# Pros & Cons of Rescuing YA vs Getting a Puppy



## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the country but I tried adopting a rescue from Tennessee and it is very competitive as they had hundreds of applications for each dog unless they were very old, sick, or extremely badly socialized. It also seemed like you had to have someone at home full-time and already have a dog as a companion to even be in the running.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

You must do 10x the work trying to find a responsible breeder. You have to learn to investigate and not just take a breeder for their word. But sometimes it can take years to find a younger Golden without major health or temperament issues. It comes down to what you really want and how patient you're willing to be. Don't buy a puppy it you're going to feel guilty forever. But remember, the breed needs responsible breeders whom are health conscious and work to better the breed. Goldens would die out or become unrecognizable without them. In my area, I probably have a better shot at winning the lottery than finding a healthy Golden under 2 in a shelter or rescue.


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## myluckypenny (Nov 29, 2016)

I would talk to the people fostering the dog and get more information. I used to foster for a local rescue and we get to know these dogs very well. They just want the best home for the dog and are usually very up front with any issues the dog has. Then you can decide if those issues are ones you are willing to work with or not. I would definitely think through what your goals are with this dog, do you just want a pet, do you want to do therapy work, do you want to compete? 

I completely understand wanting to get a puppy from a breeder though and you shouldn't feel guilty about that. There are plenty of ways to still assist in the rescue world other than adopting rescue dogs that can make a big difference. A puppy is a LOT of work though, and like you mentioned you usually have to wait a while to get one from a reputable breeder. You would also need to think through how the other dogs are going to handle another dog or puppy in the house, and how you would manage that situation!


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I have done rescue work with several groups. Two of the three dogs which I currently have are rescues. Gracie is a golden mix and Jack is a pure bred black and tan coonhound. My golden, Bailey, is from a breeder and I got him as a puppy. While some of the rescues I have had have had issues which needed to be addressed not all of them did. My last golden retriever, Goldie, was a rescue. She was 3 years old at the time of her adoption. She was became available for rescue when her owner got divorced and could not keep her. She was fully trained and became a wonderful companion for my father after my mom died. When my dad died Goldie became my dog. I have had many, many dogs over the past 40 plus years. Goldie was my special dog and I am still so grateful that I was given the opportunity to rescue her. 
Not all rescues come with issues but as mentioned by other posters to find a young golden retriever with no issues through a rescue organization is very difficult. I would suggest contacting the rescue organization and getting more information before making a decision. 
Also if you opt to go with a breeder be sure to post the sire and dam here. There are many members who will help you check for clearances and will be able to advise you. Best wishes in your search


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Dear Cali, 

Where are you located?? We will have 2 young goldens ( 5 mnths old female and 1 yrs old male) to be adopted from Istanbul to US . However, due to Harvey and Irma, many rescues in US will be very busy adopting out the new homeless dog it can take 2- 6 months till they arrive to US. It will all depend on their capacity for fostering. We are so sorry for the pets which have been abondoned during the hurricane.


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## Jenny's Dad (Jun 9, 2017)

Hi Peri29,

Not to hijack this thread, but we are in San Francisco and are also seeking a young adult golden. Just in case your upcoming rescues are nearby, please let us know. Male or female is fine. Must be good with kids.

Our local Golden rescue has no dogs currently available!


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Jenny's Dad said:


> Hi Peri29,
> 
> Not to hijack this thread, but we are in San Francisco and are also seeking a young adult golden. Just in case your upcoming rescues are nearby, please let us know. Male or female is fine. Must be good with kids.
> 
> Our local Golden rescue has no dogs currently available!


You may want to also check Craigslist, petfinder.com. 

There is a Group on facebook called Friends of Golden Retrievers, I often see Goldens in CA shelters. However, the shelters may not be close to you. 

