In search of a ‘Forever Home’

By Devan Mighton

In Istanbul, a golden retriever is considered a status pet. A sign of wealth, prosperity, and growth as a family. Unfortunately, for some of these puppies that are taken in, in Turkey, their fate is already sealed.

Dogs cost money. Between shots, upkeep, housing, accessories, food, and entertainment, owning one can amount to the same financial stress as welcoming a child.

What was once a cute little puppy will grow to an eventual 90-100 lb. dog that needs love, attention, and room to burn energy. Fortunately, for these dogs, Turkey is a no-kill country. Unfortunately, instead of turning these dogs in, desperate owners turn them out to the streets or dump them in local forests.

Here in Canada, golden retrievers are rescued and supported by Golden Rescue, a nationwide, Barrie-based non-for-profit that was founded in 1990. With no paid staff and completely volunteer operated, Golden Rescue rescues, fosters, and plays matchmaker for thousands of golden retriever and golden-mix souls who have been left to the wind.

In 2005, LaSalle resident Kelly Blais became a volunteer for Golden Rescue and soon adopted her own retrievers—George and Murphy. The threesome soon grew to a foursome as Blais’ partner Mike Kakuk of AM800’s The Morning Drive with Mike and Lisa entered the fold. Since then, the power couple have donated their time, energy, and advocacy to the Golden Rescue cause.

“I have an affinity for goldens, but I have other dogs as well,” admits Blais. “I think that golden retrievers have this real uniqueness about their personality. They’re loving, they’re goofy, they’re great family pets in the sense that they love all people, they love other animals, they love life.”

Blais, who considers herself an animal lover, says that she has owned golden retrievers her entire life.

“They’re just a really good family dog,” she adds. “I think they appeal to a broad range of individuals based on their personality and characteristics.”

Golden Rescue operates through volunteers that are positioned across Canada. To date, they have rescued over 4,100 dogs. Originally focussed in Ontario and Quebec, the single-breed rescue has expanded over the years to Western Canada and the Maritime Provinces.

“Thirty-two years and we’re still doing what we do,” states Blais. “We’ve grown substantially over our 32 years. We started out as a handful of volunteers and have expanded across Canada. We have 500-plus volunteers across Canada—from placement volunteers, to intake volunteers, to fundraising and events, social media, and communications.

She says that Golden Rescue isn’t just a rescue and adoption agency.

“Raising awareness, I think that’s a big part of who we are—yes, we are all about rescuing and rehoming abandoned and displaced goldens, but a big part of our responsibility is educating the public on responsible pet ownership and I think that is where we succeed,” explains Blais.

“We have an education advocacy team that will come and speak to a group of individuals—whether it be a workplace or a service group or even a school to educate people on the importance of being a responsible pet parent.”

Since the mid-2000s, Golden Rescue has operated the Rescue Mission of Love—saving abandoned and stray goldens in Istanbul, Cairo, and Mexico City. Blais says they have rescued over 1,500 international retrievers in that time through shelters that have been vetted and approved by Golden Rescue.

Unfortunately, for Golden Rescue and other international rescues, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is enacting a ban on the import of international dogs from 100 countries starting Sept. 28—World Rabies Day.

“The hardest part for us is that rabies is 100 per cent controllable,” says Blais. “We do not bring any dog in from another country that hasn’t been vetted properly, hasn’t had flea and tick medication, that hasn’t been tested for all of the particular diseases for that region, and no dog comes to Canada without a rabies vaccine. For us, and a lot of other rescues, we’re working with Animal Justice, who has started a petition to stop this ban. It’s hard because we’re doing all of the right things.”

“We are a responsible rescue organization, we do not want to put any other animal or any person in Canada at risk.”

Golden Rescue is an active participant in their communities across Canada and often frequents town fairs to show the public what they are about and give their pups some fresh air.

On Oct. 1, Golden Rescue will be hosting a nationwide fitness event for dogs and their owners, known as Memories in Motion Coast-to-Coast, where people will be encouraged to run, bike, walk, or just be active to raise awareness and funding for their cause.

The non-for-profit will also soon host their first Golden Rescue Picnic since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, complete with games, events, a general store for merch, and raffles, where volunteers, followers, and supporters from across Canada can mingle in person. The event takes place on Sept. 17 at Viamede Resort in Kawartha Lakes.

Blais wants it to be known that Golden Rescue is always looking for foster families. Golden Rescue provides an in-depth and profession surrender, foster, and adoption program, that can be accessed through their website, email, by phone, or social media, where owners are interviewed, dogs are observed and understood, and adoptees are selected based on compatibility.

“Our process is more of a matching process,” states Blais. “We look at our goldens and what they need and then we look at our families and we try to match them accordingly. Our end goal is that any golden in our program, if we’re matching them with a potential forever family, we want that to be their last stop. We want it to truly be their forever home.”

For more information on Golden Rescue and their adoption process, please visit GoldenRescue.ca.