My Nonprofit Reviews

Hello,

I wanted to tell you about an excellent dog rescue, Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue (DVGRR). I have been involved there as a volunteer for the past several years. The staff is very dedicated in caring for all of the dogs that come to their rescue. We are in an area where there are many puppy mills and quite a few of the dogs they receive come from those puppy mills. Many come with medical problems that are taken care of before the dogs are adopted into new homes. The dogs receive socialization and some obedience training by the staff and a large group of volunteers. One of the staff members has developed a program called Project Home Life to help the teach the dogs that have never lived in a home what is like to hear and experience normal house sounds. The program also helps very shy dogs to come out of their shell and really experience a good life. Even though their name contains " Golden Retriever Rescue", they have in the past few years also taken in Labrador Retrievers and Doodles and occasionally they will also receive a few mixes. They are constantly trying to improve the facility to take even better care of all the dogs. The staff treats all of the volunteers like members of one big family. We have adopted two dogs from DVGRR and could not wish for better dogs. They do their best to make sure that they find a good home for all the of dogs that are adopted. If you are looking to adopt a dog please contact this rescue you will not be disappointed

It is hard to find the best words to describe DVGRR. Exceptional, excellent, professional, caring, loving, knowledgeable, dedicated, doing whatever it takes, and for those that remember the famous "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". I know I have left out a few I can not think of right now but as a volunteer and adopter I am very proud of this wonderful organization.
My wife and I always purchased our dogs from reputable breeders because we wanted to do the right thing since unfortunately Pennsylvania is the land of puppy mills. My wife was first introduced to DVGRR by a co-worker who was a volunteer there. My wife went to an event there called a Meet & Greet, which is held monthly to show the dogs that are ready to be adopted. It is a great opportunity for the public to come in and meet the dogs and see the great facility. My wife came home and told me about the experience and I went to the next M&G with her. I have to say we immediately were interested in helping out. We filled out the volunteer application and started helping wherever and whenever we could. I remember one of my first volunteer jobs was helping to repaint the inside kennels after a new epoxy coating had been applied over the floors in all of the kennels.
DVGRR has been in existence over 20 years first starting out with having their dogs fostered in homes. Eventually a kennel facility was purchased as more and more dogs came into the organization. They have rescued and placed over 4400 Golden Retrievers and more recently Golden Doodles and Labrador Retrievers. The dogs have 24/7 care from the staff who work several shifts a day and the onsite staff caretaker is always available for any emergency. DVGRR has instituted several programs throughout the years such as Project Home Life to help puppy mill dogs to adjust to living in a caring home. They have onsite veterinary care and every dog who comes through the facility is given needed veterinary care and baseline tests are done. All of this care benefits not only the dog but the families that adopt them. The staff and volunteers help work with the dogs to give them exercise several times a day. The staff and volunteers also help with providing the dogs with some basic obedience training so that it is an asset for the families adopting the dogs. The staff is so wonderful to work with in all matters. The staff has the difficult job of seeing some of these dogs come in from some very horrible situations but they immediately provide the necessary love and care.
A few years ago the house next to the kennel went up for sale and DVGRR needed to expand in size. With the help of a large fundraising campaign and dedicated volunteers they were able to purchase the house and renovate it completely to house senior dogs and puppy mill survivors. That facility now known as the "Sanctuary" is a wonderful place where the dogs are cared for by the staff and volunteers. DVGRR certainly hopes that all the dogs that pass through DVGRR find their forever homes, but the dogs always have a home there if needed.
The staff works very hard in making sure that all adoptions of dogs go well. If you have other dogs they set an appointment up with you to bring your dogs up to make sure the dog you are interested in adopting is a good match. We knew once we became involved we would be adopting a dog there when it was the right time for us. Just a little over a year ago we saw a dog there that we were interested in. Our two dogs at home were both getting into their senior years and we thought it might be the right time to adopt another one. We had filled out the adoption application so we expressed our interest to the adoption manager. We made an appointment and brought our dogs up to do a match with the retriever that we were interested in adopting. The DVGRR dog was carefully introduced to our two dogs and the match seemed to be perfect. We were actually able to take the retriever home with us the same day because all the medical tests and shots were already completed. Our two dogs showed their new buddy our big yard to play in. They taught her how to do what we call "yard patrol", sniffing around the perimeter of the yard for scents of bunnies and squirrels and hopefully no skunks. She is a wonderful dog that brings joy to our life everyday and much of that has to do with the care she received at DVGRR.
As with any facility like these they are constantly fundraising so that they can continue to provide excellent care for the dogs. Their latest hope to build a large unadorned pole barn so that they can have more events on site regardless of the weather. The Meet & Greets are currently held outside every month and unfortunately the weather does not always cooperate. In rain or showers or hot sun they put up portable small tents to help keep the dogs cool and dry. If there are several inches of snow on the ground they normally have to cancel which may prevent some dogs from getting adopted sooner rather then later. A large building like they are trying to fund would help in so many ways with having more events on site and normally exercising the dogs in inclement weather. My wife and I continue to support them financially as much as we can and we continue to volunteer our time.
In closing DVGRR is a wonderful organization that has an ongoing mission to care for these dogs and I can not say enough good things about them. The staff should all have earned their angel wings by now. If you are interested in adopting or helping in any way please check out their website at www.dvgrr.org