April Stories

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Beneficiaries of the April Fund

Donations to the April Fund have enabled the GRF to assist many Rescue groups throughout the country. Today, nearly 100 such groups are working to assure the safety and loving care of homeless Goldens in need of new adoptive homes.

Behind every grant, there is a story of a Golden in need. On this page we will be sharing with you some of the stories of April Fund beneficiaries.

Betty – Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada:

Betty’s owner and his wife were not only addicted to alcohol, but drugs as well. It made for some difficult times in which Betty developed some aggressive tendencies in order to cope.

Betty’s owner finally passed away. She lay on his body for nearly nine hours while not letting anyone, including his wife come near him. The wife walked with a cane, which she used to beat Betty. Betty was burned with her cigarettes. Betty had an unknown wound on the right side of her neck that looked to be several inches long. Her right ear was torn off which healed over. Malnourished and neglected, Betty’s spine was visible and her hipbones stuck out.

The Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada rescued Betty, where she has learned the comfort and safety of loving human hands. During one visit to the veterinarian, Betty’s ears showed damage from her earlier life. She had to have surgery to remove her ear canal.

Thanks to the April Fund, the Golden Retriever Rescue of Southern Nevada was able to afford this needed surgery to continue the healing process for their beautiful Betty. Betty’s surgeon knew of a client who was grieving the loss of their dog and suggested that this client meet Betty.

Of course it was love at first sight! But best of all, Betty now has the constant love, safety and snuggles of a home that loves her daily.

Betty

Cody
Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cleveland, Ohio

This is the first of three rescue stories from Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cleveland, Ohio.  Thank you for what you do for our beloved Goldens!

We are proud that GRF/April Fund was able to help us help Cody!
Charming and playful 8-year-old Cody truly has gotten a second chance at a good life. You see, he was relinquished to a shelter as his owners were divorcing, and G.R.I.N. took him in. Upon vetting it was discovered that Cody had a kidney mass, it was a cancerous tumor.  The affected left kidney was removed; his right kidney was normal and serves him well.

The surgery was successful and in spite of its complexity, Cody was a happy, sweet boy throughout the process. Cody has passed all subsequent follow up exams with flying colors and was quickly adopted. 

Cody is reported to continue to be a happy, sweet boy and is enjoying his new life with his adopted family. We all hope and pray that Cody has many happy, healthy years to come.  Thank you, April Fund for your support!

Rodney
Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cleveland, Ohio

This is the second of three rescue stories from Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cleveland, Oh.  Thank you for what you do for our beloved Goldens!

We are proud that GRF/April Fund was able to help us help Rodney, now known as La Muth!
Here’s his story:
This 8-year-old stray came to G.R.I.N. with severe and painful infections in both ears, among other issues. The untreated infections caused his ear canals to completely close, and rendered him deaf. Our veterinary partner felt it was imperative to remove his ear canals so they wouldn’t rupture, eliminating pain associated with chronic infections.

La Muth underwent a Bilateral Ear Ablation, and after removal of his ear canals, he experienced temporary facial paralysis on the right side of his face. This included the inability to eat hard food. While he could manage soft food with assistance, he experienced drooling with eating and drinking, but luckily this condition has rectified itself. 

La Muth was adopted by his foster family and enjoys his 3 Golden brothers. (He’s pictured on the far left, with his fur siblings).
He’s been in training, learning with a mixture of sign language and hand signals. His mom is a school social worker and her goal is for La Muth to become a Therapy Dog and join her at work.

Ace
Southern Arizona Golden Retriever Rescue

Our rescue received a call from the county shelter about a young golden who had been hit by a car.  The shelter vet looked at him and assessed that he may have a fractured pelvis and would need crate rest.  We took him straight to a veterinary hospital where x-rays indicated that this young pup had a shattered hip as well as a fractured pelvis.

The April Fund quickly provided the necessary funds to take care of all the treatments and surgery Ace needed. 

