As state and local officials begin to ease restrictions due to COVID-19, NRGRR will continue to heed their advice to keep our volunteers and supporters safe while remaining committed to being there for dogs in need.
For the time being, we continue to conduct our intake and adoption programs in as much of a virtual capacity as possible. However, we will once again accept adoption applications beginning on May 15th. Our meet and greets continue to be suspended, but our operations team is evaluating how best to safely conduct them in the future. For the latest on the practices and precautions we are following, please visit our
COVID-19 Response
page.
We appreciate your patience and continued support as we navigate this uncertain time together. While we are pausing our fundraising and community events, we are not “pawsing” our commitment to rescue, rehab, and adopt dogs in need. Please consider making a donation during this difficult time to help us continue our mission.
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- June 19-21th - Southern Women's Show Fido Fashion Show - North Carolina State Fairgrounds
- July 25th - Summer Swim - Montague Lake
- August 29th - Golden on the Green - River Ridge Country Club
- October 10th - Golden Gala - Embassy Suites, Brier Creek
- October 25th - Rescue Reunion - Montague Lake
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The
NRGRR Golden Gala has been rescheduled for October 10th
. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we are looking forward to another wonderful evening sharing our successes and looking toward the future. Visit our
Gala web page
for a preview of the evening and to purchase your tickets and sponsorships.
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2020 Statistics
through April
53 Dogs Rescued
37 Dogs in Rehab
59 Dogs Adopted
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Congratulations to these dogs finding their furever home in April
- Peter Frampton 20
- Turkey Baron 20
- Laughing Lab 19
- Donovan 20
- Turkey Tekila 20
- Roxanne 20
- Sting 20
- Holly 19
- Turkey Uras 20
- Keith Richards 20
- Mama Cass 20
- Dudley 20
- Natalie 20
- Molly 14
- Kringle 19
- Tom Petty 20
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Corporate and Member Sponsorships
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We are excited to bring you new sponsorship opportunities for both businesses and individuals with levels that offer you a variety of benefits, including advertising and/or tickets to the Golden Gala and our 19th Annual Golden on the Green charity golf tournament. Visit our Sponsorship page for all the details.
This year our fundraising goal is $100,000, and with your help, we can reach or possibly even exceed that target. We are so appreciative of your support and generosity; it is why “Together We Are Golden.”
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Paws and Smile Photo Contest
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Congratulations to Millie for winning the
NRGRR Paws and Smile Photo Contest!
Thank you to everyone who submitted pictures and voted in our contest, we raised nearly $2000 to help rescue dogs in need.
Millie's owner will receive (2) tickets to our
Golden Gala
, now rescheduled for October 10th, 2020 at the Embassy Suites, Brier Creek.
All of the photos entered will be featured at the Gala as well.
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2021 NRGRR Calendar Contest
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The
2021 NRGRR Calendar Contest
is coming soon, so get your cameras out and start taking photos of your NRGRR alum! Photo submissions will be accepted from May 22nd through June 28th.
The calendar contest is a great fundraiser for NRGRR every year and so we hope you will participate. You can submit several photos if you like; each photo submitted is $10.00. Our goal is to select one photo per person/family for the voting. Additional photos will be used throughout the calendar as thumbnails, space permitting.
Please follow the submission guidelines on the
rules page
closely to ensure your photos are eligible for selection in the voting contest. For example, they must be high resolution photos in horizontal orientation to be considered for the monthly photo, and there must be no people in the photos.
Voting will begin July 1st and run through the end of the month until July 31st. We hope to have the calendars ready to sell by mid-October so you can stock up for holiday gifts.
Our goal this year is to raise $15,000 with the calendar contest…will you help us? We can’t wait to see your photo submissions!
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Flea and Tick Control: Safe Solutions!
Flea and tick season is upon us and so we want to provide you with some safe solutions for protecting your pets. Parasites, such as fleas and ticks, carry diseases and pose a health risk to both pets and people. While keeping parasites from grabbing a “doggie Uber” ride is paramount, negotiating the world of anti-parasitics can be daunting.
To help you make informed decisions regarding flea and tick prevention for your dog, check out NRGRR’s Medical Coordinator Katie McKay’s
latest blog post
.
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NRGRR Behavior Team
Separation Anxiety
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The NRGRR Behavior Team has some advice for you regarding a popular topic trending in dog circles: Is our constant presence at home (due to the current “stay at home” guidelines) going to set our dogs up for separation anxiety when we are able to return to our regular routines again? Maybe! But never fear, you are part of a group with a ton of experience in many things, including separation anxiety (SA). So let's talk a bit about identifying and preventing SA and where to get help.
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Boredom and mischief when you leave aren't necessarily SA! Sometimes it's actually boredom and mischief, indicating that your dog needs more activity and mental stimulation so they can “settle” successfully. Separation Anxiety is characterized by mental and physical distress in your dog when you leave home. This can become quite distressing as you begin to feel like a "prisoner of love." We're here to help you recognize what behavior you're dealing with and how to prevent SA.
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All dogs, especially clingy, Velcro dogs, benefit from being “calmly” left for a minute, followed by a calm return. We can also desensitize our dogs to our departures by providing them with a long-lasting positive treat such as a stuffed frozen Kong. This leaves our dog looking forward to some alone time, and then we can calmly return without a big pity party. Generally, you're teaching your dog that your comings and goings are no big deal. Gradually extending the amount of time alone, from a minute, then 2, then 3, will build a strong behavior foundation (slowly) to instill "home alone confidence" in your dog!
