Operation Istanbul: Our Rescue Mission of Love Continues
Our RESCUE MISSION OF LOVE continues for abandoned Golden Retrievers from Istanbul
As you all know, we are committed to helping Golden Retrievers by giving them a second chance to live with loving, forever families. We will always continue to help Goldens throughout Canada first and foremost ~ no matter what. Fortunately, we have the necessary resources, golden-hearted volunteers and processes in place to rescue Golden Retrievers worldwide, while consistently fulfilling our commitment to help every single Golden in need in our backyard… wherever that backyard happens to be.
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported our rescue initiative in Istanbul. We have been touched by your thoughtful posts, calls, emails, donations, and encouragement to continue our Rescue Mission of Love.
The rescue effort in Istanbul is a natural progression for Golden Rescue as we are called upon to broaden our reach throughout Canada and beyond our borders.
There are many homeless dogs in Turkey and not enough room in the shelters for all of them. Because there is no shelter euthanasia and few adoptions in Turkey, dogs either live out their lives in a shelter or are put on the streets or in the forests after they are spayed or neutered and given rabies vaccines. But Golden Retrievers don’t survive well on the streets. They are not good pack animals and won’t fight back, so many are attacked by other dogs and their survival depends on people helping them.
We travelled to Istanbul to see first-hand the fate that had befallen more than 700 of these beautiful creatures. In all good conscience, we had to step up, joining our U.S. counterparts in getting the Goldens out of shelters and off the streets. And so began our Rescue Mission of Love which is currently underway.
Keep in mind that we are a single breed operation…we can only rescue Golden Retrievers according to our charitable licence. We need to emphasize that rescuing Goldens from Istanbul does not, and will never, replace what we will continue to do for our Goldens throughout Canada and for that matter, any Golden within our reach.
In addition to finding homes for the Golden Retrievers from Istanbul, we will also continue to:
- Work with shelters anywhere in Canada who provide us with tips, leads, and Goldens who have come into their shelters for help,
- Rescue Goldens from Kijiji, Petfinder, and other sites, and
- Rescue Goldens who are surrendered by their owners.
We have hundreds of adoption applications and so many kind-hearted potential adopters waiting for their chance to change the life of a rescued Golden. Expanding our operation into Istanbul and other far-reaching areas of the world, while continuing our work in Canada, allows us to match a greater number of patiently-waiting adopters with their new furry family member.
We have wrapped our arms around our continually-expanding responsibilities and our hearts are open to all the possibilities.
So, our mission continues and we are elated to announce that on January 14th, we will welcome 18 more Golden Retrievers from Istanbul to our Golden Rescue family…a family that includes the 2,300 Goldens who have already been rescued. The Board of Directors decided on this initiative after extensive due diligence, including a trip to Istanbul and consultation with many key volunteers and supporters.
We hope you will share in our excitement about our latest rescue mission and will continue to check our website for updates and heartwarming stories about all of our rescued Goldens.
Click here to donate to our Rescue Mission of Love ~ Operation Istanbul