serves South Carolina from the midlands area. For more information contact:

Mary Williams
PO Box 3545
Columbia, SC 29230-3545
803-622-1083
email: starseekergr@gmail.com

Read about Sandy, our emergency adoptee.
George's Happy Ending

Happy Endings

 

 

 

 

Email Mary at  starseekergr@gmail.com  and have your pups Happy Ending added to this page!

 

Jake

Hi Mary!

Jake and I are going to have ice cream to celebrate our anniversary and his Gotcha day!!!  Here he is to say hello!

- Sali McCahill

 

 

Abby
Dear Mary
 
Abby, who as you know was Addie from MidlandsGoldenRescue and who I call The Gamecock Golden since she's from South Carolina lives with me now. She's a lovely sweet dog. We don't know how old she is since she was an adult  "drop-off" that you saved at Midlands Golden Rescue and gave to my daughter and whom I took her from my daughter. 
 
I like to think Abby lives a dream life here in West by God Virginia. She sleeps by our bed at night, keeps my wife company in the house all day while I'm at work, and walks with me every evening and every weekend day for 2 1/2 - 4 miles. In summer we walk the neighborhood and downtown streets, but in winter we walk through the snowy woods and jump over the frozen creeks. And of course her favorite thing is to retrieve balls from the Kanawha River , a large river which runs through this capital city just like the Broad River through your Columbia. Oh and I'll brag a little, she won 2nd place in the city's dock diving tournament and got her picture in the paper.
 
I'm so proud of Abby I had to send you her picture.

- Glen Goldfarb

 

 

Sultan

Well hi there,

I haven't written in a while.  It is hard to believe that I have been here for 3 months.  So much is going on.  Let me bring you up to date.

We take a lot of long walks each day.  I know where my house is now so I can find it if I get loose.  I also know what car is mine, too.  We go for lots of car rides - which I just LOVE!!

I have been to see a real nice lady, they call her Dr. Jessica.  She is really nice.  The first time I went to see her, she told me I passed my heartworm test, I guess I studied real hard!  I have to take some yucky medicine - Dr. Jessica said that I still have demadantic mange.  She said that it is getting much, much better.

Mom and Dad took a vacation, so I got to stay in a place with a lot of other dogs.  It was OK, I guess.  A nice man took me in the yard and played ball with me a lot.  I was happy to see Mom and Dad, though.

I have been playing a lot.  We run around the house and I have a lot of toys (and a cat) to play with.  We also go in the backyard and run.  Sometimes I get to go to the beach.

Hope you are fine.

Love,
Sullie

 

 

Luke

Hey Mary,

I hope you are doing well.  I know it's been awhile but I wanted to update you on Luke.  He's doing great and I just couldn't love him more!  He's my baby.  We went to Carolina Beach a few weeks ago and I have attached a few pics for you to see.  Although my little prima donna does not really like getting his feet wet, he really liked the sand and more than any thing he likes being with his mom!  We had a blast.  These pics are from Fort Fisher. 

Overall, Luke has adjusted very well.  For the first couple of months he would take random shoes to bed with him when I went to work.  He never chewed them up (which was good!) but I think he needed that level of comfort while I was gone.  I knew we were making progress when I wasn't asking him on a regular basis, "Luke, where is mommy's shoe?"  I would find them in strange places.  He still likes to sleep with his head under the bed a little.  I can't figure out what that is about but I let him do his thing.  The first time I had to take him to the kennel for an overnight stay I think it was more  traumatic for me than him.  He did great!  Fortunately, I haven't had to travel for work since July, which makes us both very happy 

He is very comfortable around most strangers but seems afraid of some men.  I took him with me to get my hair cut one Saturday and he was in heaven with all the women loving on him until one man walked in and his demeanor totally changed.  He became a little pensive and hid behind me until it was time to go.  I am working on exposing him to more men.  Once he gets comfortable he is fine.

He got a totally clean bill of health from the vet and went back for a rabies booster in August.  He is still struggling a little with his skin allergies but I think I have that under control.  That's the chow in him I think.

