What can you do to help?

My sweet girl, Dixie, is a Golden Retriever. I believe I won the lottery when I found her and I am rewarded everyday with her unconditional love and attention. I never realized just how social one becomes as a dog owner in the sense that on every walk I go on I have at least one encounter with another dog owner or just a dog lover walking. I hear time and time again, "oh! I had a Golden Retriever when I was growing up and Buddy, Rover, Millie, fill in the name of your pet you grew up with here, was absolutely extraordinary!" I am both blessed with the affection they share towards Dixie and happy to hear about all the stories they have from growing up with a dog. 

My post today is geared more towards getting involved with rescue groups in your area. When I originally set out to find a golden retriever I looked first to rescue groups in my area. With my lack of square footage and proper back yard I was their last choice for an adoptive parent. This was very disappointing for me as no amount of square footage could equal the great amount of love in my heart for whatever dog would enter my threshold into my life. (I understand that I could have easily gone to the local shelter and hand selected any dog - however a golden retriever was the breed I wanted to adopt and I could not find any Goldens in the local shelters) 

With rescues now out of the picture I started on a month long search through the internet looking for available golden puppies through breeders. There were a lot of emails and inquires until one evening when I found the Yoder's website. As I quickly read through all the information and there was a recent litter, I located a phone number! I called immediately and spoke to Mrs. Yoder who informed me there was one female puppy left; however her husband is the one who takes care of all the dogs and I would need to speak with him. The next day, I called again requesting a picture, price quote and parent history. What felt like weeks later (only 1 day later) I received a picture of my sweet girl and immediately called him and said, "I want her, she's mine!" A very important detail I left out... the Yoder's are located in South Carolina and I now hail from the great big state of Texas! 

This is the picture I received from the Yoder's. 

My wonderful parents stepped in and offered to pick her up for me and keep her until their visit to Texas in May. Those were the longest 20 days of my life... I called many times a day, sent care packages, requested photos everyday and plain wanted to know her (now, Dixie) every move! Well, Dixie made it safely to Texas and my life has forever changed. I would not change a single thing about having Dixie. She is the best thing that has happened in my life and I am thankful everyday we are together. 

Well, that was a short/kind of long detour. Since rescuing a local golden retriever was out of the picture due to my lack of square footage and a proper backyard I still wanted to figure out a well to help the local rescue. Shortly after getting Dixie I realized I wanted to make dog collars for her instead of the standard Crayola colors available at your local pet store. Once I figured out how to make the collars and became confident in my sewing abilities I reached out to the local Golden Retriever rescue offering my services of dog collars. I've been able to donate my time and product to help the rescue in a little way. I am glad I was able to figure out a way to help. 

Question to think about... What are you good at or what are you able to do? Can you take that ability/those abilities and provide services to an organization near you? It never hurts to reach out and found out how you can help... but take my advice, never offer your services just once... you might need to offer them over and over again until you find out what you can really do to help. 

Happy Helping!