Our speaker, Jim Skydell, joined us Friday from the Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue. His organization is a certified 501C3 Non-Profit that was established in 2001 to rescue and find homes for Golden Retrievers. The group is staffed by 120 plus, volunteers in seven counties and has rescued 4,300 dogs to date. Jim says the organization operates off of a $300,000 budget which comes from fund raising and that all funds go to help the dogs.

Golden Retrievers (Caris lupus familiaris (Latin) are the oldest domestic animals, originating in 1868 when Sir Dudley Majorbanks Tweedmouth mated a Wavy Coated Retriever with a Yellow Tailed Water Spaniel.   It wasn’t until 1932 that Golden Retrievers received separate status from the American Kennel Club. Retrievers are generally mild mannered, loyal, social, loving and love retrieving. Jim’s organization gets the dogs either from shelters or simply turned in by owners who cannot care for them. Why would people turn in a Golden Retriever? Some have no time for dogs; have financial issues, health issues, etc. Jim says that most of those turned in are 6-8 years old or over, and are colored brown, white, or red like Irish Setters. Once a dog is received they must be house trained, obedience trained, and neutered, as well as vaccinated and micro chipped costing an average of $2000. Before being placed in a home the dog is evaluated for activity level, temperament, special needs, experience with children and if they are animal friendly. Once an adoption application is completed, a representative visits the home for placement and to match the home environment with the dog. Adoption fees are based on the dogs age: 1year=$450, 3-5 years=$350, 6-7 years=$250, 8 years=$200.

Keep up the good work Jim and thanks for sharing.

Pat Dolphin