Anyway, Luke and I are doing fine.  I hope you are as well.

Best wishes,

Suzanne Shonkwiler

 

 

Morgan Southern

Morgan, now known as Morgan Southern recently got a clean bill of health after his heartworm treatment and went to his new home in Fletcheer, NC.

Here is a picture of Morgan Southern with his new family. Who has the biggest smile???

 


Old and New
Sheri and Vic Scarborough (right), fosters for Chip and Penny, visit the dogs and their new owner, Jeremy Benjamin.

 
Finn

Dear Mary,
It's hard to believe that nearly a year has passed since we adopted Finn. Last September, we decided to think about getting a dog- no hurry, but after seeing Finn's photo posted on the site and staring into those big dark eyes, we felt certain he was the dog for us. When Lil brought him by for our trial meeting, we opened the door and a tall, lanky, platinum blonde came charging into our house. Clumsy and not yet accustomed to his long limbs, he was like an awkward teenage boy who had grown too quickly. We were totally smitten with this charismatic dog, and you and Lil were kind enough to let us adopt him.

Shortly after bringing Finn home, we discovered he needed surgery to correct a shoulder condition. After a few weeks of no jumping or running (nearly impossible for a puppy to handle), Finn recovered fully, and he has been right as rain ever since. Finn made himself at home and got to work chewing our shoes and our couch to bits (a hobby he has outgrown, thankfully!). Despite his bad puppy habits, it didn't take long for him to work his way into our hearts and our bed. Our queen-sized mattress seems smaller since adopting Finn. Despite the much too expensive dog bed that sits on the floor of our bedroom, Finn prefers the real thing. In fact, he prefers to be wherever we are, and we try to indulge him, since we enjoy his company as well.

Finn's loves are peanut butter filled kong toys, belly rubs, trips to the river, and hogging the bed. His dislikes are having his tail brushed, his weekly bath, his feline siblings, and squirrels. We live in a dog-friendly, downtown area, where Finn likes to visit his neighborhood dog-pals. During his walks, Finn gets loads of compliments on his light-colored coat, and he eats up the attention. He grabs a rubber toy and peers out the window with an energetic tail wag whenever he sees someone approaching the house. Finn's most surprising friend has turned out to be our mailman, who Finn thinks comes to the door just to see him (I often catch the mailman making silly faces at Finn through the window, while Finn bounces around inside). Finn passed obedience school, but we suspect he would have earned a "d." He was clearly the class clown and although he learned all of the commands, he was mostly interested in playing with the other dogs.

I think we took 1000 photographs of Finn over the past year. I've included a few of our favorites. We can't imagine life without him. We can't thank you enough for allowing us to bring him home.

Sincerely, Kathleen Robbins & Ben Madden
 



      

Click on any image
for a larger view



Bailey

When I adopted Bailey (formerly Prince) in 2002 he was my first Golden Retriever. Immediately he was MINE! He follows me around and barks or whines when I'm not with him. Bailey was full of puppy energy and playfulness. Now, after 5 years, he has calmed down a little. We moved to PA and he loves chasing the squirrels, rabbits, ground hogs and deer out of our yard. He thinks he's protecting me! He loves our long walks, being petted, running free, food, napping on the furniture and most of all - me. He has taught me much about life and about Goldens. I have never regretted the decision to adopt him and I'll love him forever.

Martha Havens
 

Sandy

In August 2003 Sandy came to spend a weekend with me as a favor to Mary. She never left. She fit in right from the start with Bailey and Winnie, who was very sick. I knew when I saw her face I would keep her. Sandy is my "red" dog and a gentler, kinder dog you will never find. She reminds me of Winnie. Sandy doesn't play much with woobies or balls but she does love bones. It didn't take her long to find out that I am a sucker for those warm brown eyes. She has a very, very special place in my heart. She is now 14 and has slowed down some but still tries to keep up with Bailey. She loves our walks but asks to come home sooner than she used to. She'll follow Bailey's lead in chasing the animals out of the yard but she really doesn't mind them being there. She will stand in the yard and listen to the wind, head cocked. Sandy loves the snow and hates the thunder storms we have but knows she's safe with me. I'm forever grateful to Mary for asking me to have Sandy for the weekend!

