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GB is a volunteer-driven organization. Welcome to our "Meet Our Volunteers" page, a constantly updated feature which allows you to meet some of our amazing volunteers, who make great things (and Golden Beginnings) happen every day. Linda Barr
I recently adopted a 9 year male golden named Cody and
we volunteer at the various Meet and Greet Events held throughout Houston.
I have been fortunate to establish long lasting relationships with different
members of this wonderful organization. If you want to meet incredible
goldens and their rescuers, please come out to some of our many events
or better yet – become a volunteer!
Ann Burke
Gina Craig, Henri and Tatum
Fostering was the best therapy for a broken heart and I soon found myself adopting a one year old male who I named Henri. It was such an adventure to have a dog so different from Sophie, but then again as loving and loyal as she had always been to me. Five months later I adopted a 6-week old female and named her Tatum. Henri adored her and I was thrilled to have two dogs for the first time since I was a little girl. Tatum has grown up to be very much like Sophie, independent and full of herself!! I find it such a privilege to be responsible for Henri and Tatum and a privilege to be associated with a group like GBGRR. I've met so many people who are dedicated and devoted to rescuing goldens and I am honored to call them my friends. 
I encourage anyone who has looked at our site and thought "how can I help" to come meet us and see all of the different volunteering opportunities that this group has to offer. Even if you don't have a rescued golden, but want to help, come help us educate the public on the responsibilities and realities of owning a golden. To say that volunteering for GBGRR is a rewarding experience is an understatement. It is truly a joy and something that I look forward to doing for years to come! Gina is GBGRR's volunteer coordinator and also volunteers
on the adoption team. Henri and Tatum volunteer at various Meet
and Greets (and also provide background noise when Gina is on
the phone with prospective adopters!).
We have been a GBGRR Foster Family for about 2 years so far. We’ve always had multiple dogs and cats over the years - some have been rescues and some have been from a wonderful, very responsible Golden Retriever breeder. Some were purebred, some were mixes, but all have been very much loved.
We fell in love with her at first sight, but we were still recovering from the loss of our own beloved dogs and weren’t sure we were ready yet to adopt, so when a prospective family became interested in her we made arrangements for them to come to our home to meet her. They saw the same wonderful things in Lissa that we did, and decided to adopt her immediately. The family included two young children, however, and Lissa would have to remain calm and quiet during her heartworm treatment, so the decision was made to leave her with us until she completed her treatment. She stayed with us for the next two months until she was ready to go to her new home.
Through our involvement with Golden Beginnings we have met a group of wonderful, caring people who often go above and beyond in the task of helping Goldens. Some volunteers help with intake and transportation, some with adoptions, some with organizational needs, and some, like us, help with fostering. Fostering can be heartbreaking, and is not for everyone. People often ask us how we can bear to give up a dog we have nursed through an illness or taken through the dangers of heartworm treatment. The only answer we can give is that if we didn’t open our hearts and our home to them, and didn’t let them go on to their Golden Beginnings, we would be denying other Goldens a chance to have the kind of life all dogs deserve. Fostering is one of the most rewarding things we have ever
experienced, and the joys of fostering always outweigh the heartaches.
We intend to continue fostering, and can only hope that other families
will feel the same way so that there will always be a place for every
Golden in need.
On Christmas day 2000, I adopted Abby as a 5-week old puppy, and that is when I fell in love with Golden Retrievers. A couple of years later, a 2 year old golden in pretty bad shape ended up at my house. He didn't even look like a golden the day he arrived. I fostered him independently and took him through heartworm treatment. One of my co-workers adopted him and he has been the perfect companion. I use to look at the GBGRR website all the time. I am currently on the adoption team, which is very rewarding
and a great way to meet new people who love goldens. There are so many
ways to volunteer for this great organization, and we can always use
people with a little bit of time here and there.
Midge Leonard
Other than rescue, I do have a full time job in benefits administration, am active in my church including singing in the choir. I grew up in North Carolina , the youngest of four children – I have three older brothers scattered across the country. After college, I lived in Savannah and Atlanta, GA, then was transferred to Huntsville, AL where I got my first golden retriever, Max, in 1995. We had a border collie growing up but when I decided to get my first dog as an adult, I knew I wanted a golden – because of their looks, but mostly their personality. I’ve been owned by 3 so far, with Max waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge . I have lived in Katy for 12 years, moving here from Huntsville in 1997. And finally, I am also owned by a small mixed breed named Bailey who was also supposed to just be a foster dog! She is an affectionate mix who keeps the big boys in check! Midge is GB's foster coordinator and has fostered over
25 dogs for GBGRR!