Here's the link-

https://www.facebook.com/Friends.of.Golden.Retrievers/?ref=br_rs

Good luck in your search.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Dear Jenny's Dad,

We are waiting updates during the week. I 'll let you know once we know what will happen.I'll send you also images. Both of them great with children. Jay - a male - 1yrs old as the name sounds great with kids even with autistic children. His name is Jay ( tribute to Great Gatsby) because he is a petite , craves for love, a little actually very naive but as Great Gatsby everything is frenatic and exaggerated in his life. He eats very fast, he runs very fast, he loves cars, boats, he is a showman, loves the attention of everyone does not matter everywhere. He loves to be caressed by everyone and no one can resist this small handsome boy. Just one issue at the moment. He has humping issues. Not neutered yet. Some say that after fixing it will go away some say will increase. Actually, our experience after dealing with hundreds of golden retrievers, it does not only decrease but stop. Since he is a small sized GR, we wanted to wait till 18 months old till he gets neutered. He is around 50 lbs. On the otherhand Rose is a teddybear. We even think she might be suitable as a therapy dog. She loves any dog , anybody including children. Both of them no cats. However, with adequate training Rose can easier be handled with cats.Rose is 5,5 months old. We took her in when she was 3,5 months old and at the moment 5,5 months old. She was shaved!!! Her hair is growing back at the moment. Rose will be a big head English Cream Golden or similar. Both of them love water. But Rose is a golden fish))) the first three of Jay and the next ones of Rose


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## laurenC (Sep 20, 2017)

The more background on her the better. don't adopt blindly


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## Ana (Sep 28, 2017)

Peri29 said:


> Dear Cali,
> 
> Where are you located?? We will have 2 young goldens ( 5 mnths old female and 1 yrs old male) to be adopted from Istanbul to US . However, due to Harvey and Irma, many rescues in US will be very busy adopting out the new homeless dog it can take 2- 6 months till they arrive to US. It will all depend on their capacity for fostering. We are so sorry for the pets which have been abondoned during the hurricane.


Dears Cali and Peri29,

My name is Ana and I find myself in a similar condition as Cali. 
My dogs have always been rescues, as I have always volunteered and when I got married in 2013 my husband's aunt who has a reputable goden kennel told us she could give us a puppy but I felt so guilty with all dogs living as strays where Im originally from, I refused and adopted once again. 
We moved from Brazil to Toronto in 2015 and brought our rescue princess, Bianca, with us, and adopted another rescue, Panda.
We lost our princess 2 months ago after a long battle with DM and want to add another girl again to our family. Then the Golden Retriever issue came alive again as Ive been following Golden Rescue since yet in my country, but they have a wait list of 2 years approximately. 
I've been following other rescues but they don't adopt out of the State, imagine the country! So I've been thinking if I should buy a puppy, however, it has to come from a reputable breeder, of course, if I decide to get one. My husband's aunt does not intend to breed any of her dogs for a while, so, I'm lost again. 
Then saw this post from Peri about the 5 months old girl and thought maybe if she wasn't adopted out yet we could talk? We are receiving lots of dogs from the hurricane here, in fact, Im currently fostering one pup from the hurricane. 

Thanks!


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Ana said:


> Dears Cali and Peri29,
> 
> My name is Ana and I find myself in a similar condition as Cali.
> My dogs have always been rescues, as I have always volunteered and when I got married in 2013 my husband's aunt who has a reputable goden kennel told us she could give us a puppy but I felt so guilty with all dogs living as strays where Im originally from, I refused and adopted once again.
> ...


Dear Ana,

At the moment, Rose became 5,5 months old. We do not know the exact b-day. All we know is that she was bought from a petshop beginning June as a school vacation present when she was 2 months old. So, she must be around 5,5 months almost 6 months old. She has all her vaccinations uptodate. The news is that most of the golden rescues in US shall give priority to other breeds including YGRR who gave priority to mixed breed dogs rescued from Texas. As you know we are in Istanbul and there will be long time till we will be able to fly our dogs to US or Canada. Usually the rescue dogs are flying in group of 16-18 dogs by cargo. Individual dogs are flying with flight volunteers. However, it is never feasible to fly only one dog because depending on the airline the flight volunteer can fly 2-3 rescue dogs at once. And that means it is always better to find more than one family in the same state for 2-3 dogs to home. It is really difficult to find flight volunteers. The türkish people unfortunately are never interested into such things. It seems for them a big burden. They do not even help the dog infront of their home and flying a dog abroad is out of question for them except a few .Rose , we love her. We cannot express how much we love her. She is a happy dog, always positive and always smiles. She basically smiles. We wish we could give her all the attention she deserves but we cannot because there are so many waiting to be rescued.Beside other things, one thing for us is very very important. Once homed, she shall be spayed and IN CASE anything goes wrong to inform us immediately so that we have her taken in by a local rescue in your state.


