GRREAT Times Summer 2015

Summer 2015

25 celebrating

years

GRR SEVANearly 1800 EAT Golden Retrievers Rescued

Spring Membership Meeting at the Beach • Who Will Care for Your Dog? • Danger Beneath the Soil

Contents GRREAT Times is a quarterly publication of SEVA GRREAT, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to finding homes for homeless Golden Retrievers.

For more information, call our Hotline at 757-827-8561 or visit our web site at www.sevagrreat.org.

To contact the newsletter editor with suggestions, comments, or send materials and photos for inclusion, send an e-mail to grreattimes@adoptagolden.com, or write Attn.: Newsletter Editor, PO Box 8014, Yorktown, VA 23693.

3 .. A Little Humor

8

4 .. Adoptions 6 .. Spring Membership Meeting

SEVA GRREAT disclaims all responsibility for omissions or errors.

8 .. Danger Beneath the Soil

Submitting Stories and Photos We have decided to make “homecoming” a feature in each newsletter to feature dogs that have been adopted from us over the years. Send us a picture (identify everyone in it, please) with your dog’s name, when you adopted it, your name and a few words or more about your dog. Full length stories are welcomed, too!

6

10 .. Final Days That Are Golden

10

12 .. Homecoming 14 .. Traveling Tips This Summer

When you submit your pictures for publication in print, please submit an original digital image of no less than 300 dpi. If you aren’t sure of the dpi, send the original and we’ll check the possibility for use. We can make pictures smaller but we can not make them larger. Don’t worry about the file size; if you can send it, we can receive it. If you can’t send it, let us know. We’ll show you a way that it can be sent.

16 .. Goldens In Shelters

14

18 .. Rainbow Bridge

Email to: grreattimes@adoptagolden.com

19 .. Yappy Hours

16 20 .. Who Will Care for Your Dog? 22 .. Contributions

20 On The Cover: fostering@adoptagolden.com 2

Ginger Li relaxes on the beach after a busy fun filled day running and playing in the surf at the spring membership meeting in Virginia Beach.

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Mark Your Calendar

A Few Smiles for Today

Saturday, September 13 Membership Meeting and Picnic Newport News, VA Saturday, September 19 Glen Allen Day Richmond, VA September 25-27 Neptune Festival Virginia Beach, VA

Check our website for updates and exact locations and times of events. adoptagolden.com Check back a week before the event to confirm.

GRREAT ADS GRREAT Times is now offering advertising space.

Rates per issue for various size ads are: Full Page = $150 1/2 Page = $100 1/3 Page = $75 1/6 Page = $50 A discounted rate for multiple issue placement is available Email requests, size and specification questions to grreattimes@adoptagolden.com.

Every effort will be made to put your ad in the desired issue.

GRREAT Times is published quarterly the second week of January, April, July, and October.

Deadline for submitting an AD is the 1st of the month prior to the publication date.

Humor by auggiedoggie.com

Summer 2015

3

Adoptions

Cajun

Riley

Beau/Bentley

Allie

Cody

Send Us Your Photos Do you have a SEVA GRREAT dog?

We would love to see what you are doing. Our alumni seem to be having very exciting lives. Share your pictures, including captions, by sending them to grreattimes@adoptagolden.com. They will be featured in the next newsletter under Homecoming. And if you have a story to tell, we and the other Golden lovers would enjoy reading about it. So, send those stories with your photos also.

Elliott/Winston

We love pictures of newly adopted dogs with their new families, too!

4

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

India Jade

Bonnie

Riley – Danitza James Beau/Bentley – SJ.W. and Danette Allen Elliott/Winston – David and Nancy Knoll India Jade – Matt and Kristen Lacy Cajun – Ruth Ann Wilson Allie – Scott and Kim Beland Cody – Scott Akins and Michelle Touw Bonnie – David and Mary Lumgair Schooner/Vinny – Butch and Susan Beckman Beckie – The Hannolds Family

Schooner/Vinny

Beckie

Summer 2015

5

Spring Membership Meeting Who’s having the most fun?

Everybody in.

The leash color for today is red.

I could do this forever.

6

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Hey! The ball is behind you.

I’m waiting.

at the Beach

I’m ready. Lead me to the beach.

Everybody had the most fun.

