2007 Rescue Letters
From the Sharp family:
We adopted "'MAX" now "TUCKER" on March 21st. and wanted to let you know that he is doing very well. WE read that it can take some time for a Rescue's personalities to emerge, and I believe we are finally starting to see some of Tucker's true personality.
He LOVES any other dog he comes across, and thinks playtime at the farm is the greatest gift from heaven. He gets to run on 3 acres at least twice a day with our 2 border collies, Chuck and Jake, and our English Setter, Lou. Tucker doesn't quite understand a). how to keep up with the collies and b). why Lou can't run and run and run.... and run some more! We walk 2 miles a day and he heels beautifully,.
We have mastered the trick of NOT jumping on people but if only we could master the spring in his step when get gets excited. He could be part Pogo stick. He's goofy and slightly blond and wants nothing more than to run and play - typical Golden - Thanks IGRR!
An Update from Deuce and his forever loving family.
Deuce turned 1 year old on March 18th and he had a wonderful birthday party with cakes and lots of presents. I love my house, my sister, Denali, and life in general. He says, he learned how to ride a 4 wheeler and go camping, visits his Grandparent's valley and run and play and eat food cooked over a fire. He can't wait for summer and boating and swimming again. He learned lots of new tricks and knows how to hit the doorknob to go outside for potty. He got his first haircut.
His forever family loves him very much and thanks IGRR for bringing them together.
The Peterson Family.
Look at Jack now!
This is Jackson previously known as Jack with his new forever Dad, Chris. It's a perfect home like we could never imagine. Every morning Chris and Jackson go for a long run and then after work, Jackson get another run with his Dad. On the weekends, they go for long hikes in the woods. He loves the snow and goes snowshoeing with his Dad.
Thanks Chris - you are a perfect Dad !
Update on Wrigley
Hello, Here I am with Wrigley(originally Jobe) my adopted boy from IGRR. We have been together for a year now. I have to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart for bring him into my life. It can be pretty lonely being a poor college student, but Wrigley is my escape from a stressful day. We love to play catch and he LOVES riding in the car!
On the weekends, he gets to go to my parents acreage about 4 miles away to run around with our other two dogs. November will be a year since we adopted our cat named Ringo. Wrigley and Ringo are great lazy pals who love to just lay around and snore...very loudly...
Thank you again for the wonderful organization you have and the joy you have brought to my life. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Happy Holidays and Peace to everyone. Stephanie
An update on Trevor
He's slowing coming out of his shell, although still jumpy/skiddish sometimes. We've got him on Iams now and he seems to like that. He loves to go for walkswith me on the gravel road and see all the wildlife. He's seen the deer and pheasants that fly up out of the ditch, which startled him at first, but now he's just intrigued.
Thanks for all of the work you do for the rescue dogs - without good people like you, these beautiful dogs wouldn't find good homes.
Trevor is doing much better with his separation anxiety, although I don't think he will ever be over it completely. We have him taking just one pill a day and that seems to be working out okay. He still comes to work with me every day and loves to greet our customers. They will come in and sit down - Trevor recognizes certain voices and when he does, he ventures out, sits and shakes with them and they pet him. In fact, if? he doesn't go out to meet them, they come in my office to see what's up! He loves to go for a "walky" - that's probably his favorite past time other than going to "worky"? (sometimes I wonder how he keeps the two straight, but he does) - and he is learning to play ball, although he needs work on bringing it back ! He loves to pounce and roll in the snow? as you can probably see in the pictures!
He is a very sweet boy and we're so happy that's he's a part of our lives! Thanks again for your part in helping these fine dogs!
Sammy's Story, as told by his new Mom, Sue
Sammy, formerly known as Sanford, joined our family the weekend after Easter, 2006. After raising puppies to adulthood, we were interested in adopting a Rescued Golden and discovered IGRR. We knew almost immediately that Sam could be exactly who we were looking for, even through he was quite shy and fearful of strangers.
