Hi,

Thought it might be worth posting on here, we are looking to give a GR bitch, up to the age of 4, a loving family home. I have registered with the GR Rescue, have contacted a few people through the internet but am finding dogs with dubious pasts. We would ideally like a rescue one, and looking to explore this area before going down the puppy route.
We are an active family, living on the edge of the New Forest and have a boy of 8, and a girl of 6. We love walks in the forest and on the beach and would love a retriever to complete our family.
Would love to hear from you!

Why dont you contact Guide Dogs for the Blind to see if they have any available for rehoming?  I puppywalk for them and I know that both pups that dont make it, and retired guide dogs are offered for rehoming to excellent homes.

Thank you very much for your reply. I had not thought about contacting them, am right onto it now! Many thanks, Julie

You could always try the Irish Retriever Rescue http://irishretrieverrescue.com/ this is where I got one of my boys from, who is a lovely boy.
It is always worth remembering though that all rescues have a past and we don't know what that past is.  My advice would be to offer to foster (which is what I did) and then you will be sure when the right dog comes along for you and your family.  I always think it extra important when children are in the home to be really sure of a dogs temperament.  Good luck with your search.

Thank you for your reply, will have a look at Irish Retriever rescue and good idea about the fostering.

The Guide dogs for the blind have closed their waiting list until the end of the summer but it did remind me of a lady I met last year from Woofability. They are a local charity training dogs for the disabled, and having just had a long chat, she is going to contact her breeders to see if they know of any dogs need rehoming and she is coming to see me about doing socialising with puppies from a weekend upto one month! So thank you for giving me the idea!!

We also foster for the Irish retriever, Perry beat me to it! just to add they don't always have ALL the dogs that need rehoming on the website.

Good luck with your search

Dexter who are you, you can pm me if you like
And as you mentioned they don't always have all the dogs that are available on the website.

We dont foster for IRR (YET)but are great supporters for them....they do a great job.
Good luck with your search.

> Dexter who are you, you can pm me if you like

Have done so

Hi, I would just add that there is a rescue in South Wales, Many Tears Rescue who sometimes have ex breeding Retrievers for rehoming, they also have prople fostering these dogs. Maybe worth giving their website a look. http://www.freewebs.com/manytearsrescue/.

There will be a local co-ordinator for GR rescue in your area. I have pasted the web page with the details for the rescue officers for the different areas. http://www.thegoldenretrieverclub.co.uk/.

Good luck with your search.

Woofability are NOT a registered charity and are very inexperienced. They place the poor puppies in many different homes for a maximum period of a month, many times just for a weekend before moving them to yet another foster home. These puppies end up so confused. Woofability have not been going for a year and have not, as yet, trained a dog. The "organiser's " dog was trained by Dogs For the Disabled, not by her.  Be careful!

Actually Woofability IS a registered charity "Woofability Assistance Dogs Ltd. Charity Number 1135756". The puppies change socialisers frequently to stop both the socialisers and the puppies from getting too attached to one another, rather than the dogs being kennelled, which, as you can imagine is nowhere near a home environment. Yes, Woofability is a very new charity and hasn't sent a recruit out to work yet, as they are fully trained at two years and the charity isn't that old yet. The lady who runs Woofability had to retire her Dogs for the Disabled dog because they didn't want people to think they had trained her, so she has a new dog, trained by themselves, who now acts as her assistance dog; therefore, they HAVE trained a dog and the oldest of the recruits are on their way to being fully trained. This charity is wonderful, seeing as there are so many people in Dorset and Hampshire who could benefit from an assistance dog and they just aren't getting the help. Please don't put a charity down before you find out your facts, obviously you don't know how important these dogs are for disabled people. If you want to know more visit www.woofability.com