Summer 2015

7

The Danger Beneath the Soil Why It Is Critical to Pick Up Dog Poop

By Roni Sumner

T

here might be a parasitic monster lurking beneath the soil upon which you walk, a creature as blood sucking as the vampire Dracula from the days of old. Unlike Dracula, however, this creature is microscopic, but like Dracula it seems to be eternal. Neither harsh dry conditions nor below freezing temperatures deter its mission; rain does not drown it nor do snow and ice freeze it.

This hardy little being is the whip worm. Its endurance is admirable unless its host is your beloved pet. I had felt worry free about this type of worm until very recently; here is how my knowledge developed.

always had perfect stool checks, so when the vet called me to let me know that whip worm eggs had shown up in a fecal float, I was shocked. How could this be? I had never missed a monthly dose, but the vet explained that nothing is 100 percent perfect, and in older dogs, the resistance is a bit weaker.

Often, too, he explained, the worm goes undetected even in routine checks as they do not lay eggs that often.. Vets who do internal intestinal checks ask that dogs be dewormed as a routine procedure before examining the intestine as more likely than not there are some whip worms attached.

It was a routine fecal check for Ally. She is on a monthly pill that prevents heart worms, fleas, and internal parasites; she also has

So how does a dog obtain this type of worm?

The eggs are shed by an infected animal where they can remain in the fecal pile, burrow in the

Cuteness on the road 8

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

soil, or find their way to standing water.

A dog can sample the infected stool or lick its paws after trodding over the hidden danger or lap up the water just because it is there.

Once ingested, the egg makes its way to the intestines where it develops and hooks on for its meals of blood. Usually there are no symptoms unless the infestation is so great that the host becomes anemic, so a pet owner can remain blissfully ignorant until a fecal check might catch the problem. It is interesting to note, too, that the eggs can remain outside of the body for up to five years just waiting for that special moment when they are swallowed so that their life cycle can continue.

We live in a condo, so we are very cognizant

The Whipworm Life Cycle

Adults of picking up our dogs’ waste matter immediately; sadly, not everyone in the area is quite so vigilant. Ally is also a pro at finding hidden feces and dining upon it, a very disgusting habit that has caused me to carry extra bags to stay one jump ahead of her.

There are also rabbits, a fox, and squirrels that roam about, so I now pick up anything that looks suspicious. Since we are not sure exactly how Ally got these monsters or where, as we do a lot of walking in different locations, the vet suggested that we should deworm all three dogs even though the other two had tested negative just to be safe as reinfestation happens so easily. So pills were given, repeated three weeks later, will be repeated in three more months, then again in six months after that. I am not

Larvae

allowing social visits into friends’ yards at this time as a preventative measure; I would feel horrible if my dogs passed eggs that resulted in another dog obtaining the whip worm.

Eggs

Thus, it is important to pick up fecal matter on the spot and even extend that action to cleaning up deposits made by others. The whip worm, like the cockroach, is a hardy creature that longs to survive, but not in my dogs!

Summer 2015

9

Couple Makes Sure Retrievers Have Final Days That

By Dennis McCarthy, LA Daily News

D

avid Martin and Stevi Paul rescue old golden retrievers from local animal shelters and help make them comfortable in their final days or years. Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News Bandit was running out of time when Stevi Paul bailed him out of the animal shelter and took him to an In-N-Out for a double-double cheeseburger.

Then it was over to Baskin-Robbins for dessert — a cup of ice cream.

If this was going to be the golden retriever’s last meal, it was going to be a doozy. He deserved it. After 10 years of giving unconditional love to a family, he had been dumped in an animal shelter and replaced by a younger model.

Cold.

After dessert, Stevi gets into the back seat of the family car with Bandit and cradles him in her lap while her husband, David Martin — a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s rescue helicopter pilot — drives over to their vet’s office in Canoga Park.

a blanket out on the floor of the examination room, and sit by the dog’s side gently petting him and whispering words of comfort in his ear until he goes to sleep forever.

And then Stevi and David will cry. Every time.

“We don’t want them dying alone, ” she says Wednesday, rubbing Bandit’s belly at the couple’s Chatsworth home.

Yeah, he got a reprieve.

The couple have been rescuing golden retrievers for 15 years now, ever since their own golden, Jessie, died. She was their “heart dog,” they say — the one you never get over.