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## Ana (Sep 28, 2017)

Peri29 said:


> Ana said:
> 
> 
> > Dears Cali and Peri29,
> ...




Dear Peri,

Thank you so much for your prompt answer.
Rose seems indeed like a really sweet girl and we would love to have her. It is so unfortunate that even for the flights it's hard to find volunteers. If they could understand the big difference they would make in the lives of these dogs and the new families.. I can't understand, but then again, I really gave up on understanding human beings...
Let me know if there is something I could do to help or to increase the chance of these dogs to come and find a home. 
Are you also from Golden Rescue Canada?


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Ana said:


> Dear Peri,
> 
> Thank you so much for your prompt answer.
> Rose seems indeed like a really sweet girl and we would love to have her. It is so unfortunate that even for the flights it's hard to find volunteers. If they could understand the big difference they would make in the lives of these dogs and the new families.. I can't understand, but then again, I really gave up on understanding human beings...
> ...


Dear Ana ,

Thank you for your kind offer. We have never worked with Canada however some other volunteers already do. I worked only with US till now .However, there are many türkish goldens rescued by the Golden Rescue :: Home located in Ontario. They rescue türkish goldens but also from Egypt as I have heard. Kindly contact them if they have a young pup arriving soon to Canada. Otherwise, we will contact them if we can help you via their next flight .Since they are in Canada, they do not intake hurricane dogs like other rescues in US which means the türkish goldens may be taken in. Actually, in the meantime to help goldens finding a flight volunteer, you can contact your local travel agencies, place an on canadian petfriendly, goldenretrieverfriendly, dogfriendly Instagram or FB pages ( including petfriendly friends who may know someone travelling to Turkey for business, or even universities who may have türkish students which travel to Istanbul / or their parents) announcing that there is a necessity for a flight volunteer to rescue a golden. Being a flight volunteer is not a complicated task. Volunteers meet them at the checkin, the dog & crate weight is taken and the volunteer goes to extra baggage desk to pay for the pet travel. For US ( most probably for Canada), the weight is not important, they charge fix amount. EUrope charges according to the weight. Then , the dog is delivered with the ground stewardesses to the pet check in room which is just across the checkin counter . They check the health certificate/passport & documents , the dog is taken into the crate and believe me tears are coming down at this stage. However, it is always safe & thoughtful by the FV to remind the pilot once in the plane that there is a dog on board. ( for heating purposes) and usually delivers the picture of the dog , with a small quote " I am flying to Canada" and a mini box of chocolate))) Once landed, asks from which door the dog will come out ( in the crate) and they take the dog out. This time, tears come down by the family or rescue who welcome the dog in the airport. The FV does not loose any time except 15-20 minutes, and 5 minutes once arrived.And gets a more VIP approach. The only thing is that it takes sometimes more because all international passangers want to hug them , kiss them , have a photo with them and the dogs feel like a star but sometimes suffocated because the air is very dry in the airport and people stopping, calling them from each corner is confusing. .However, for us and the families in the States it 's an emotional experience. Letting the dog go that you rescued & loved , worrying during the 10-12 hour flight....... I'll post some pictures here or send you separately of the airport dogs. The flight is stressing only for the dog. Being stuck in a crate, very high altitude, very long hours, tooooo much scary noise is really stressing the dog. Therefore , Rescue Dogs which have been in shelters or flew long hours do to a country is not to be crated afterwards. Rose has never been crated. However, she has a separate room for her self at the office. ( used to be an additional WC room) and she interacts only with other 2 goldens and a couple of other dogs which come to visit them. We put her separately since the beginning we rescued her because she is a pup, needs more exercise, and once with the other dogs she would most probably not make them sleep. :surprise: I would appreciate if you can contact Golden Rescue Canada first and let us know. Have a good day


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## Ana (Sep 28, 2017)

Dear Peri,

I could picture every step of the situation, and I would be with tears in my eyes the whole time. I'm already an emotional person when it comes to animals and every time I have to let go the dogs I rescue or foster is the same thing, even knowing they are going to a sweet furrever family.

I'll try to contact the canadian golden rescue and check with the other rescues I know that might know people on the airline companies.
Thank you so much for helping Rose and all the other dogs you help everyday.