Counter conditioning is a powerful tool, and it's simple. But simple isn't easy. The most common mistake people make is trying to leap ahead..."Oh they're fine after 2 days, and I've left them for up to 2 minutes, so I'll leave for an hour and a half and maybe we can skip the Kong." Nope, not gonna work!
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The NRGRR Behavior Team is glad to help you with a plan to address potential SA issues. We have some separation anxiety treatment champions on the team who can help with things like how to work with your dog and even how to repair molding around the door frame (we hope that’s not needed).
To access behavior help for your foster dog, reach out to your dog coordinator. For adopted dogs and others, reach out to
Julie Rigby
.
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What To Do About Your Dog's Separation Anxiety
-
Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution - YouTube
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FOSTERS NEEDED
...the “life-blood” of most rescues are their fosters. You simply CANNOT save lives without fosters. After being pulled from a shelter, or an owner surrenders their family pet, the dog needs a place to land for medical care (if needed), training perhaps, and a safe environment where they can build confidence and prepare to meet their forever family.
For the next couple of months, the Rescue Ranger will be spotlighting NRGRR fosters as they share with you what motivates them to foster. If you are sitting on the fence or never even considered fostering, we hope you will be moved by some of the stories and decide to open your home to an NRGRR dog. Fostering saves lives, and you can be part of our rewarding mission to Rescue.Rehab.Adopt.
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Foster Spotlight: Sara Warren
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Sara Warren began fostering for NRGRR just about a year ago. Her hope at that time was to adopt a golden as a sibling for her then, 3 year old golden Teddy. However, shortly after submitting her application to adopt, her work situation changed, making it undesirable for her to adopt at that time. Her application advisor then suggested she consider fostering instead.
Sara decided that fostering would allow her to experiment with having a second dog in her house and at the same time give back to her community through volunteering. To date, Sara has fostered 3 dogs, one was Kai Li from China and the other two were temp fosters.
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Sara says that fostering is a great way to provide a stable environment for a dog who is transitioning from a less than ideal situation to their forever home. “It warms my heart to help them understand what love is and how they can relax and enjoy their lives. I also temp foster which is a great stress relief for those fosters who need a solution when they are unavailable. I understand finding good care for your own pets can be challenging, and I appreciate being able to help other fosters in a time of need.”
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Many people are reluctant to foster if they do not have a fenced-in yard. Not so for Sara, who lives in a townhome with a small garden area. She, her resident dog Teddy, and foster dog take multiple walks a day, play fetch, and frequent the dog park near her townhouse. On the weekends she includes hikes, parks, restaurants, and Bass Pro-Shop for training. So whether you live in an apartment, townhouse, or a home with a fenced yard, the key to fostering is providing a stable, loving home for your foster.
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Sara’s advice to anyone considering fostering is “Do it! You can foster on your own terms for as long as you want, as frequently as you want….NRGRR is unbelievably supportive and will help you in any way you need.” Sara’s first foster was China Kai Li. Early on, Kai Li loved to play with Sara’s dog Teddy, but after a period of time Kai Li began to experience some undiagnosed medical issues. Kai Li’s coordinator immediately stepped in and NRGRR provided the support Kai Li needed as well as the support Sara needed to help manage Kai Li’s medical issues.
Kai Li has since found her forever home and Sara reports she is living her best life because of ALL the people that cared for her! THANK YOU Sara Warren for fostering and temp fostering for NRGRR.
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During the past few weeks with “stay at home” policies and social distancing in place, NRGRR has been blessed with an abundance of fosters and foster requests. It’s highly unusual that we have more fosters than available dogs, but then these have been highly unusual times. We hope many of you who have volunteered to foster over the past several weeks (many first time fosters) will at the very least consider temp fostering once you return to your regular work routine. At some point in the near future the need for fosters will again become great and we would love to have you on our team to support our continued efforts to Rescue, Rehab, and Adopt.
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If you or your family are interested in fostering please see our
foster page
to read the steps to foster and complete the application. If you have any questions about fostering, please reach out to our foster coordinator,
Mimi Suddath
.
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New “Post Adoption Team” Forming
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NRGRR is proud to announce the formation of the Post Adoption Team (PATs). The mission of this team is two-fold: 1) To let our adopters know that NRGRR is there to provide insight and ongoing support as they deal with any potential issues (such as behavioral) and 2) to keep new adopters informed and engaged regarding upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and how they can continue to support our mission to Rescue, Rehab, and Adopt.
Adopting a dog is a big decision that comes with great responsibility. We want our adopting families to know that NRGRR is still there to support them as they get acquainted with their new dog, and that we now consider them part of the NRGRR family. We believe this “personal touch” will enable us to grow our volunteer base as well as create opportunities for financial support.
The PATs team is now officially established with a small base of volunteers to connect with our adopters. To find out more about the PATs team and volunteer opportunities, email us by
clicking here
.
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We are super excited to be taking pre-orders for our brand new 2020 t-shirt!! We hope you love the design as much as we do. This is guaranteed to be a favorite summer t-shirt for mom, dad, and the entire family.
Place your order TODAY and guarantee you get the size you need.
The T-shirts will be available for local pick-up or delivery in early June.
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We are always
looking for new ideas
for store items. If there are any items you would like us to carry, email our store manager,
Nikki D'Ambrose
,
and we will see if it's feasible for us to provide it to you.
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Follow us on social media
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We hope you enjoy this new platform for the Rescue Ranger! You may receive this edition more than once as we strive to not leave anyone out. You can always email questions or concerns to us at:
nrgrr.rescueranger@gmail.com
.
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NRGRR is a 501(c)(3) organization in North Carolina that is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of golden retrievers in need. The organization advocates responsible pet ownership, community education and protection of all dogs.
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