“She wasn’t beautiful, by any means, but we both knew she was the dog for us the moment we saw her,” David says. “Jessie was the one who got us into rescue.”

After she died, the pair started reading the

If Dr. Howard Brown of Pet Vet, a big supporter of dog-rescue groups, determines the dog has a few more months left, Stevi and David will take him home to live out his last days with their five other senior rescue dogs — four old goldens no one wanted and one 10-year-old blind, diabetic Lab named Yoski.

All of them were treated to a double-double cheeseburger and cup of ice cream after they were bailed out.

If, though, the dog is in pain and suffering, and Dr. Brown says it’s time, Stevi will spread

10

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

daily animal shelter alerts on new dogs coming in, and scanning Craigslist looking for goldens needing a home.

“We decided to take in the sick and old,” David says. “Make them feel welcome.”

Stevi says she doesn’t know one rescuer who doesn’t believe in The Legend of the Rainbow Bridge. That when a pet dies, they wait in a special part of heaven known as The Bridge.

They run in fields and streams and are young and healthy again.

“And when we die, we will go to The Bridge to be with them for eternity,” she says. “David and I have rescued nearly 1,500 dogs in 15 years. There’s a lot of fur waiting for us at that bridge. We’re going to need a ton of biscuits.”

She jokes about it, but not for very long. The anger and frustration dog rescuers feel is too deeply ingrained not to want to scream when they walk into animal shelters built for 200

Are Golden dogs and see 400 because people refuse to spay and neuter their dogs.

“If they do, how will they breed them and make all that money?” Stevi asks, sarcastically.

We’re coming up on the Christmas puppy return season, she says. The time when people get tired of those cute holiday puppies they wanted so badly but never factored in the time commitment.

The personal care, house training and puppy classes. The nights coming home to find the house a mess and your favorite pair of shoes ripped to shreds. It can be too much.

At least with cute puppies, though, there’s a good chance they’ll be adopted by a family willing to make the commitment, but with older dogs, it’s another story.

They’re not that cute anymore. They’re tired and often sick. Still great pets, but in slow motion. Perfect for seniors in slow motion, too.

Senior dogs can be adopted at animal shelters by seniors at no cost.

But even if you’re not a senior, take a look, Stevi and David ask. Contact a rescue organization for the kind of dog you like and get information on adopting or providing a temporary foster home for one so the rescue group will have room to bail out another dog from overcrowded shelters.

“You’d be picking up someone else’s responsibility, and giving an old dog a home instead of a cage to live out its last days,” Stevi says.

And if you want to take it out for a doubledouble cheeseburger and a cup of ice cream, feel free. They’d love it.

Summer 2015

11

Home Coming Share your pictures and stories by sending them to grreattimes@adoptagolden.com.

They will be featured in coming newsletters, right here under Homecoming.

This is Chewie. We adopted him in 2005. Chewie loves to chase squirrels, rats & rabbits. He has a great record of keeping critters out of our garden.

Bailey Miller at 10 years old.

Roxy, Rilely, and Molly enjoy a swim at the Harbor View pool party for dogs.

12

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Max turned 8 years old on June 18.

This is Nadi enjoying the sunshine & spring flowers.

We adopted Nadi in 2005.

We think she is 10yrs.

Roxy swims by as Riley and Molly prepare to join her.

Summer 2015

13

Tips to Help Keep Your Dog Safe When Traveling This Summer!

T

raveling with your pet is becoming more and more popular. Today's dogs are vacationing thanks to friendlier airlines, safety innovations, pet-friendly hotels, resorts, campsites and restaurants with outdoor dining privileges.

14

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Traveling By Plane In most cases, it's safe for your pet to travel by plane if your vet gives the OK. Major airlines prohibit traveling with your pet in the summer, beginning June 1, because of the heat. Animals accustomed to traveling in a car and going out on walks and who are socialized tend to travel very well depending on their personalities.

Traveling internationally or even crossing state lines in a plane requires a health certificate from your vet. Additional ways to prepare: • Make sure vaccines (especially rabies) are up to date.

• Consider an ID collar and a tag - even a microchip.

The trend today is against sedation unless significant risks for pet injury exist. Sedation can cause the pet to feel unstable and cause more fear.