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Ana said:


> Dear Peri,
> 
> I could picture every step of the situation, and I would be with tears in my eyes the whole time. I'm already an emotional person when it comes to animals and every time I have to let go the dogs I rescue or foster is the same thing, even knowing they are going to a sweet furrever family.
> 
> ...


Dear Ana,
Thank you so much for your effort. Let's first contact Golden Rescue Canada to check if they have any young golden available currently or how long it will take. If they do not , we will afterwards contact them for a young puppy available to fly from Istanbul. Kindly do not forget to take the mail adress / or phone number of the person you talked with so that we do not loose much time. We will check with them the flight date ( the group flight) and number of applicants for young goldens. In US, they usually prefer 3+ goldens and priority given to old ones such as 7+. It is reasonable because there are many families 60+ who have had goldens for their entire life. And they want know goldens which are in tune with their lifestyle. A young dog's physical expectations is much different than a puppy's. We will be waiting for your news and accordingly will proceed. Have a good day:laugh:


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Ana said:


> Dear Peri,
> 
> I could picture every step of the situation, and I would be with tears in my eyes the whole time. I'm already an emotional person when it comes to animals and every time I have to let go the dogs I rescue or foster is the same thing, even knowing they are going to a sweet furrever family.
> 
> ...


Dear Ana, any news from the Golden Rescue you were going to contact last week? Thank you


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## Ana (Sep 28, 2017)

Peri29 said:


> Dear Ana, any news from the Golden Rescue you were going to contact last week? Thank you


Dear Peri29,

I have answered your message, but after I sent it the website told me I can only send pvt messages after I have reached a number of 15 posts or something like that. It was a long and complete answer, bummer 

Anyway, yes, I have contacted the Golden Rescue here and they told me they do have a long waiting list, but the length go he waiting time can vary depending on the specifics the person is looking for in a Golden, and that they use a matching process to place the dogs, so I'm gonna fill the form anyway to see if they have a golden that matches our family, but I was thinking about checking also how much is a ticket to Istanbul to maybe go get Rose? I know it sounds crazy, but I keep thinking about all these dogs that already have a home but doesn't have a way to go to their new homes. This kind of animal stuff drives me crazy.


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## Ana (Sep 28, 2017)

Ana said:


> Dear Peri29,
> 
> I have answered your message, but after I sent it the website told me I can only send pvt messages after I have reached a number of 15 posts or something like that. It was a long and complete answer, bummer
> 
> Anyway, yes, I have contacted the Golden Rescue here and they told me they do have a long waiting list, but the length go he waiting time can vary depending on the specifics the person is looking for in a Golden, and that they use a matching process to place the dogs, so I'm gonna fill the form anyway to see if they have a golden that matches our family, but I was thinking about checking also how much is a ticket to Istanbul to maybe go get Rose? I know it sounds crazy, but I keep thinking about all these dogs that already have a home but doesn't have a way to go to their new homes. This kind of animal stuff drives me crazy.





Peri29 said:


> Dear Ana, any news from the Golden Rescue you were going to contact last week? Thank you



So to answer your other message:

We are currently living in a detached house with a big fenced yard, and hopefully next year we will be moving to our own house. Our landlord know about our passion for dogs and that we had 2 when we moved and also the we are looking for another one to adopt. We chose this house because it is really near to a huge park and also a nice off leash park, so I can take the dogs out everyday. 

I work from home as I work with pets (surprise!). I am a Veterinary Physician in my home country, my husband and I came to Canada 2 years ago, bringing Bianca, and 5 months after arriving we adopted Panda, a 6 year old Shihtzu mix the was an owner surrender. Before coming here, besides doing home consultations, vaccines and other vet related activities, I already worked with rescues and with home based dog boarding and petsitting and here people who knew me started asking if I could take care of their pets and then I started working with this again, which was great, because this is my passion. 
So my day to day basis is to take care of the boarded dogs, my own, and when I go out on commercial hours it's either to take care of a pet that's not boarded or to pick up/drop off one, or running some basic errands. 
We don't like crating the dogs, so I do have a small crate here that came with my foster dog but it is from the rescue I volunteer with, and it is on the basement, I don't use it. I understand that the crate can be used as a safe place for lots of dogs, and to help them lear the " stay" , but so far I haven't had the need to use one and I wouldn't use one for dogs that associate them with a bad thing. I read a lot about animal behavior, calming signs, positive reinforcement, etc, and that is the only thing we use here at home. 

