Gold Ribbon Rescue Adoptables

"After three years with Sam (as of October 2003), we realize every day what a wonderful blessing he is. We have continued to foster Goldens, and we rely on Sam to train them in his own image. We now have our 31^st foster dog in the last 36 months (Sam was number two) and Sam has taught all of them how to act and fit in with a loving family home. He has taught over half of them to fetch the newspaper from the end of the driveway in the morning, rain, darkness, or daylight. He’s taught a few uninitiated Goldens how to swim, and many of them how to retrieve. He knows all the best swimming holes south of Bull Creek.

Sam’s always “smiling.” We knew about his great attitude from the first day we gave him convalescent care after his major orthopedic surgery. But little did we know that it was contagious. We always feel better around him, because he’s such a positive, happy fellow.

He “insists” on going swimming or on long walks in the woods every afternoon, and it’s great for us to get the exercise with him. And our foster dogs learn so much when we take them along that it makes them so much more adoptable. We get to learn their personalities on our walks and swims and can tell prospective adopting families all about them. It’s all Sam’s fault! And we love him for it. Thanks GRR for bringing such a sparkling addition to our home and our lives."

Sam has been adopted by his foster family and we wish them all the best! Since Sam has become special to many people, we have decided to keep this page updated so that those of you following him can keep up with his progress. Sam & GRR wish to thank all of you for your support during his recovery.

Sam was picked up by a sheriff who found him stray, injured and abandoned in the rain. The sheriff took Sam to an emergency vet, who did an exam & took x-rays. The emergency vet was unable to find an owner, so they turned Sam into the shelter who in turn called Gold Ribbon Rescue for him.

Sam appears to be age 3, is blonde, handsome & sweet as can be. He is very skinny, possibly from being outside and/or poor nutrition. He knows sit, down & shake and appears to be housebroken. He's very sweet, leans, gives kisses and is just a lovely, lovely boy.

Sam was taken to the vet and found to be heartworm positive, and in need of major surgery to fix his right rear leg. He was taken to an Orthopedic Surgeon and surgery was indeed indicated to repair his badly injured leg, which has extensive Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) damage. With no time to waste because he was in pain, GRR approved the surgery. The surgeons gave him a great prognosis for full recovery and took special care with anesthesia due to his heartworm positive status. He will undergo heartworm treatment after the leg is fixed and the vet’s feel it is appropriate.

Sam is our most expensive dog so far and thanks to your generous help, we are able to pay his expenses without draining nearly every penny from our rescue fund! Even though he can't go to the bathroom without wincing in pain, his disposition is sweet, loving and happy and we believe he is worth every penny!

"We bathed him Friday night and the shower water was running dark brown from Sam's dirty condition. He looked and felt great this morning and maintained his friendly disposition. We haven't had any problems with him messing in the house and he lets us know when it's time for a backyard visit.

"He met a Black Lab in the waiting room of the vet without any problems. He gets along with everybody - and their animals. After the visit, we took his papers to Beth's, and Sam was even totally calm when Beth's cat Caesar started to sniff all over him. He also did fine with her two dogs, Sage and Sierra."

"Our gorgeous Sam is now 'Go-Slow Sam'. After a night at the hospital, he’s back from his lengthy orthopedic surgery. He looks like the “mad barber of Seville” got to him. There are bald patches all over where the medical staff had to make injections, make incisions, and make him ready. We’re sure he thinks, “It’s no fun being a gimpy Golden Boy after the docs get through with you.”

"Anyway, Sam’s pretty groggy this afternoon. The actual procedure included the following: Fascial graft reconstruction of the cruciate ligament (Like a football player's torn ACL repair.) Removal of the medial meniscus (He had a torn meniscus cartilage, like a sports injury too.) Neutering (You can figure this one out.)

"So you can tell he’s had the "Full Monty." Sam was happy to get back to our house this afternoon and showed us that his “wagger” still wags nicely. Pam took him out to the backyard and he peed for an exceptionally long time. He’s groggy now, and sleeps a lot. We expect that will be the case for a while. He’s not eating yet, although he has gobbled some pieces of meat we offered as a treat.