Martha Havens
 



Hi Mary!

Just a quick note to let you know that things are going well with Shadow. He is a fabulous dog!! We have become very strong advocates of adopting an adult dog from missions.

Shadow is adjusting well to the family. He even tries to "play" with the cats! He loves the water and swims at the lake near our house often! Shadow's only complaint is that he can't sleep in the bed, but not because we haven't tried! At 98 pounds the three of us don't fit into the bed!!

We discovered on New Year's Eve that Shadow is afraid of fireworks. Who knew that such a big dog could fit into your lap!! Shadow has become such a big part of our lives that we rescheduled the place where we are going to stay on our honeymoon! We are now renting a house with a yard so Shadow can come to Cape Cod with us!

Thank you for what you do for the Golden Retriever breed. We are true believers that adopting adult dogs from rescue missions is the right thing to do. Thank you for sending Shadow to us. He completes our family!!

Sincerely,

Jennifer, Jesse and Shadow
Update on Shadow
Shadow is still such a joy to us! We have had him almost 2.5 years and love him even more now! We just recently added another member to our family, Baby Jack. Shadow is so good with the baby and lets me know when he has a stinky diaper (he sticks his nose by the baby's behind) and watches him while I am in the shower!!

Shadow is a great big brother now. See the attached pictures to see his other duty as "baby pillow".

Jen, Jesse, Shadow, and Jack.

 


 

Are YOU Y2K compliant? Max is! As far as a letter about Max...He's our healthy, happy, "humping" 105 pound bundle of joy. He loves to snack on carrots..the bigger the better. Camille and Bobby Hugg adopted Max in August of 1997 when he was almost 2 years old. He and his step-sister, a 16 year old black cat named Elizabeth Taylor, share the same address and get along well. Max's favorite hobbies are taking long walks, boating at Lake Murray and being anywhere with Camille and Bobby. He truly is the "baby" we never had and he gives us lots of love in return.

--From Camille Bradford...bless you Camille!


Dear Mary and Demi,

I thought I would take a moment to update you on Rosie.

She is settling quite well and a little more of her personality comes out everyday. We completed Dog Obedience back in March, and she fairly sailed through the classes and seemed to love going to class.

She has been swimming for the first time and loved it so much, we could hardly get her out of the water. She has also been a regular at the kids baseball games and has even come to realize that she can't chase after every ball! She is great with all the kids that come up to pet her and just loves all the attention.

We took her to the local Critter Carnival earlier this month , where she and Mike competed in the obstacle course. She won a blue ribbon,(of course everyone who entered did), but we think she did the best! Her latest trick is fetching the morning paper.

So anyway, just to let you know, we love her and she seems to love us. Thank you for all the hard work you do for these wonderful dogs. We tell everyone that is looking for a pet about your group. We just don't understand how anyone could have mistreated our sweet Rosie.

Attached are some recent pictures so you can see what she has been up to.

Nancy Lambert


Nick was adopted on Feb. 6th..Yesterday, March 5th Nick received his CGC and TDI! He is our first rescue that is officially a TDI dog!
I am so proud of Nick and his owners - Rick and Linda Lippert.
A wonderful picture from the Vaglio family of Jamie.

Jamie was one of the dogs that I got in from the puppy mill that was shut down in Georgia.
Jan Ervin sent this wonderful picture of her girls, Snickers and Glory.
Both are Midlands Golden Rescues!

 

Mandy

Mandy
Midlands' Special Girl from Foothills GR Rescue

She and I stayed up late last night getting her cleaned up and comfortable. She is a love and gets along with everyone here. She never wants to leave my sight. If I am missing her, I find her either in her crate or in front of it.