Preparations for international travel with

pets can be complex and require extensive planning. Double check with the airlines and your destination's consulate to make sure you have the most up to date information about the papers you are required to bring. Many documents for international travel require the signature of a certified USDA veterinarian which adds an additional step. Pet travel companies, like travelpets.com, remove a lot of the guesswork. It's very tedious to have to do the work yourself. You would have to start six months ahead of time.

Traveling By Car A few pointers for traveling safely with dogs in cars: • Have your dog always wear a specially designed dog seat belt or dog car harness in front and back seats.

• Ensure adequate ventilation.

• Never let your dog put its head outside the window, as this can lead to ear and eye injuries.

Traveling By Boat Some innovative products make boating and sailing with your dog reasonably safe. Use a dog life vest. If they do fall overboard, you can pull them up.

Dogs can also use puppy pads and artificial turf products for elimination.

Basic Tips • Make sure your pet is well groomed, not itchy or dirty.

• Take along some comforts of home including a bed, blanket and toys.

• Carry your pet's familiar food from home when practical.

• Carriers should be big enough for standing and turning around in with room for food and water.

• Place absorbent towels on the carrier floor in case of accidents.

• Have a pet first aid kit for emergencies.

Summer 2015

15

Goldens in Shelters…

How Can That Be? A

discussion recently occurred, I am told, on one of the “Golden forums” about a Golden in a shelter somewhere in this country that appeared as a “dog in need” on someone’s Facebook page. “How could that be?” it was asked. “We give these rescue programs money and they leave a Golden in a shelter.” “A Golden shouldn’t be in a shelter for more than one hour before a rescue program steps in.” The subject needs addressing.

While I believed I knew how this could happen, I chose instead to ask the Golden Retriever Rescue programs for up-to-date experiences, and I was surprised only by the commonality of the responses. Over and over it was said, “We never get a Golden from our shelters unless the dog is sick, very old or has significant behavioral problems.”

The reasons for this showed commonality as well: • Shelters want—and likely need—the adoption fee and the data to show their funders and public the number of “live adoptions” to offset the euthanasia rate.

• Goldens, with the reputation of being a good family companion, are many times easier to place than so many of the other breeds and mixes which predominate in shelters and which do not need identification here.

• Shelter staffs need the intrinsic rewards of facilitating an adoption of a Golden by a waiting family. (Any rescuer of Golden Retrievers can identify with this!) Many shelters have waiting lists of people waiting to adopt a Golden Retriever.

16

by Carol Allen, Chair National Rescue Committee 315/469-7926 E-mail: carosal@twcny.rr.com

All-breed/non-breed rescue programs have sprung up all over the country and have the willingness and, it is hoped, the necessary ability to accept a significant number of dogs without consideration of breed. These are attractive offers to shelters that are faced with euthanizing many of the dogs. We’ve heard “we’ll ‘sweeten the pot’ with a Golden.” And we’ve also heard shelter staff refer to breedspecific rescue programs as “elitists” who, if they cared about dogs, would care about all dogs. This does not put breed-specific programs in a favorable reasoning position.

(This was particularly damaging, in our opinion, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and diminished our programs’ ability to be helpful to our breed in several ways, including a return to original owner.)

However, 10-15 percent of our programs report positive interactions with their local shelters, the result of a sustained building of relationships over time with the shelter management, and this usually is helpful until shelter management turns over. The “price” for these positive relationships is often years of accepting any and all Goldens without regard to age, health and medical needs, and behavioral challenges. No surprise, though, that what programs need to put into the eventual adopting of these dogs is very consuming, both of money and human resources. A small number of shelters when asked by surrendering owners to accept a purebred, and particularly when a shelter is at capacity, will refer those owners to breed specific rescue programs.

Many shelters have a “hold period,” that is, a number of days during which the dog may not be removed from the shelters. As this is often state mandated, the length of the hold periods vary, but is often 10 days. During this period the dog may continue to appear on the shelter’s website or Facebook page, leaving it to be misunderstood that the dog is immediately available.

Some programs, upon learning of a Golden in a shelter and realizing that the rescue program will not get the Golden, have quickly referred their approved and waiting adopters to the shelter. The goal is to get a Golden into a good home.

Making the argument with shelter managements that breed-specific rescue programs are better able to meet medical needs and screen adopters carefully usually falls on deaf ears. Return rates to Golden Retriever Rescue programs are extremely low because of the evaluation of the dogs’ needs and tendencies and the careful screening of potential adopters,but shelters are not moved by that information—in fact, a return will mean a second adoption fee. Or they can always call a rescue program the second time around.

