wonderfully now in her forever home. Her new mom wrote, "I just wanted you two to know that I LOVELOVELOVE this dog. She lets me sleep as late as I want (not a morning person). She sits at my feet when I'm relaxing on the deck. The highlight of both our day is the hour hike in the woods. I am so happy that she came to live with us! Thank you!"

Ike is a handsome and loving 4 year old Golden male who lived with his former family since he was a puppy.  He was the apple of their eye and was well loved.  But one day, the family brought home a new baby from the hospital and life changed suddenly for Ike.  He was banished to the basement when it was discovered that the new baby was allergic to dogs.  Ike was incredibly sad and did not understand what he did wrong to be shunned like this.  For 3+ years Ike spent most of his days alone.  Ike became very withdrawn and his adopters had to work with him to overcome a number of fears. 

Recently, they shared good news with us about Ike!  "If  you can read the label on his kerchief, it says "Therapy Dog International".  We received his official papers today, and can't wait to get him some work.  In the meantime, he is enrolled in his first Agility Class, started last week.  Who would have guessed!"

Be sure to congratulate Ike and his family on a job well done!