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| Golden Angel Program |
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The Angel Fund
Sponsor a Golden with Special Needs
Want to help the Goldens, but can't adopt or foster and don't have time to volunteer? You can still help! You can make a huge difference in the life of a Golden in need by sponsoring a dog in our Golden Angel Program.
Each of the Goldens that comes to Homeward Bound receives at a minimum, a vet exam, vaccinations, spay/neuter, heartworm test and treatment (if needed), and ultimately placement into a loving home. Some dogs require additional medical care, including hip surgeries, repairing broken bones, removing tumors, treating ear infections, ear surgeries, eye surgeries, knee surgeries, and a host of other surgeries. Our adoption fees don't come close to covering the costs of this extensive medical care. Thus we rely on donations from our generous supporters. Some of these golden guests will stay with us for an extended period of time to recover, heal, gain strength and confidence before moving along to their forever homes. Some, because of their medical challenges, will become permanent Homeward Bound residents.
Pictured below are four dogs with special medical needs that require extra time to recover. If you would like to help by sponsoring them, you'll be making a big difference in their lives.
You can make a one-time donation of any amount via PayPal or personal check, or you can become a Golden Angel by making a monthly donation via PayPal. If you become a Golden Angel by making a monthly donation, we will send you periodic emails on your dog’s progress until he or she is adopted. Donations are 100% tax deductible and will be a blessing for those Goldens who need a little extra care or time.
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ABBY
This sweet little girl gives new meaning to the word fearful. Abby apparently spent most of her early life fending for herself. She came to us from a rescue group in the Midwest who had been trying in vain to place her. Although Abby is afraid of the world and won’t let anyone near, you can almost hear her spirit calling out for love and acceptance. She wants to trust, but the old programming just won’t allow her to reach out or accept affection. We assume that she spent a fair amount of time on her own, because she always seems to be starved. Although she eats her meals as though each may be her last, she usually refuses any treat that is offered. She’s well behaved, house broken, loves curling up on the trundle bed in the office, and gets along well with the other dogs. But she runs away in fear whenever a human approaches. Although we are working patiently to win her trust, the likelihood is that sweet Abby will be a permanent resident of Homeward Bound. |
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JOSIE
Josie came to Homeward Bound over two years ago when her human mom, Emily Perry, a Lt. Col. In the US Army, was deployed overseas. Josie had been recently diagnosed with sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS), a condition that causes sudden complete blindness. For awhile Josie lived with her Emily’s sister and her young family, but when she became completely blind, she began to exhibit some of the behaviors common to a dog with SARDS, including an increased appetite, which led her to try to get food from anywhere she could, including the children. For the children’s safety, the family decided it would be best if Josie lived elsewhere.
Desperate for a safe place for Josie, Emily contacted Homeward Bound, we immediately agreed to take her, and she was transported to us.
Although Emily’s deployment has been extended, the plan is for Josie to return to Emily’s care when she is safely back home. Until then, Homeward Bound is happy to care for Josie and keep her safe, and look forward to Lt. Col. Perry’s safe return.
Sweet, loving and thoroughly charming, Josie is a welcome long-term guest of Homeward Bound. |
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BOGEY
A thoroughly lovable bull in a china shop, Bogey Homeward Bound’s other blind golden guest, doesn’t let his blindness slow him down a bit. He goes careening through life with joyful abandon. Exuberant, playful, strong, and thoroughly adorable, Bogey has charmed all the volunteers who work with him. In order to help him adapt to life at the HBGRR sanctuary, we are using some special techniques and audible cues to help him find his food, maneuver successfully to go for walks, and find his way around. He’s a happy boy and we are pleased to give him a safe place to live and be loved.