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Some programs have “shelter walkers,” that is, volunteers who walk through shelters in their area on as much as a weekly basis to make sure that a Golden isn’t overlooked.

Understandably there is considerable turnover in this volunteering assignment because of the emotional toll it takes.

Social media has both facilitated and complicated our work. Yes, communication is easier and made possible because of these technologies. On the downside, communication has proliferated well beyond any consideration of geography and relevancy. A Facebook posting of a dog in need in California, for example, will eventually end

up in the mailboxes of 50 rescue programs from Maine to Oregon—which is timeconsuming for 49 programs and possibly relevant to one. The National Rescue Committee has established a single point of entry to which programs can route an announcement, and this has helped to minimize unnecessary cross-posting. With nearly constant coverage, this system results in no or very minimal delay in a notice being forwarded, and is in addition to the six functionally organized e-lists that the NRC has created and maintained through which notices can also be shared. There is also some creative networking used by Golden Retriever Rescue programs within a state or region, all aimed to avoid having anything “fall between the cracks.”

In fairness to animal shelters, we need to acknowledge the tremendous demands under which they operate and in which their staffs work, usually for very low pay.

To walk in their shoes even for a short time is very enlightening and heart-wrenching, and allows one to understand why turnover is high.

As we are frequently asked by our dedicated supporters to check on goldens in need, we wanted to share this article for information.

The SEVA GRREAT intake team works closely with approximately 75 shelters in our coverage area.

We understand the challenges faced by all, have a great relationship with our local shelters, and remain ready to help whenever possible.

Summer 2015

17

Rainbow Bridge Madison

Murphy

Ally

Madison was our first foster and made us officially foster failures! He made us laugh and kept us on our toes. He couldn’t go for a walk without a toy in his mouth, and that brought a smile to everyone we saw. He was a wonderful, patient, and accepting foster brother. We will miss our big lug but won’t have to put toilet paper up high and guard the napkins on our laps anymore. We love you Madders! (During surgery, they found cancer clear through his liver and gall bladder and internal bleeding.)

Murphy was with us for 5 years and had just turned 12 when he became ill. We were in AZ and had traveled cross country in the car.

He was a loving boy but a real guy’s guy as well. He was always ready for any adventure . . . a walk, ride in the car, visitors. He slept on the floor by Stuart and made sure that he was awake at 5:30 every morning . . . even after he retired! When we were out he would be waiting by the door for us when we returned.

He is with his sister, Molly, waiting at the Bridge.

Three years ago we adopted beautiful Ally, who was then almost 10. She quickly became the boss of the house, and our lives revolved around her medical schedule and personal needs. She was a special girl with a teddy bear face and a heart of pure gold. Over time her body started to fail until the pain, despite all treatment, was too much. She found her final peace on June 5, her head nestled in my lap. I wear the Ally stone around my neck, and her memory will forever be etched in my mind.

–Chris and Dan Walker

– Stuart and Jean Morgan

– Veronica (Roni) Sumner

Ally

Ally has graced the pages of GRREAT Times many times including a story about her innate ability as a therapy dog in the last issue.

Madison 18

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Out & About

Yappy Hours at Keswick Everyone was invited to come out and bring their own furry friends and enjoy the company of all, with the end goal being to find some homes for these animals in need. For every bottle opened during Yappy Hours, Keswick Vineyards donated a dollar to SEVA GRREAT!

Summer 2015

19

In the Event of Accident, Disability or Death: Who Will Care for Your Dog?

I

f one day you were no longer able care for your dog, who would take your place? This might be a temporary situation or a permanent one. Regardless you need to have a plan in place so your pets will not go without care for even a single day. The following information comes from Adopt a Golden Atlanta. It is a step-by-step guide to making the necessary arrangements. Further information and sample documents can be found on their website; adoptagoldenatlanta.com.

Step One: Prepare a Pet Profile and Identify Temporary Caregivers Every pet owner should carry a card in his/her wallet that lists pets, the address where they are located and contact information for temporary caregivers.

Temporary caregivers are those who would be willing to give care your pets in the hours, days or weeks after an emergency which results in your unexpected absence.

You should identify at least two temporary caregivers. A prototype for a wallet card can be downloaded from our website, www. adoptagoldentatlanta.com.

Provide these caregivers with keys to your home, feeding and care instructions for your pets, the location of your pet profile information, the name of your veterinarian and information about the long-term provisions you have made for your pet. Identify a date each year that is meaningful to you, such as your birthday, your pet’s birthday or a holiday, when you will revisit your selection of caregivers. Emergency caregivers should also know how to contact each other.

Post removable “in case of emergency” notices on the outside of your main doors and windows specifying how many and what types of pets you have. These notices will alert emergency response personnel to the presence of pets.

On the inside of your front and back doors,

20

This information was provided by Adopt a Golden Atlanta place a removable notice that lists the emergency caregivers contact information.

Also post brief information about location of pet food and basic supplies that can be used until the caregiver arrives. A sample of this notice can be downloaded from our website, www.adoptagoldenatlanta.com.

Prepare a pet profile for each animal that contains the name, date of birth, microchip or other identification number, veterinarian’s name and number (including a back up veterinarian and an emergency veterinary clinic), medical history, any medical issues or medications, type and amount of food and feeding schedule, commands, toys, location of collars and leashes, behavioral notes. Include contact information of key family members or friends in the event your emergency caregiver cannot be contacted or is unavailable. Identify the location of your important estate planning and financial documents, including powers of attorney, living trusts, wills and advance health care directives.

Step Two – Prepare a Written Long-Term Plan for Your Pets It is important to have a formal written plan detailing how you want your pets to be cared for in your absence. This plan should be included in your pet profile notebook and be formalized in a will, trust or other legal document. Legally pets are considered personal property and therefore, if they are not included in the estate planning process, they could be taken to a shelter or euthanized.

Your estate plan should include, at a minimum, the following documents with mention of provisions for your pet in each: durable powers of attorney for financial matters, durable powers of attorney for health matters, last will and testament and trusts.

Permanent Caregivers

Let your temporary care givers know how to access funds if needed for the care of your pets. Consider keeping this information in a three-ring binder so it can be easily updated.

Place it in a prominent location.

The first step in making any plan is to identify options for permanent caregivers for your pets. Consider friends and family members who know your animals and understand the responsibility of caring for them. You must also decide if your pets must stay together or could go to separate households. It is important to have alternate caregivers identified in case your first choice is unavailable.

Sample pet profile forms that address many of the key points discussed the preceding paragraphs can be downloaded from our website, www.adoptagoldentatlanta.com.

If you have no one to designate as a caregiver, consider identifying an animal care panel, which might consist of your veterinarian, concerned friends or relatives, and a

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

representative from an animal welfare group, such as Adopt a Golden Atlanta. This panel would have the responsibility of locating a suitable caregiver.

Another option is to ask a rescue organization, such as Adopt a Golden Atlanta, to find a new home for your pets. This should be discussed in advance with the organization and specific instructions written into your estate plan. The possible language for such an arrangement is attached in Exhibit A. It is important to have someone designated to make funds available to provide for the care of your pets while permanent caregivers are being identified.

Powers of Attorney Powers of attorney, which authorize someone else to conduct some or all of your affairs while you are alive, have become a standard planning device. Such documents can be written to take effect upon your physical or mental incapacity. It is important to include pets in these powers of attorney to authorize payments for care, including food, veterinary care, grooming, exercise and socialization.

These documents should also address where your pet is to be housed depending on whether you are at home and in the event you must be moved to a hospital or nursing facility.

Consideration should also be given to pet visitation during your incapacity.

Powers of attorney should also give your designee the ability to make critical decisions about your pet’s medical care. Sample language for a pet related power of attorney is attached in Exhibit B. Wills Although a will is a necessary part of any estate plan, it has drawbacks when it comes to providing for your pets. A will takes effect only upon your death and will not be probated and formally recognized by a court for days or even weeks later. Should a dispute arise, the final

settlement of your property, including your pets, may be prolonged.

However, it remains important that your wishes for your pets be expressed in your will. This should include the identification of your pre-determined care givers as well as alternates. Your will should also provide detailed instructions about the standard of care you expect for your pet and the establishment of sufficient funds to provide for all pet care expenses. Your executor or other identified individual should be given flexibility to make alternate arrangements if your original instructions cannot be honored. Sample language for wills is included in Exhibit C. Trusts Unlike a will, a trust can provide for your pet immediately and can apply in the event of illness, incapacity or death. You determine when your trust becomes effective and specify a trustee to control distribution of the funds.

Typically a trustee will hold property, usually cash, for the benefit of your pets. Payments to a designated caregiver will be made on a regular basis. The trust, depending on state law, will continue for the life of the pet or a specified number of years. Trusts are a more reliable vehicle for ensuring your wishes for your pets will be followed.

In addition to having trustees and caregivers identified, you will also need the following information when setting up a trust: • A method of adequately identifying your pets, such as microchips, to prevent fraud.

• A detailed description of your pet’s standard of living and care.

• A way for your trustee to regularly validate the care provided to your pets.

• A reasonable estimate of your pet’s annual expenses.

• A bonus to be paid to your identified caregiver.

• A fee to be paid for the administration of the trust.

• A plan for the final disposition of your pet.

• A named beneficiary should there be funds remaining in the trust after the pet’s death.

These funds are often donated to an animal welfare organization.

Trusts can be funded in a number of ways, such as direct transfer of money or property, life insurance, funds from the property in your estate, annuities or similar retirement accounts.

Sample language for setting up a trust for your pet’s ongoing care is included in Exhibit D. For more information about trusts that benefit pets, visit the following websites: www.

GaPetTrust.com and www.petguardian.com.

As you make an estate plan that includes provisions for your pet, please seek the advice of a legal professional. Adopt a Golden Atlanta is a not a law firm and is not providing legal advice. Please take the time to think about how to provide for your precious pets should illness, accident or death prevent you from being there for them for one day or for the balance of their lives.

Further information and forms can be found at adoptagoldenatlanta.com

Summer 2015

21

Contributions Jennifer Dauzier

Tracy Minnich

Kay Ashbrook

Marciano Villamiel

Largo Elston

Bob and Nicki Seger A big thanks to all the SEVA GRREAT volunteers and vets

Sandi Pitini

William Buklad

Ann and Andor Czompo

Maryanne Lambert In memory of Toby

James and Bonita Salvatore In honor of Megan Thompson

Deborah Debiasi

Ruth Ann Wilson Clay Clemens In memory of Abby and Corky Joanne Even In memory of Cody Vincent and Dakota Zinski Desiri Walker Jim and Puline O’Connell In memory of our dear friend JoAnn Sunell Danise Elias

Judith and Tony Hannold In memory of Midas, our beloved boy from SEVA GRREAT who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in April

Chris Rogers In memory of Annie Pratts Rhonda King Happy 25th SEVA GRREAT Sean and Karen Killeen In memory of Shelby and Cooper Lawrence and Deb Orwig David and Mary Lumgair, Jr. Nick Christner

Jim and Pauline O’Connell In memory of our dear friend Wesley Leroy Hamm Corrrection: There were a couple spelling mistakes in the last magazine’s Contributions list. Here are the correct spellings for those contributors.

Kathleen O’Donnell Estate In support of senior Golden Retrievers

Stephen Clark

The

GOLD e

th

Fran and DJ DeCicco

Joe Vance

Go

Fund

ld

en O Do l die L ove

g

Fu

Sharon O’Donnell In memory of Kathleen O’Donnell

Sponsor-A-Dog Contributors

CDR. Michael O’Donnell In memory of Kathleen O’Donnell

Clayton Clemens

CVC

Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign #3456

Lacey’s Fund Carl and Lizbeth Jackson

Gracie’s Fund

Combined Federal Campaign #88796

22

n

d

Stephen Biscak

Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education & Training, Inc.

Phyllis Yokley Kathleen Homa Jimmy Minton Pat and John Donaldson

MEMBERSHIP, DONATION & VOLUNTEER FORM Note: Membership is open to all persons 18 years or older.

SEVA GRREAT is a 501 (C)(3) organization • ALL DONATIONS & DUES ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE IN THE YEAR PAID

Please have the Coordinator in the following area/areas contact me: (Check appropriate boxes)

Name: _____________________________________________

These are listed in the order of urgent need by GRREAT.

Address: ___________________________________________ City, State, Zip: _______________________________________ E-mail: _____________________________________________

HOME EVALUATION –– visits for foster/adoption applicants.

