A Golden Thank You From Golden Beginnings

The Bayou City Boys

Surfer, entrepreneur, and proprietor of our favorite seafood restaurant, Chris Mannery and his beautiful boys, Justice, Thor, Zeus, Nanook and Glacier, support GB events, and Chris donates delicious food to our dinners and receptions. His amazing generosity is matched only by his amazingly tasty seafood, and both are tremendously appreciated by our entire group.

Chris Mannery and the boys at the GB picnic

Kathleen and Ricky

Kathleen and Ricky are tireless in their support of animal welfare and other worthy causes, and GB is so fortunate to have their support. Our events at HFG are always huge success, thanks to the graciousness of our hosts, and their reputation for knowing how to throw a FUN party is well-deserved.

Jim Tweedy with with Joanie P.'s Pecos,
the inspiration for
Golden Retriever Self-Portrait

Jim, who is represented in Houston by Hollywood Frame Gallery, has created three great works of art for Golden Beginnings: Golden Retriever Self-Portrait, In Goldens We Trust, and Golden Retrieverville. The originals were auctioned off to benefit GB, and the prints and t-shirts have become incredibly popular, and understandably so!

"Golden Retriever Self-Portrait"

Rob is a real estate agent, not a web designer, but when he heard that GB was interested in developing a new, improved site linked to our database for instant updates, this busy dog-lover donated countless hours of his valuable time to make our dream come true.

Look for Rob's link on our website, and note that when you or someone you know sells their home or purchases a home with Rob, he'll make a donation to GB. And that's not the extent of his generosity. He already donates a portion of his commission on each property he sells to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Brad's dog Dodge

Gainer, Donnelly & Desroches

GB adopter Brad Roe is a principal in Gainer Donnelly & Desroches, a CPA firm with a commitment to their community, and thanks to his nomination, GB was awarded an important grant by the firm, which disburses a portion of their receipts to charities.

Murder by book is our favorite dog-friendly, independent bookseller. They have hosted or sponsored a variety of great book events to benefit Golden Beginnings, with more to come.
Visit them at 2342 Bissonnet, Houston TX 77005.

David with the newest member of his pack, GB's one-eared Van Gogh

David is a GB favorite. His Andy Carpenter series features the smart-mouthed attorney and his beloved golden Tara. David presented his latest book , "New Tricks" at a GB event in August 2009. Not only was it a great fund-raiser for GB, but a love match was made: David fell in love with our one-eared senior Van Gogh, who will soon join his household of Goldens in California.

Lisa Scottoline
 

Lisa is a golden lover too, and a supporter of GB!
www.scottoline.com

In her Rosato & Assoc. series, which revolves around an
all-female law firm, golden retrievers are recurring characters.
 

Lisa Scottoline visits with GB volunteers
and Goldens!"

Thanks to Randy Miller of Designs by Miller for his creativity and his constant support of Golden Beginnings.

Our friends at the beautiful, full-service Meadowlake Pet Resort are offering a discount of 15% on any one service (grooming, boarding, daycare) to our new adopters, within 6 months of the adoption date.

Janet, who has been a long time rescue person in Houston and is the owner of Pet Stuff Resale, buying and selling new and used pet supplies, www.petstuffresale.com. Janet recently made a generous donation of 2 heartworm treatments to Golden Beginnings dogs, Isabeau, who is currently in the second half of her treatment and for Charlie, who will begin in the next 2 weeks.

Janet was able to win a $5,000 award from the Pepsi Refresh Project where she submitted her idea to use the award to buy the drug Immiticide to treat heartworm positive dogs in Houston. In order to win, Janet had to call upon folks to vote for her idea and well, a lot of folks voted and her idea was one of the winners! As Janet says in her pet stuff resale blog, www.petstuffresale.blogspot.com “This is a major medical problem for dogs and expensive to treat. The sad situation is that it is so much cheaper to prevent than to treat. The burden falls on shelters and rescue groups to in essence, clean up after ignorant or noncompliant owners. In the current economy, many fewer dogs have been able to be saved, so the grant potentially has literally been a lifesaver.” We can certainly agree with that!

On Janet’s blog she shows photos of some of the dogs who she has helped and have already come through treatment thanks to her efforts. So far, over 14 dogs have been helped and we are so lucky that Amy Kelley, who works at Kingsland Vet and who fostered Isabeau for GB, is a friend of Janet and was able to request her help for both Isabeau and Charlie.

Janet truly is a lifesaver! We thank you Janet from the bottom of our hearts!
 

Several weeks ago, GBGRR received a call from Jim Burwell of Jim Burwell’s Petiquette. In our 11 ½ years of doing Golden Retriever Rescue in the Houston area, we have referred many of our adopters and other folks in need to him. Jim is famous for his exceptional training skills, his uncanny ability to communicate with dogs and is well known as the Houston Dog Whisperer.

Over the years, Jim has helped us with a few of our “problem” dogs. Ten years ago, my very first foster dog for GBGRR was a young golden girl named Ginger. It turned out that Ginger had some problems with food aggression and aggression with small dogs. Ginger went to live with Jim for a while so that he could work with her “issues” and she is still with him today. It was immensely gratifying to see the grand and gracious lady she has become with his love and expertise.

On July 17th, Jim and his wife, Leila, attended our Board of Directors meeting and presented GBGRR with a check for $15,000.00. Jim said, “Being able to make this donation for Golden Seniors and special needs Goldens feels especially gratifying for Leila and me. It feels good to be able to make a significant difference in the lives of these Goldens who rely on us and trust us with their health, safety and well being.”

A huge and heartfelt Golden thank you to Jim Burwell and Leila Martin of Jim Burwell’s Petiquette for their kind and generous donation for the senior and special needs Golden Retrievers in our program. GBGRR deeply appreciates your trust and faith in us as we continue our mission to rescue, rehabilitate and find loving homes for Golden Retrievers in need