Golden Years came about thanks to a dream Shirley Thomas had about opening a rescue for senior malamutes. Carol was working for another malamute rescue in 1999 and was asked to confirm the breed of malamutes that had just been pulled from a horrendous puppy mill situation. One of those dogs was a nine year old named Sheila. Sheila was placed several times but was always returned because she just couldn't adjust to living in a home. Shirley learned about Sheila and offered to take her in. Carol learned where Sheila ended up and wanted to go visit her. She emailed Shirley and drove from Grand Rapids to Muskegon and took her five month old puppy up too. Shirley told Carol about her dream to open a rescue for senior malamutes and after a long discussion Carol offered to help set up and maintain a website. Oh what a journey these two women ended up on! From five outdoor kennels, to nine, to a huge 10 kennel indoor outdoor kennel built from scratch, to big pet expos and small, good times and rough stretches, hundred of fundraisers, etc. Golden Years placed over 180 dogs from 2000 to 2021. The women weren't getting any younger and Shirley developed some major health issues in 2019. They decided to change the mission up a bit and focus on breed education, assisting owners who needed to rehome their malamutes, working on referrals and to stop taking in new dogs. Golden Years stands behind all of their dogs they place so if one needed a new home they would be taken back no questions but would have to find a foster home or be kenneled until a new home could be found. In July of 2020 Golden Years had a new chapter present itself, one that has Carol actively participating in helping Alaskan Malamutes find new homes. On the Golden Years Facebook group, a plea was posted about two eight year old malamutes in Colorado that were in danger of being dumped in a shelter because their owners were divorcing. The president of another Michigan rescue group posted that they could help but transport had to be arranged. At the same time, a former adopter of a Golden Years Mal had applied for a dog through Few Steps From Home Animal Rescue in Gladwin MI and put Carol down for a reference. That reference call turned into a three hour conversation with the FSFH adoption coordinator. Carol researched the group and noted they had the same ethics and professional operating plan as Golden Years. They also have placed a lot of Malamutes over the years. Carol called Heather (the President of FSFH) and offered to sponsor the vet expenses for the two Mals coming from CO. She also offered to cross post the Mals on the Golden Years PetFinder site. At that moment a new partnership was formed between Golden Years and Few Steps From Home Rescue. Golden Years is assisting with vet expenses for the malamutes and giving them a lot more exposure since folks looking for a malamute would not think to check with an all breed rescue like FSFH but will find us and their available malamutes.
Kent City MI 49330 | 28 miles away
Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue is a 501c3, Non-Profit Organization. We are funded entirely by donations and run by the hearts of our Volunteers who are dedicated to rescuing Boston Terriers from shelters and individuals and finding them permanent homes. We have no shelter, our rescued Bostons are fostered in our homes until they find their new loving, responsible, lifelong homes.
Kent City MI | 28 miles away
We are Forever Pets, a private, local, dog and cat rescue and adoption organization. We have our Michigan non-profit and 501c3 status. Working only through foster homes, we have the ability to get to know all of our adoptable animals and use that knowledge to help place the pet into a well fitting household. By not having a facility, we keep our costs low, however, it does limit the number of ani
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