The Arizona
Golden Retriever Connection is an all volunteer
organization dedicated to finding safe, loving, and
permanent homes for unwanted Golden
Retrievers in Arizona.
If you do not
currently live in Arizona and are looking to adopt,
please visit our national partner site
here.
If you would like to contact somebody from AZGRC, click
here for a list of our
Officers and Directors
Golden
Retrievers are the second most popular breed in the U.S. today.
Like many dogs, Goldens all too often find themselves homeless
for a variety of reasons. That's where we come in. We are
committed to the rescue, foster, and placement of needy Golden
Retrievers throughout Arizona (our primary focus is in the
greater Phoenix metro area).
The Goldens we
rescue are all taken to one of our Veterinary Partners for a
complete checkup, and they are all vaccinated, micro-chipped and
spayed or neutered before we place them with adoptive families.
We believe in responsible pet ownership and we practice what we
preach.
In order to
ensure that we find Forever Homes for our rescued Goldens, not
temporary places of residence, we adhere to a rigorous process
of screening applicants. We check prior veterinarian history, we
do home visits, and so on. We interview all members of the
family, and make sure they are all comfortable with the Golden,
and the Golden is comfortable with them. We also follow up on a
regular basis to make sure that the comfort level remains.
Giving Back to the Community
Arizona Golden
Retriever Connection also works hard to share the joy that these
beautiful Golden Retrievers gives us and all of our members.
From "search and rescue", to "therapy," Golden Retrievers give
back! We aim to participate in a variety of activities that
help showcase the ways that Goldens give to our communities. We
also want to take a lead in raising awareness about responsible
pet ownership for all pet owners, not just our members.
A
Sense of Family
Rescuing these
wonderful dogs should be fun for all, and we go out of our way
to encourage our members, our volunteers, and our applicants to
join in the fun. Applicants can look forward to several "meet
and greets" where they can see all of our available Goldens at
one time. Each year we showcase a few
events, such as "Gotcha Day”, an annual celebration of all
of our members and their adopted Golden Retrievers, and “Swim
Fest”, a pool party for the Goldens and a great social
get-together for the members.
We Are a Team
It would never
be possible to accomplish what we do without the tireless
efforts of all the volunteers who help out in many ways, large
and small, throughout the year. We are especially indebted to
our committees, for they are the folks who keep the wheels
running, improve our processes, and make this a very enjoyable
and rewarding experience for all. Click
here to see tributes to some
of our key volunteers.
The Arizona
Golden Retriever Connection is a proud member of the
following organizations:
New Hope Partners with Maricopa County
PACC911
Petfinder
Pets911
We thought you'd
like to know how
successful our rescue program was last year.
From October 2005 to September 2006 (our fiscal year)
● 100% of the dogs rescued went to their forever homes
●
68% needed to be spayed or neutered
●
51% needed additional medical attention and/or surgery
●
21% were senior Goldens
●
100% of all medical expenses were paid for by AZGRC fundraising
Pet
overpopulation continues to plague the U.S. today. The statistics are
staggering. Nationally, 8-12 million dogs and cats are euthanized each
year. Nearly 30,000 a year in Maricopa county alone. In order to
control the pet population, over 80% of breeders would have to stop.
Please don't buy your next pet from a breeder. There are plenty of
loveable pets who would die for a home. Learn more at
Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.
If you are
interested in adopting one of our rescued Golden
Retrievers, we ask that you first fill out an
application. If and when you are
approved, then you can let us know what kind of Golden
you are interested in adopting, (age, sex, color,
activity level,) and our adoption committee will pair
you with one of our current rescued Goldens, or alert
you as soon as the dog of your dreams enters our system.
Or, you are more than welcome to browse through our list
of
available goldens and tell us what dogs
you'd like to meet based on their descriptions and
pictures. If you have