What else? Oh, spaying! I'm totally pro spaying/neutering, if people did that more often we wouldn't have that many stray dogs. So if I adopted a dog that was not spayed, the first thing I would do would spay her, no doubt. Let the breeding for high rated and reputable breeders. 

I guess that is it. Do you have any news on Rose? Is she in foster care or have you found a family for her?

Thanks!

Ana


Could you talk to any of the GR rescues nearby or whether they have any young GR available for adoption?
In the meantime, I would be very happy to know if your house if fenced or do you live in an apartment? Or other details that you would like to give such as your working hours , or how many hours a day your future golden will be alone at home? If young & no crate is recommended ( since crating is not a good experience for dogs who flew long hours) , is it possible to use a security door at home? I believe you are not against spaying GR s since they are so prone to have cancer
We will be waiting for your news.
Thank you[/QUOTE]


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

Dear Ana,

Sorry for the late reply. This last week has been crazy. I would really much appreciate if you can send me your mail address. So that we can have a better conversation and talk at the weekend also on the phone. 
Have a good day

We are currently living in a detached house with a big fenced yard, and hopefully next year we will be moving to our own house. Our landlord know about our passion for dogs and that we had 2 when we moved and also the we are looking for another one to adopt. We chose this house because it is really near to a huge park and also a nice off leash park, so I can take the dogs out everyday. 

I work from home as I work with pets (surprise!). I am a Veterinary Physician in my home country, my husband and I came to Canada 2 years ago, bringing Bianca, and 5 months after arriving we adopted Panda, a 6 year old Shihtzu mix the was an owner surrender. Before coming here, besides doing home consultations, vaccines and other vet related activities, I already worked with rescues and with home based dog boarding and petsitting and here people who knew me started asking if I could take care of their pets and then I started working with this again, which was great, because this is my passion. 
So my day to day basis is to take care of the boarded dogs, my own, and when I go out on commercial hours it's either to take care of a pet that's not boarded or to pick up/drop off one, or running some basic errands. 
We don't like crating the dogs, so I do have a small crate here that came with my foster dog but it is from the rescue I volunteer with, and it is on the basement, I don't use it. I understand that the crate can be used as a safe place for lots of dogs, and to help them lear the " stay" , but so far I haven't had the need to use one and I wouldn't use one for dogs that associate them with a bad thing. I read a lot about animal behavior, calming signs, positive reinforcement, etc, and that is the only thing we use here at home. 

What else? Oh, spaying! I'm totally pro spaying/neutering, if people did that more often we wouldn't have that many stray dogs. So if I adopted a dog that was not spayed, the first thing I would do would spay her, no doubt. Let the breeding for high rated and reputable breeders. 

I guess that is it. Do you have any news on Rose? Is she in foster care or have you found a family for her?

Thanks!

Ana


Could you talk to any of the GR rescues nearby or whether they have any young GR available for adoption?
In the meantime, I would be very happy to know if your house if fenced or do you live in an apartment? Or other details that you would like to give such as your working hours , or how many hours a day your future golden will be alone at home? If young & no crate is recommended ( since crating is not a good experience for dogs who flew long hours) , is it possible to use a security door at home? I believe you are not against spaying GR s since they are so prone to have cancer
We will be waiting for your news.
Thank you[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


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## Peri29 (Aug 5, 2017)

*Flight Volunteer*

Dear Ana,

We have a FV available next week flying to NY if they do not change their mind. It would be perfect because at the moment it is even getting more difficult to find FVs to US because US Embassy no longer accept any türkish visa application due to the fact that Turkey government arrested a person( eventhough türkish working at the US Embassy. So , the two countries strike against eachother. All I care is, that our dogs do not get affected more by this unfortunate incident. Can you check with the Canada customs the following : If a dog flies from Turkey ( passport /health certificate already done before flight there are final health check by the ministry of health for a dog to fly for customs purposes).and if the same dog travels to Canada ( with you ) the same day is there any paperwork to do .Briefly, a dog arriving to NY can fly to Canada with the same health certificate and documentations.




Peri29 said:


> Dear Ana,
> 
> Sorry for the late reply. This last week has been crazy. I would really much appreciate if you can send me your mail address. So that we can have a better conversation and talk at the weekend also on the phone.
> Have a good day
> ...


[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]


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