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VENUS
When she arrived at Homeward Bound, Venus was one of the saddest cases we had seen in all our years of rescue; her story is also one of the most inspiring. At approximately 8 years of age, in possibly the worst shape of any dog we had taken in, Venus came to us from Taiwan where she had literally been rescued from beneath a pile of garbage. With a dreadful case of sarcoptic mange which had left her completely without fur and with inflamed, blackened skin, she was indeed a pitiful sight. In fact, her rescuers in Taiwan weren’t certain that she was actually a golden retriever. Before allowing her to travel, they treated her mange and stabilized her and readied her for her new life in the US.
Venus also had entropion (a condition wherein the eyelashes grow inward, causing constant irritation to the eye). Her breasts were inflamed and distended…possibly from too many puppies nursing for too long. Her left shoulders was slightly deformed – possibly from a past trauma or injury.
Although Venus was in deplorable physical condition, her tail continually wagged. Her sweet golden spirit shone through her obvious misery, and her capacity to forgive and love was inspiring to all of us. She was quarantined and given frequent medicated baths until the mange had healed enough that she was no longer contagious. The medicated baths began to do their work and slowly her fur began to grow back in.
Venus went into foster care where she was lavished with love by her foster parents and became the treasured companion of her collie-poo foster sister. Her foster mom began to notice her favoring her left front leg. The initial thought was that an old injury or arthritis from years of lying on cement was causing the limp. Despite joint supplements and swim therapy, the limp worsened. Further evaluation revealed more bad news for Venus - bone cancer. Amputation of the leg was the only way to keep the cancer from spreading and claiming her life within a few weeks. The plan was to surgically correct Venus’ entropion while she was under anesthesia, but during the amputation surgery, her heart rate plummeted to a dangerously low rate, and the decision was made not to risk her life by performing an additional procedure.
Amputation of the leg has given Venus a new lease on life. Her prognosis is guarded, but we are hoping that she will remain healthy for a year or more. Her eye is being treated with medication daily and if she remains strong, surgery to correct it may be a future possibility. She continues to receive weekly medicated baths and she is thriving.
Venus’s gentle, loving, playful spirit has been an inspiration to all who know and love her. Although her life has been marred by a series of bad breaks, for the time she has left, she will remain a much loved guest of Homeward Bound. She is golden through and through, A Golden Retriever through and through, she is treasured by her foster family, and will spend the rest of her days living the life that every golden deserves. |
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BARON
This sweet, well mannered frosty-faced fellow came to us from Texas via the SOS Program. When he first arrived at the golden retriever rescue in Texas, he was a cold, dirty, emaciated, and limping, his ribs and backbone showing prominently. Although he was severely malnourished, he had little appetite. He was immediately taken to the vet. Unfortunately, x-rays showed his heart was enlarged due to heartworm disease, and the fluid in his chest made breathing difficult. He was anemic and had a high white cell count, indicating an infection of some sort. Ongoing vet care and lots of medication and TLC by the Texas foster mom started Baron on the road to recovery. He began to eat and flourish. Because of their space limitations and because Baron was destined to be a long-term resident, although he was beloved by his foster mom, the Texas group made the tough decision to send him to Homeward Bound, thus freeing up space in their foster program for other dogs in need.
Unfortunately Baron is not strong enough to endure normal heartworm treatment because his heart is so enlarged and his pulmonary vessels, (the blood vessels in the lungs) are full of worms. This causes a secondary inflammation and scarring within the lung tissue. When there are so many worms in the vessels, they back up into the heart, causing damage to the heart tissue. So as an alternative, he is receiving monthly doses of Heartguard as a milder form of treatment. The hope is that in time, the Heartguard will kill off all the heartworms. For now, he is in foster care, happy, spunky, eating well and loving life. Because of his heart condition, he will remain in permanent foster care. |
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If you would prefer to make a one-time sponsor donation by check, mail your check to HBGRR, ATTENTION JUDY, 7495 Natomas Rd, Elverta, CA 95626. Make your check payable to HBGRR Angel Fund and indicate in the memo section which dog you wish to sponsor.
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