I (Robin) am on the Adoption Team, and Randy and I have provided a foster home for several Goldens for Golden Beginnings. We also try to pitch in wherever help is needed. People often speak of finding their passion, and in Golden Retriever rescue we have found ours. It is a privilege to be part of this wonderful organization. The volunteers are all incredible, wonderful people; and it is amazing to play a role in changing the lives of the Goldens in our care and in the people's lives who adopt them. We got involved in rescue after losing our first Golden, Reyna, very suddenly to hemangiosarcoma. A home without a Golden was intolerable! We discovered Golden Beginnings while searching for an adult Golden to adopt. We moved out of state a short time later, but the urge to help grew stronger by the day. We believe that our beloved Reyna was somehow pushing us, and everything we do now for Golden Beginnings will always be in her honor. She patiently and lovingly taught us how to love this breed (actually she ran our household!). She will always be the one who started it all for us. I contacted Cil Henson at Golden Beginnings the same day we knew we were returning to Houston. Long before the boxes were unpacked, I was volunteering at my first GB event: the 2007 annual picnic. We are currently owned by two fabulous rescued Goldens: Annie (age 8) and Cinda (age 7), as well as by four-year-old Brandy who was raised from a puppy. We are also owned by 10-year-old Charlie, a rescued Shih Tzu, who can hold his own around his much bigger sisters. Not only are Robin and Randy an integral and much-loved
part of this group, but Robin is also "the Golden Blogger" and her thoughtful
and insightful blog
for GB chronicles the world of rescue and appears regularly at chron.com.
And her intarsia woodwork Golden Retrievers are a hit at our fundraisers.
There's plenty of talent in this family, as Randy creates golden-themed
designs through DesignsbyMillers, that benefit GB.
The Moodys: Scott,
Jen, and Laureli (age 5) After losing our 12-year old Golden, Pete, our house was so weird without the pitter-patter of four paws. Before long, we started looking at shelter dogs online, read their bios, but just didn't think there was another dog in the world that would be as special as Pete. After about six months we came across the Golden Beginnings website and decided to foster for a while to get our feet wet again. Within days we had Watson at our house. He had a sad story, was heartworm positive, and would be fostering with us for a few months for sure. It didn't take long to fall in love with him. We kept trying to remember we're "just" fostering, but it was no use. Watson is such a loverboy - his head-hugs sealed the deal and we finally admitted that we were not going to give him up. (When this happens they call you a foster failure!) Since then we (with Watson's help) have fostered many other goldens (without failing!). As hard as it can be to say goodbye to them, it's so very heart warming to be a part of finding their forever homes. Being a part of this amazing group of big-hearted golden retriever lovers is very rewarding. We regularly attend the monthly "Meet & Greets" (often with current foster and Watson in-tow), and are very proud to be a part of all the good that comes of this group's endless efforts. 
For anyone who has a little extra room in their house (and
heart) that they can share for a while, I highly recommend becoming
a foster family. Our five year old told me recently, "Mom, we rescue
golden retrievers. We're rescuers, that means we're heroes! ...Even
though we can't fly." (The only wings required are angel wings.) If
you're looking to add more meaning and purpose to your life, without
adding endless hours to your already busy lives, this could be a good
match for you. (We work full time and have busy lives ourselves. GB
is wonderful about matching fosters with the right foster families.)
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In
1974, I was fortunate enough to be adopted by an 8 week old male golden,
I named Linus. When Linus reached the age of 12, I started thinking
about adopting another golden. As luck would have it, I was shopping
at Town and Country Mall one Saturday and discovered Citizens for Animal
Protection (CAPS) was holding an Adoption Day. That is when I observed
Lucy, a 5 to 6 year old female golden, waiting patiently, trying to
get people’s attention, while they took home puppies and the younger
dogs. It broke my heart to witness this, and so I decided to adopt her.
I began volunteering with Lucy in CAPS' Pet Therapy Program. Each month,
Lucy and I visited Golden Age Nursing Home or Shriners’ Hospital for
Children. The smiles she brought to the many senior citizens and children
we visited were priceless and reinforced how much of a difference we
made in their lives. 
As Lucy approached her 13th birthday and I had lost my 5 year old male golden, Logan, to cancer, I decided it was time to adopt another golden. I named my next golden Murphy, and he was a typical 2 year old rescued male golden; not neutered, heartworm positive, with no obedience training, found by a good Samaritan on a busy Houston street. I was very blessed to have Murphy for 12 years. 
Shortly after Golden Beginnings was formed, I decided to contact them so I could start volunteering. Over the years, I have been part of the Hot Line Team, the Adoption Team and the Public Events/Public Education Team. In addition, I have helped transport dogs, volunteered at fundraising events, fostered, conducted home visits and applied for and obtained grants. Volunteering with Golden Beginnings has enabled me to meet some of the most loving and dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to rehabilitate and nurture not only the physical challenges of our rescues, but also the spirit of some of these dogs. 
