Golden Bond Rescue is a volunteer run, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of retrievers. Our mission is to find caring, adoptive homes for retrievers and retriever mixes in need and to educate the public to prevent the homeless retrievers of the future. Retrievers in need of new homes come from a variety of circumstances. Some come to us due to compelling family situations such as death, divorce, family illness, relocation or economic hardship. Others are released to rescue because of behavior problems due to lack of exercise and poor understanding of the needs of the breed. Since our beginnings in 1991, we have successfully placed over 3,500 dogs with new loving families. We would like to remind anyone interested in adopting a retriever that there is no source (including breeders, kennels, humane societies, rescue organizations) for a guaranteed perfect or pre-trained dog. Like many rescue organizations, we offer the benefits of being able to provide dogs who are already spayed or neutered, who have had a sound fundamental health examination, and whose temperament is fairly well known (since they have all lived with our foster families). Some of our dogs have not had a loving family in the past, but many have. Some may have behavioral problems, but many do not. And some need special medical care, just as most any dog will eventually. Many of our dogs need some level of training. All of our dogs need significant amounts of time, attention, patience, and love to adjust to their forever homes. Golden Bond Rescue is a resource for people who would like to give retrievers or retriever mixes a second chance in life. Golden Bond Rescue identifies a "retriever" as any breed that falls under the American Kennel Club's (AKC) retriever classification: golden retriever, Labrador retriever, Chesapeake Bay retriever, curly-coated retriever, flat-coated retriever, and Nova Scotia duck-tolling retriever.
1. Fill out the application form either online or by downloading the form and mailing it. Please note that we no longer place dogs with families with children under 10 years old. Please see Kids and Dogs for details. We also do not adopt to homes without secure fencing. Please see Fence Requirements for details. If you wish, on a separate piece of paper include any additional information you wish to share with us on life with your other dogs, your future with your new Golden, the type of Golden for which you are looking and anything else that you feel would be helpful in placing the right Golden with you. Applications are carefully screened by our Adoption Team. Our goal in making a match is that your home will become the permanent home for the Golden. Because each Golden and each adoptive family have unique needs and circumstances, our placements are NOT “first come first served.” Our goal is to match our dogs with people; not people with one of our dogs.Once your application is approved, we will work diligently with you to place a Golden in your home. We appreciate your patience with the adoption process. 2. If you complete the application by hand, please mail the application to the address below along with the $50.00 non-refundable application fee. Your application will not be processed without the $50.00 fee. 3. After securing a reference from your veterinary clinic, your application will be assigned to one of our adoption managers who will call you within a few days to discuss your application. 4. If appropriate, a home visit will be scheduled for you with one of our home visit volunteers. Please note that a home visit is not automatic; some applications are rejected as the result of the initial phone call from the adoption manager. Please note that ALL members of your family (people and canines) MUST be present during the visit. Once the visit is complete, our Adoption Team will review all your documents and decide whether or not to approve your application. 5. Assuming your application is accepted, your adoption manager will work with you to find the best Golden that we feel would be a good fit for your family. The dog’s foster parent will contact you to arrange a visit. We ask that your entire family visit the Golden, along with all dog(s) in the family. The visit may be at your home or at the home of the foster family, whichever is most convenient for both parties. Unless you have traveled over 2 hours one way to the visit, the Golden will remain in Rescue until after the visit. We ask that you wait 24 hours before contacting us as to whether you feel this is the Golden for your family to insure that you are comfortable with your decision. (Arrangements will be discussed with you if your travel time is over 2 hours.) Please understand that if the foster family feels, after this meeting, that you are not a good match for the dog you will be contacted immediately. If this happens, we will continue looking for just the right dog for your situation. 6. Please contact the foster home or your adoption team manager with your decision about the Golden within 24 hours of your visit. If you feel this is not the right Golden for you, please explain what was not “right,” to help us adjust our direction in looking for a Golden for you. If we do not hear from you within 48 hours, we’ll move on to the next family that may be the right home. 7. Adoption Fees and Agreement. If it is the right Golden for you, our adoption fees are as follows: Our adoption fees range from $350 to $1500 based on a variety of factors such as the dog's age, where they came from, veterinary procedures they've undergone, etc. As a dog becomes available for adoption, members of the Adoption Team will determine that particular dog's adoption fee and it will be posted on the dog's web page.