Ace required an FHO as well as lots of plates, screws and wires to get him back to his regular self.  Ace spent a few weeks in a crate being hand-walked to help him strengthen his leg and recover from this trauma.  Once again we were fortunate  to have a wonderful foster parent with medical training who could provide the necessary recovery for Ace.

He has just gone to his forever home where he is walking all over the neighborhood, meeting all the neighbor dogs and playing.  The orthopedic vet says this young pup will make a full recovery as soon as his muscle tone returns.

Zoie
Rescue A Golden of Arizona (RAG of AZ)

Anyone who has the pleasure of meeting Zoie, a 6-year-old female, who came into RAGofAZ in August 2005, will say that it’s hard to tell by looking at her that she has special needs. Zoie has diabetes, a thyroid condition and was blind. But Zoie was a good candidate for cataract surgery once her meds got her diabetes under control. In the meantime, she has lived with Connie and Nick, experienced RAG of AZ fosters who have helped to bring out the wonderful Golden that she is. In October after the RAG of AZ vet had spent months adjusting Zoie's insulin dosage and testing the result, Zoie finally was ready to have the surgery to restore her sight. At first she could only distinguish between dark and light due to the inflammation after the surgery, but her sight gradually and dramatically improved.

Connie reported: We have seen tremendous progress every day since Tuesday’s operation. Those who have not been through this have no idea how wonderful it feels to see this blind dog be able to see her surroundings for the first time. This is the first time I have been able to watch her walk around things without any bumps at all! And she is so HAPPY! You can tell that this means the world to her. Again, thank you to everyone who made this possible. Without diligent fundraising efforts and a $400 contribution from the GRF's April Fund, this certainly would not have been possible.

Rupert
Memphis Area Golden Retriever Rescue

Shortly after Rupert came from the Memphis Animal Shelter to one of MAGRR’s foster families, his foster noticed that he had a pronounced limp. MAGRR’s vets diagnosed osteochrondrosis and subsequently performed successful surgery on his shoulder. The April Fund provided a maximum contribution of $400 that helped pay his over $600 in surgical expenses, even with a 50 percent vet discount. In the interim, a family saw Rupert’s picture at MAGRR’s booth at a suburban arts, crafts, and community activities fair. It was love at first sight. They insisted that they wanted to adopt Rupert, filed an application, were approved, and patiently waited while he recuperated from surgery. When they finally met him, they confirmed that he was the dog for them. Refusing even to consider other dogs, one of the boys in the family declared, “I want Rupert.” He was adopted by this unwavering family, and the love story continues to grow in his forever home.

Missy
Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cliveland, Ohio

This is the third of three rescue stories from Golden Retrievers In Need Rescue Service of Cleveland, OH. 

Thank you for what you do for our beloved Goldens.

G.R.I.N. was asked to take ownership of the special needs but happy-go-lucky and spunky 6-month-old pup puppy named Missy from the Club Pet Adoption Inc. of Transfer, PA. Their founder spearheaded fundraising efforts and while they raised $1,976 for her needed surgery, it just wasn't enough to meet all her medical costs. They reached out to us, keeping Missy's best interests first and generously donated to G.R.I.N. what they'd raised and pledged to continue to raise funds for her cause.

You'd never know anything was wrong with her, except this doll had to wear baby diapers. You see, Missy was diagnosed with a genetic condition called an ectopic ureter. Simply put, the ureter was not connected to the bladder; the urine came from the kidney and dumped into the vagina instead of the bladder.

A vet specialist/surgeon operated on Missy in the first week of November 2013. Post surgery, he described her as having an "extremely complex abnormality." Both of her ureters were dumping urine into different locations in the abdomen, one was in, the other out of the bladder.
She had a fair chance that the surgery would be successful with medication, but it was believed that she would most likely need another procedure.

As expected, Missy required an advanced procedure in March of 2014, a hydraulic occluder implant. She is recovering from the surgery and is resting in her loving, attentive foster home. It is our hope that as soon as she fully recoups, she will adopted into her forever home. We thank GRF/April Fund for your grant to aid in Missy’s surgeries.