“Six years ago I got my first Golden Retriever, a girl puppy that I named Riley. I got her from a breeder, and she was the love of my life. A year ago she was hiking a mountain with my husband and our other Golden, Red, and she disappeared into the woods where she laid down to take her last breath. She was only 5. We declined to have an autopsy, and instead had her cremated and spread her ashes on the shores of Lake Riley in Minnesota, her namesake. It was the hardest thing I have gone through, and I think of her every day.

Following her death I contacted her breeder to see if she was still in the business and if there were any genetic problems she had heard about regarding her litters that may have contributed to Riley's death. In response she informed me that she was no longer breeding, as her health had drastically declined and that she was unable to care for her dogs anymore. She thought she could find a family member to take Duke (Riley's dad), but really needed a home for Lady (Riley's mom). Within 48 hours we adopted Lady and she quickly has become a devoted member of our family. She had been living in an outside kennel on concrete and had wounds all over, including a raw neck from a too-tight collar and was incredibly overweight. I am proud to say that she is now super healthy, wound free and a total muscular tank. And of course she is very beautiful and loves sitting shotgun in the car (spoiled much?).

Two weeks ago the breeder contacted me again asking if we could take in Duke (Riley's dad who is 7 years old), as her health was even worse and Duke was being neglected. She could not find anyone else to take him and could not afford to have him put down. Having two 100 lb. Goldens ourselves (one of which just had ACL surgery last week and needs the other done soon),we knew we could not take this on. I called everyone I knew, and finally my mother agreed to take him in Minnesota if he was in decent health, as she could not afford to do much medically.

On Monday we drove to pick him up. His living conditions were despicable to say the least. He was in the indoor/outdoor kennel, which was covered in feces. His ears were black due to infection with massive growths, which obviously itched, because he had rubbed the sides of his face raw on the fence of the kennel. He had kennel wounds on his elbows, polyps on his eyelids and was filthy! He is also very, very overweight.

 

We immediately took him to our where we found out his medical needs are too great for us or my mother to take on. He also tested positive for heartworm. We are very concerned for his quality of life. I am doing all I can right now, but the list is just too vast.  I wish I could create another success story as we did for Lady, but I know in my heart we just cannot.  Duke is such a sweet dog and deserves to be healthy and to live a long life. I wish more than anything that I could be a part of it. I know Riley is looking down from heaven grateful to us for even trying, and for giving her mother the love and attention she deserves. I cannot imagine having to put Duke down, but also don't want him to suffer because he cannot get the medical attention he deserves.”

 

Seeing Duke in this condition has been difficult. He has had such a terrible life and has endured so much. Yet he is very sweet and loving and so appreciative of everything we are doing to help him. Our sincere thank you goes to his loving Human Angel who responded to his urgent needs and brought him to GRRR. Now the Golden Angel Donors and Volunteers will make sure Duke never experiences another day of pain, confinement or neglect in his life. 

 

 

Duke's Update: