President’s Message

Mark Your Calendar

September 17

Pet Day Market Buckroe Beach, Hampton 9:00 am – 3:00 pm pm Sept 30 - Oct 2

Neptune Festival Virginia Beach October 8

Glen Allen Day 9:30 am – 3:00 pm October 16

Fall Membership Meeting Newport News Park, 1:00 – 4:00 pm Please check our website for up-to-date information Website: https://adoptagolden.com Facebook: Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education, and Training!

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.

. . . President’s Message SEVA GRREAT

Welcome to the 2nd half of 2022! What a great way to start the 2nd half with the announcement of the CDC revising their ban to bringing over dogs internationally – provided the dogs meet the new CDC requirements. They want titers to be done showing that they are protected against rabies – which we agree with. But they have a few more regulations that could possibly double our cost in bringing the dogs over here. So, we are weighing our options on the most cost-effective way to bring them here.

Often, people ask us why we rescue dogs from Turkey. The short answer is that it is a win-win for us and the Goldens. It is a win for these poor dogs that have been thrown out onto the streets when their owner no longer wants them. Turkey has a huge stray population and Goldens do not fare well to “street life.” It is a win for SEVA GRREAT because the number of Goldens surrendered to us – and other rescue groups around the country – have dwindled. But adoptees willing to open their homes and hearts to this wonderful breed have not declined.

We reviewed the average cost of bringing in Goldens from Turkey versus rescuing Goldens here and the costs are comparable. That is because most of the Goldens we get from Turkey are healthy. Many of the Goldens we rescue locally need to be spayed/neutered, have heartworms, or have other health or behavioral issues. That said, no local Golden needing help is turned away. The 9 dogs we rescued from the horrific hoarding situation in S. C. are doing well. Several have been adopted out already and several more will go up for adoption shortly.

Looking ahead, we will need help transporting the Turkey Dogs from the airport (Dulles or JFK) back to this area. If you are on our volunteer email list, you will be hearing more from Mimi about this probably mid-August. Please let her know if you are interested in helping. And we always need foster homes. If you are already on the foster list, you will hear more from Jane shortly. If you haven’t fostered in a while and would like to foster, please let Jane know. If you have never fostered but would like to start, please go to our website – www.sevagrreat. org – click on the “Volunteer” tab and then “Foster Home Application”.

A book I read recently discusses how you cannot leave happiness to chance. You cannot just wish for it and hope you get lucky. You’ve got to work to make it happen. None of the wonderful work that happens with SEVA GRREAT would be possible without your help. The happiness we bring to Goldens and their new families would not be possible without you. What better way to start the 2nd half of the year with a prayer of thanks for all the good things we have been able to accomplish. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for the time and financial support that you have provided to make happiness happen. Deb