I’ve been a member of GB almost since it began 10 years ago and am a good example of what people can do if they want to volunteer but can’t always foster. Over the years, I’ve done marketing, public relations, grant writing, public education, transported dogs from the shelter to their foster homes, chaired the annual picnic, created (along with fellow GB volunteer Glenn Perrine), the successful online Christmas Tree fundraiser, organized volunteers for the booth at the Reliant Dog show, and written articles about Golden Beginnings for publications such as: Houston PetTalk Magazine, the online magazine Animal Attractions, and the national magazine Golden Retriever News.
So as you can see, there are a lot of different types of activities you can volunteer for depending upon your skills and what you enjoy doing. The goldens in the photos are my 13 ½ year old rescue girl, Jennie, and my 4 year old boy, Scout. I’ve had Jennie since she was 6 months old. She was someone’s Christmas puppy that was cute and fluffy then four months later, after no obedience training by her owners, she was knocking down the toddler in the family and they no longer wanted her. Scout is currently being shown in the conformation ring, does agility, has his Junior Hunter title and we’re training for his Senior Hunter title.
I remember making the decision to go meet rescue. It was 2 months after
I had lost my beautiful golden, Sophie, to kidney failure. I woke up that
morning excited at the possibility of helping goldens in need. I drove
to the event and seconds after I got out of my car I started crying and
I thought "I can't do this". Before I knew it I was talking to volunteers
and telling them about the dog who had made me laugh for almost 8 years
and how her loss had created a giant void in my life that I could have
never imagined the day I adopted her. I started making plans to volunteer
and eventually to foster.
We
had talked about fostering for a rescue organization for quite a while,
but had never done anything about it. Then, in less than 2 years, we
lost four dogs to various health problems. We were left with one lonely
Golden boy. We decided to apply to adopt a rescue Golden from Golden
Beginnings, and while we were filling out the Adoption form, we decided
we might as well fill out the Foster Family form also, just in case
it took a while to find just the right Golden for us. There were plenty
of rescues that needed foster homes, as always, so very shortly after
submitting the forms we were contacted and asked if we were ready for
our first foster dog. Lissa arrived just a day or two later. She was
a beautiful, young red girl with a great personality! She was not spayed
yet, and was also heartworm positive so she would have to go through
surgery followed by heartworm treatment.
We had truly fallen in love with her, and if she had not been adopted
so quickly we would probably have been “Foster Failures” and kept her
as a part of our family. It was hard to give her up, but we knew that
the family who adopted her would give her a wonderful home and would
spoil her in the way that she deserved, so off she went for her Golden
Beginning.
I
thought, when my son goes off to college, I want to be a foster home
for this rescue. Then I met the love of my life, Danny, and he had a
Dachshund named Sammy. Abby and Sammy got along great, and we were a
new pack. It took some time for me to convince Danny that he wanted
to foster Golden Retrievers. Then in July 2007 we got our first GBGRR
foster. We have fostered a few, but in February 2008 Toby came to us
as a foster. We weren't looking for a third dog, but we couldn’t let
him go, and he is the perfect addition to our family. Toby is now a
registered pet partner through Delta Society.
Cil
Henson is the heart and soul of Golden Beginnings. She is currently
the president and has been with the organization for 9 years. Tireless
in her compassion and her devotion to rescue and education, Cil is best
summed up by the comments of some of us GB volunteers who work alongside
her: “Cil is the greatest advocate for rescued goldens that I’ve ever
met, and is an inspiration to us all,” “Her infectious enthusiasm and
positive outlook set the tone for the whole group,” “No one can even
imagine how much Cil gives of herself to our group, I have such a great
respect for her judgment and her ability to remain optimistic, always
working towards a ‘golden beginning’!” “She’s the best friend a golden
in need could have!”
My name is Midge and I’m GB’s Foster Coordinator. I first
got involved with GB about 5½ years ago when I was looking to add a
second golden retriever to my family. After meeting 
Surfer,
entrepreneur, and proprietor of Bayou City Seafood, Chris Mannery is
one of GB's biggest sponsors. Along with the "boys," his five beautiful
goldens, Chris is often seen lending his support at Golden Beginnings
events. He generously contributes not only his time, but wonderful food
and meals for GB dinners and receptions. Chris and the boys also support
a variety of animal welfare groups, like Citizens for Animal Protection,
and they bring joy and smiles when they do nursing home visits. Thank
you Chris, Justice, Thor, Nanook, Zeus, and Glacier for all you do for
GB!
