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Nationwide: #11
Minnesota: #1
Remember to vote for RAGOM every day! Click
Want to Adopt?
If you would like =
to adopt=20
one of our wonderful Golden Retrievers, please follow the steps for the =
adoption=20
process here. =
Want to Sponsor
A Dog?
If you =
would like=20
to sponsor one of our wonderful Golden Retrievers, please read more A Dog?
2009 Calendars
Are Here!
Are Here!
![3D"2009](3D"http://ragom.org/calendar.cover2009.jpg")
We are very pleased and excited to be unveiling a new and improved =
RAGOM=20
calendar this year! The calendar features beautiful color glossy =
pictures of=20
RAGOM dogs for each month, along with a story to give the viewer an idea =
of some=20
of the stories behind our rescues. Download a
Quantities are limited, so
What's Coming Up
RAGOM's =
Education=20
BoothPetSmart in Richfield
Saturday, 11 am -2 = pm
November=20 15th
PetSmart in = Richfield
1100 West=20 78th St.
Richfield, MN. 55423
For more upcoming RAGOM events, please visit our =
Thank You =
Transporters!
![3D"RAGOM](3D"http://ragom.org/transport.gif")
October was a busy month with 8800 miles traveled and = $4,437.00=20 in gas donated by our volunteers to help these wonderful dogs get to = their=20 foster homes. That's more than we did in September and August! RAGOM = would like=20 to thank all the volunteers who helped transport these dogs by donating = their=20 time and resources.
If you'd like to learn how to become a transport volunteer, or read =
about all=20
of our volunteer positions, please check out our
Paw Prints for Homeless =
Pets
Buy a Paw Print and help a homeless pet!
This holiday season, you can help homeless pets by purchasing a paw = print for=20 just $1 at any Chuck and Don's. All proceeds from paw print sales will = be=20 donated to Retrieve a Golden of = Minnesota=20 and Second Chance=20 Animal Rescue. Both rescue groups are made up of dedicated = volunteers who=20 foster and help animals get adopted into loving homes.
The paw prints will be displayed in their windows during the = holidays, so=20 help fill up the windows with paws!
And Now a Word
From = One of Our=20 Sponsors
From = One of Our=20 Sponsors
RAGOM's sponsorship program was established in 2007 = to=20 supplement general donations and help defray the high costs associated = with the=20 rescue of 83 Golden Retrievers from a North Dakota puppy mill. Since = then, more=20 than $50,000 has been donated specifically to the sponsorship program, = which=20 enables contributors to specify which dog their donations will support. = Although=20 actual expenses will vary, a dog is considered sponsored with a donation = of=20 $325.
Susannah Charleson is one of the many generous people who have =
sponsored our=20
dogs in fact, she has sponsored five of them:
You live in Texas. Why are you = sponsoring=20 Golden Retrievers in Minnesota?
While I do support Golden rescue here in = Texas,=20 I'm also in Minnesota a lot. I've met a double handful of the RAGOM = Goldens at=20 events and they have such Midwestern charm! Also, I enjoy following = their=20 evolving stories through foster updates, a feature that our more local = Golden=20 rescues here in Texas don't yet offer. I know the updates take a great = deal of=20 volunteer and foster effort, but they do allow us to connect with the = dogs=20 meaningfully, and I'm grateful RAGOM takes the time to do this. I look = at those=20 faces, and I'm hooked.
Susannah and Bear 08-104
Do you also support local Texas = rescue=20 groups?
Yes, I've been involved in canine and = feline=20 rescue since about 1993. Shelter pulls, transport, foster, and financial = contributions, as well. My very first rescue work involved flying = whippets=20 across Texas. They were racetrack retirees who faced a hard end until = rescue=20 intervened. Five little whippets. They flew like a dream. It was like = having a=20 plane full of fawns! One of them kissed my throttle arm all the way to=20 Dallas.
The majority of my own pets are rescues; = several=20 of them started out as fosters and then pretty much persuaded me they = were=20 already home. When I bought dog beds embroidered with their names the = second=20 week, that should have been a clue.
Why Golden Retrievers?
I've always loved this breed, and when I = got my=20 first Golden, Puzzle, in 2004, it cinched the deal. Having a dog of a = specific=20 breed always leads me to support the rescue behind that breed.
What made you decide to sponsor = your first=20 RAGOM dog, Bear?
His face and his hard early story. That = boy shook=20 me up from five states away.
How do you choose the dogs that you = want to=20 sponsor?
Susannah and Sunshine 08-293
I look through the listings, and = sometimes this=20 dog or that one just speaks to me, but I also ask one of the RAGOM = volunteers,=20 Devon, to keep an eye out for a dog who might need special help.
One of the dogs that you sponsored = had=20 serious medical issues and was helped to the Bridge without ever finding = an=20 adoptive home. How do you react to that as someone who is invested in = the dogs=20 both financially and emotionally?
I grieve and celebrate at the same time. = I'm=20 always sorry when a rescued dog doesn't get a chance at more of this = life in the=20 arms of a loving family, but I'm grateful, grateful that the same dog = was spared=20 suffering and crossed in the presence of human tenderness. Much better = than in=20 isolation, terror, and great pain. I believe in love at first sight = especially=20 with rescues and I believe it's possible for hurting dogs to feel our = love even=20 if they only know it a short period of time. It's a soulful act, their = going and=20 our comforting their way.
Tell us about your Golden=20 Retriever.
Puzzle is a four-year-old light blonde Golden = Retriever. She's=20 a search-and-rescue K9, certified for searches in wilderness, urban, and = disaster settings air scent as well as scent-discrimination searches. = She came=20 to me as a ten-week-old puppy and began training to work search the next = day.=20 Puzzle's a hard-working girl who loves her job, and on- and off-duty, = she=20 instructs me in many things. Like how ice cream is much better when it's = shared,=20 and dog slobber is full of beneficial enzymes that promote eternal human = youth=20 and beauty. When she's not working, Puzzle is often found on the back of = the=20 couch under the ceiling fan, belly-up asleep.
Editor's Note: Since this = article was=20 written, Susannah has been back up to Minnesota and stopped in to visit = friends=20 at RAGOM's November 1st Petco event in Coon Rapids, MN. While there = Susannah met=20 a new foster, Scooby 08-492 who stole her heart and prompted her = to sponsor=20 her 6th RAGOM dog!
=A9 2008 Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota, Inc. ALL RIGHTS =
RESERVED
www.ragom.org is the official website of Retrieve a Golden =
of=20
Minnesota, Inc.,
a non-profit organization, as evidenced by the "org" =
in its=20
website location.
Any use or links by others are not=20
authorized.