He and Caleb, got along well enough that we were encouraged to bring Sam home with us for the weekend. It was critical for us that Caleb woudl welcome a new family member. He lost his big bubby, BJ , our 12 1/2 year old Golden , the year before and our primary reason in adopting a rescued golden was so Caleb would have a buddy and playmate his own age. His long days at home with mom weren't especially exciting for a 4-year old healthy boy. Also, we'd always had two Goldens at a time and we were ready to fill that empty place created when BJ died.
We thank God for the blessing our lives with Sammy. He's learned everything so fast, is so obedient, and is gradually overcoming all the difficulties of his former life. He loves to be loved, and he gives so much in return. He is truly a gift.
Sammy wants to write about himself now....
Hi, Everyone, I'm Sam (I really feel a lot more like a Sam than Sanford, especially because the people who named me Sanford weren't nice to me. The first three or so yrs of my life were spent making puppies at a "puppy mill" and it was a very bad life.
I didn't know what it was like to play, go for a walk, eat good food, drink clean water, or live a life anything like I'm living now. Even after that, some other people owned me but life wasn't any better with them. In fact, my buddy died because no one ever fed us; I remember seeing him laying there, quiet, cold and never saying a wood anymore. Finally, I got so sad myself, afraid of everything, and hungry that I took off. That's when the police found me and took me to a clinic. Pretty soon I got "rescued" that's the term everybody uses, and these really nice people took me to a place called Iowa.
It was the first time in my life that anyone was nice, petted me a lot, cleaned me up (I had to have my coat all cut off because I was so dirty and all my hair was stuck together in a big mess; I didn't like having my hair cut, but I didn't like being so ugly and dirty either). I still was pretty scared of everything and everybody, but I knew that things were different and better.
It wasn't too long before I met my brother Caleb, and my Mom and Dad. Imagine me with a mom and dad. They're the best, especially my Mom, even though she does like to kiss me on my face and my tummy and hug me and just hold me like I'm going to disappear or something. Sometimes she huge me and her face gets wet and she sounds sad, like she's remembering something sad. But she gets over it quick. My Dad is really great, and he's helpig me to not be so afraid of men-people, because all the men-people I ever knew before were really mean and hurt me a lot. Caleb keeps telling me that will never happen here. And I believe him.
My Dad kisses me too, rubs my tummy, and brushes me, but he also cleans my ears because they used to hurt a lot for a long time, and he cuts my nails. And I really don't like that part. And he makes me go for walks with Caleb. I know I'm suppose to liek that, but I just don't get into it much. probably because I'd never done it before. I guess it's ok, once we're out there; Caleb just loves it, and I usually love to do whatever Caleb is doing. Besides, sometimes we find goose poop, and that is the best-tasting stuff in the world!!!
At home, Yep, I have a home. I never really got to live inside before, but it's great now that I'm used to it. I have a really neat bed of my own next to Mom and Dad's big bed but I really like to sleep in Caleb's bed on the other side. Sometimes, we sleep there together. I feel so safe and like I'm never going to be sad again. And I used to be sad all of the time. Now I'm pretty happy except when Mom and Dad go someplace, then I really look forward to them coming home. But Caleb and I love to wrestle and play a lot and I also really like to chew on this blue cover-thing on a couch. The food is the best - we get fish a lot, chicken, eggs and sometimes good regular food. And Mom gives us cookies after lunch. Sometimes she puts peanut butter on them. That's a new one for me. My Mom tells everyone that we don't get table scraps but she's so easy, all we have to do is look real sad. Caleb taught me that.
Well, I could go on and on. Life is better than I ever thought or imagined in my wildest dreams it could be. I mean I never knew a dog liek me could live like this. I used to see other dogs when I lived on the street. They would be with their families and they didn't look hungry or sad. I am one of those dogs now, I even have a leather collar with a shiny thing right on it with my name, address and my phone number. I must be pretty special.
I couldn't be any happier. Caleb is the best brother. I wish everybody would be like my Mom and Dad and give dogs like me a chance. And when my mom's face gets wet, she tells me she loves me over and over and holds me right, and I left her.
Sammy