She hasn't sat yet..she either stands or lays down..I think she finds it hard to sit. I worked a long time on her and very carefully. Her ears were a bit oily but otherwise clean. I took a ton of mats and fuzzy hair off. Then worked on her feet. She has no pigment any where. At least last night she didn't. I battled and got all the mats from between her toes and hair off her feet. They are so tender as she has not pads to speak of..they are as thick as our skin. It hurts her to just walk..but she does manage to prance lightly anyway. Today they were a bit darker and a tiny bit better..time will fix this. I clipped her VERY long hooked nails..as hard as I tried not to, I did quick one..her blood was light pink..so her hemoglobin is lousy and it is not clotting well either. I will be watching this closely.

Then I went to work on her body..full of sores and mats (we will not discuss the stench...not smell...STENCH) I finally got all of the mats off. I had to clip because her skin is tender and I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't use a clipper because her skin is so thin that I could have easily cut her badly. Lastly, I did her tail..I have never seem a tail this bad...most dogs that I get in in this condition are not crate bound so their tail only has clumps of mats..hers was a solid mat..about 4 inches and one inch wide to the bone..I was terrified that I would cut her tail..but with time and patience, I got it all.

Then we went for the bath..and she was absolutely terrified of the sprayer. I had to sit in the tub with her in my lap to get her clean. It hurt to touch her as she was just literally skin and bones. To explain how thin she is..I could take my thumbs and index fingers and overlap them when loosely putting them around her waist. I loaded her up with conditioner and now she feels very soft and smells tolerable...The conditioner will also inhibit what fuzzy coat she has left from matting again. She is eating well and has normal but only a bit loose stools.

She is not my shadow...she is my wraith...and I love her already.....sigh...

Despite all she has been through, she is now a smiling happy girl and barks when I go into the front yard and leave her behind the fence. She now sleeps in a crate with a rug on the bottom, then a big fleece and last night I couldn't keep her from shivering after the bath..(didn't want to upset her by using a dryer)..so I hand dried her and wrapped her in a big blanket when she went to bed with lots of toys she picked out...Her favorite is Dawn's devil that she was awarded at the Parade of Titleholders at the National.

Oh..she also has no muscle tone and has a very difficult time walking too. She can't get up the two steps on to the porch. I have walked her up and down the ramp. She is learning quickly and is very good at not over-stressing her own body.

Thank you all for donating the money for Foothills..they will need it and do need it!!

I will not be sending a bill for Mandy's care...Midlands will gladly take that responsibility. She will not be going to the vet for a week or so. I want her to have as little stress as possible for a few days.

hugs,

mary






Jodie

Hi Mary!
 
    It's been a while, but wanted to let you know that Jodie is still doing well.   She's not terribly photogenic, but I was finally able to get a picture where she didn't look sad.  She has the "white mask" now, but she's always to patrol the yard with me.  Squirrels, birds, chipmunks and lizards don't stand a chance when she's on duty. 
 
    She's still very much afraid of loud noises and thunder, but (as you can tell from the attached picture) she knows there is comfort to be shared, even when we aren't able to be home with her. 
 
    In general, she's healthy, happy, and always a pleasure to have around.  Her tail is generally up and wagging, and she even approaches visitors to our home instead of hiding in the other room!
 
    Thanks, Mary, for letting us have her.   She's been a wonderful addition to our home and hearts. 
 
Best regards from all of us:  Pat, Bill, Jodie and Murphy Heider

 

Addie

Dear Mary,

I just wanted to update you on Addie.  Thank you for letting us adopt
Addie!  She has been with us for a little over a year now and we cannot
imagine life without her now.  She is so sweet and very willing to
please!  She did wonderful in her beginning agility class.  She has
helped get Blaze back in shape too.  They play very well together.  She
loves getting brushed every night and will even push Blaze out of the
way to be brushed first.  She loves to swim with Blaze at the river,
lake or beach and lives to chase the ball.  She also likes to destroy
woobies, but she never chews up things she is not supposed to have. 
She gets along well with our cats.  Her coat has come in and is long
and shiny too.  Thank you for what you do for golden retrievers :)

Laura and Michael
 

 

Jake

See Jake's story and some fabulous pictures at Jake's website