(An update and new photo has been added below Shiloh's Golden Angel story.)

When Mary Kenton was surfing the Petfinder.com website recently (as she regularly does), she happened across Shiloh’s sweet, irresistible face staring back at her. It was love at first sight! Mary knew the instant she saw her friendly smile and lovable expression that Shiloh would soon be joining the GRRR family. She was in a mountain shelter far, far away with some major medical problems, and at 7.5 years old she had little hope of being adopted. That is, until GRRR stepped in to save her.

As Mary investigated further she learned that Shiloh had been surrendered to the shelter when her owner (and lifetime companion) decided to move to town and couldn’t keep her. As affectionate and loyal as she is, we know this must have nearly broken her heart. She probably wondered over and over in her mind, “Where is my owner? Is she safe? Will she ever come back for me? If only I could find her again and show her how much I love her.” How could anyone desert a loving little Golden like Shiloh? The owner even described her as the “perfect dog” to the shelter.

With Christmas just around the corner, there sat Shiloh in the shelter with a urinary tract infection, both her knees blown out, in terrible pain, overweight and homeless. Being the well-mannered, conscientious little gal that she is, she wouldn’t dream of going potty inside, even with that awful infection. Things were looking pretty bleak for her.

Then, Shiloh got some great news! Someone was interested in her and was coming to meet her! But because of all the snow, her potential adopter decided not to make the trip. Okay, how much more disappointment can a precious Golden take? Then Noel, a wonderful (and brave) GRRR rescuer, arrived at the shelter after driving many hours on treacherous, snowy highways. If only we had been there to see Shiloh’s face light up when Noel came to “retrieve her” and take her back to Fairplay. Shiloh spent Christmas at Noel and Butch’s home where they made sure she had a wonderful time. After the Christmas festivities were over, Noel brought our little angel to Denver.

When Shiloh first arrived she would sit like her knees were killing her. Although Rimadyl helps, she has to stay off her feet as much as possible. Her hips aren’t very strong and can’t help compensate for her knees. GRRR is going to make sure that with your help, Shiloh will have surgery on both knees just as soon as she sheds a few pounds.

Shiloh loves every living thing and is such a happy girl. Her foster family lovingly calls her “Fizzy” because her personality is so effervescent! She does her best to wrestle with her four foster brothers, all the time holding onto the tennis ball in her mouth. She also likes to “dribble” two tennis balls at once, slapping each one with her front paws. It’s heartbreaking to watch her try to “dance” on her crippled legs, but that’s just what she does when she excitedly greets someone new.

You’ll never meet a sweeter, more affectionate Golden. When we asked her to pose for a photo, she smiled so big her soft brown eyes crinkled up at the corners. She looked like she was thinking, “This is great fun, but hurry so I can love you some more.” Then she immediately rolled over for a belly scratch, paws up in the air and tail wagging. She’s a treasure of a Golden who deserves another chance. She didn’t let a broken heart stop her, and we won’t let her be stopped by pain when surgery will allow her to fully enjoy life again. Your kind donations will mean all the difference in the world to her.

Shiloh also asked us to mention she is searching for a forever home. Will you be the one who comes for her and makes her dreams come true? Prepare yourself to be swept off your feet as you fall head over heals in love. Shiloh is going to give her heart to you and this time she knows it will be safe and secure in your tender care.

ISABELLA (formerly Shiloh) UPDATE FROM VAL AND BERNIE LEWKOWSKI

Do you believe in special blessings?  Isabella (formerly Shiloh) has certainly been a special blessing for our family.

After losing our 14 year old MacKenzie (who we adopted at age 8 from GRRR), it took us a few months to decide to adopt again.  We called Mary Kenton (an angel herself), to inquire if there was an older girl who needed a good home in Cheyenne, where we already have two 8 year old Golden gals we've had since puppy-hood.  Mary quickly told us about Shiloh who had been surrendered and had spent the last year being shuffled from one foster home to the next until she came to GRRR, about Thanksgiving time.  Because she needed both back ACL's surgically repaired and knowing that the rehab for this type of surgery is extensive, GRRR was waiting for just the right forever home before proceeding with the surgery.

Along we came!  On the drive to Golden that blizzardy Sunday in January, my husband and I discussed adopting Shiloh, and we decided that although we were well skilled to care for her after the surgery (we had gone through this surgery with one of our other Goldens last year), we were't sure we wanted to do it again.  But that all changed when we met Isabella.  It was "love at first sight".  She ran over to us limping on both hind legs and looked at us with her big black eyes, tail wagging and then dropped to the floor and rolled over to get her tummy rubbed.

She came home with us that day and walked into our home as if she had always lived there.  She even knew exactly where the toy box and water bowl were!  Our other Golden girls accepted her immediately...as if she had lived with us before!  We do believe that she picked us through MacKenzie.  They share the same spirit, I'm sure.

Isabella's first surgery was done on March 21 by our vet here in Cheyenne, Dr. Gary Norwood.  All went very well and she was walking on her repaired right hind leg within a few days.  She seems so happy to have a leg that works and doesn't hurt, she sometimes wants to get a little rambunctious!  However, she is still in her XL dog crate for three more weeks, but she doesn't seem to mind.

We plan to wait until after the summer to have the second ACL repaired.  This will allow ample time for the first let to get stronger.  We'll keep you posted as we continue our journey to get the other leg fixed.

Thank you again for all you do for these wonderful dogs.  We are thrilled to have Isabella in our lives!