"The docs gave us three-pages of instructions and information. We are to monitor his incisions for redness, discharge and swelling; to keep him inactive as much as possible for one to three weeks; and to administer his pain medication. We are to let him outside only for elimination, and only on a short leash. There will be no walks, running or playing for at least six weeks, and we must keep him in a small room or his crate when we are not home. He can have the entire house while we’re home. If he licks or bothers his incisions we are to consult with the vets for an Elizabethan collar.

"Essentially, we will be running a convalescent hospital for Sam, and we’re happy to do so. He’s the nicest, well-mannered boy that he could be. Pam and I can sometimes be home during the day, and will try to be here as often as we can for him. We will schedule his first return visit to remove the sutures and staples in 10 to 14 days. The staff doesn’t expect him to put any weight on the repaired leg for a couple weeks, and we’ll let you know when he starts to put some weight on it. (We feel like we’ll be reporting on a child’s first steps!) Then there will be a follow-up appointment in six to eight weeks to get the final verdict on his condition. We expect we’ll be able to think about the heartworm treatment at that time. We’re expecting a full recovery and will provide periodic updates on his condition."

Sam had a good first week following his orthopedic surgery. He received his first official Gold Ribbon visitor today; Margo came over to marvel at his progress. She brought the digital camera, and we're hoping for some great shots of his scars and his wonderful smile. (LBJ's scars wouldn't have anything on Sam's scars!)

Sam's eating well and his stool is normal. He wants to play and is getting around inside the house very nicely. He doesn't put any weight on the repaired right rear leg, but doesn't evidence any pain if it touches down while he poops or pees. We have his first follow-up appointment on Friday. We expect they will remove the staples and send him home to continue his convalescence.

Sam's been almost the perfect patient. He doesn't complain. He doesn't mope around. He eats very well and doesn't make fun of the "hospital" food. And he's very grateful to the staff! We figure that if his progress is normal, the vets will be able to start his heartworm treatment in a few more weeks.

Thanks to you for Sam's support and for being there to get him into this kind of environment where he can get all the care he deserves!

Sam had an awesome follow-up visit with the surgeon today. He was nervous in returning to the scene of his major surgery. But he was a real "he-man" in getting his staples out both for the leg operation and for the neutering. The vet said that the incisions looked good and there is no indication of any infection or abnormality.

Sam's weight the day he went in for surgery was 60.4 lbs, and today he weighed in at 60.8 lbs., so there wasn't as much gain as we hoped, but the vet said he was in good shape. We are to continue to restrict his movement and not walk him or play with him. (Sam's becoming very insistent about the "playing" part of that restriction, because he finds toys to play tug-of-war with and to chase, but we don't get suckered into those games.) He is to continue on the Rimadyl until it runs out to cut down on inflammation and any pain.

He's getting more into the spirit of living in a loving home. We have low windows in the front of the house and we've been opening them in this nice weather. Sam loves to sit and look through the screen and has even barked at the across-the-street neighbor's cat a couple times. We have only heard him bark three times in three weeks! And love the sound when we hear it! It's nice to hear some "confidence" coming back to this nice, kind, housebroken young Golden.

We're looking forward to observing and loving him through his convalescence. We didn't get a determination yet as to when Sam can start a heartworm treatment program

Margo sent pictures of Sam in his "with-staples" mode (see belwo). When you see his "with-staples" look, just imagine him without them today and a much bigger grin! He likes not having those "things" to lick anymore; we can tell!

Sam is available for adoption but will remain in foster care until the doctors say it is medically appropriate for him to move to his new forever home. If you are interested in adopting Sam, please go to our adoption procedures & application.

Gold Ribbon Rescue and Sam wish to sincerely thank you for your help; we have raised the money needed to cover the cost of Sam’s care!

If you would like to make a donation to the Extraordinary Golden Fund to help the next dog like him, he and we would be greatly appreciative J Any amount, large or small does help. Please see below for all the gracious people who have rushed to his aid!

Your donation is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated. Thank you very much and watch for more information as he progresses through his medical care!

Sam and GRR wish to personally thank the following individuals who have made his care and surgery possible!