Home Phone: ________________________________________ Work Phone: ________________________________________ This is a new membership Address Change ADDITIONAL VOTING MEMBERS:

FOSTERING — A temporary home for SEVA GRREAT dogs before they are adopted.

It’s Summer.

Don’t forget this year’s membership.

(E-mail needs to be unique to vote.)

TRANSPORTATION — primarily shuttling dogs and/or equipment as necessary. If you are interested in helping with transportation, can you help on: (circle all that apply) Weekdays

Weekends

Evenings

EVENTS — helping to hold/show dogs at “Golden Days,” helping with fund raisers, etc.

PUBLICITY — researching and writing stories for media release and newsletters, selling ads for the newsletter, taking photos at events, updating the web site, etc.

Name: _____________________________________________ E-mail: _____________________________________________

MERCHANDISE — to man booths selling SEVA GRREAT stuff at local dog shows / fairs / festivals / etc.

Name: _____________________________________________ E-mail: _____________________________________________

Our rescue is growing! In order to continue to save more dogs every year, we are looking for volunteers who would like to become more involved with the organization. If you are interested in assisting with intake, foster coordination, Golden Days or other areas on a regular basis, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteering@adoptagolden.com, for more information.

Name: _____________________________________________ E-mail: _____________________________________________

REMITTANCE: I am enclosing my $25 annual membership dues $ ___________

SEVA GRREAT

Additional Voting members _____ @ $25 each

$ ___________

Please make checks payable to:

Donation

$ ___________

1 Calendar ($10.00 plus $5.60 shipping)

$ ___________

TOTAL REMITTANCE

$ ___________

Mail this form with your check to: SEVA GRREAT PO Box 8014 Yorktown, VA 23693

MY DONATION IS FOR: In Honor of

In Memory of

REQUIRED FOR MEMBERSHIP:

Other

Important Notice If you would like to become a member, please sign below. Otherwise, your remittance for annual membership must be considered a donation.

Date: __________________________________________________________________

I affirm that I have never been convicted of an animal abuse crime. Signature: ______________________________________________________________

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

SEVA GRREAT P.O. Box 8014 Yorktown, Va 23693

Paid

Yorktown, Va 23693 Permit No. 11

Rescue Hotline 757-827-8561 Press For 1

If you think you have found one of our Goldens based on the SEVA GRREAT tag or microchip.

2 To leave a message for the President 3 To give up a Golden Retriever

or get more info on our intake process 4

For Information on Golden Days and other events.

5

To check on the status of an adoption or foster application.

6

For all other questions.

National Dog Registry 1-800-NDR-DOGS Foster Dog Medical Care YORK VETERINARY CLINIC Yorktown 757-898-3700 COOKE VET MEDICAL CENTER Chesapeake 757-547-9421 QUIOCCASIN VET HOSPITAL Richmond 804-741-3200 ACREDALE ANIMAL HOSPITAL Virginia Beach 757-523-6100 ANDERSON’S CORNER Toano 757-566-2224

Like us on facebook!

SEVA GRREAT Contact Information President Jane Krom Vice President Joanne Even Treasurer Jim O’Connell Secretary Nikki Seger Event Coordinators: Southside:

Peninsula: Linda Thomson Jennifer Dauzier Richmond: Microchip Coordinator Robyn Beasley Rose Bennett Intake Coordinator Katie Show Foster Coordinator Adoption Coordinator Robyn Beasley Jacob Kay Membership Volunteer Coordinator Beth Thompson Largo Elston Board Member Merchandise Jennifer Dauzier Fundraising Sharon Leeman GRREAT Times magazine

Brad Miller

president@adoptagolden.com vice_president@adoptagolden.com treasurer@adoptagolden.com secretary@adoptagolden.com events@adoptagolden.com southside_events@adoptagolden.com peninsula_events@adoptagolden.com richmond_events@adoptagolden.com sevagrreatadoptions@yahoo.com intake@adoptagolden.com fostering@adoptagolden.com sevagrreatadoptions@yahoo.com membership@adoptagolden.com volunteersevagrreat@gmail.com BMAL1@adoptagolden.com merchandise@adoptagolden.com BMAL2@adoptagolden.com grreattimes@adoptagolden.com

Want to Reach Dog Lovers with Your Message?

Advertise in GRREAT Times Magazine and Help Our Goldens.