I first met Daisy as a puppy and a patient. It was love at first sight!

Daisy was surrendered to RAG of AZ in September of 2024 after being diagnosed with Puppy Strangles, which is an auto immune disease. Puppy Strangles is considered to be idiopathic, meaning the cause is unknown, and the disease can appear spontaneously. This rare disease occurs mainly in puppies, hence the name, and is rarely seen in older dogs. The most common signs are facial swelling with hair loss and is treated with high doses of a steroid medication.

Daisy made a full recovery and is happily living the “golden life” with her adoptive family.

In all my years as a dog owner and vet, I never considered owning a golden, but Daisy has made me a believer! She is gentle, playful, frighteningly bright, and an absolute joy to be with 24/7. She has two canine companions at home, Rosie and Bagel. Rosie is 10 years her senior, but the two of them were BFF’s from Day 1!

My love and my family’s love for Daisy knows no bounds, she is the perfect dog at the perfect time! I don’t think I could imagine life without Daisy, she is everything I could have hoped for! Thank You RAG of AZ!!!!!!!!!

It had been over a decade since we lost our wonderful 14-year-old English Labrador, and after much consideration, we decided to open our home and hearts to another pup and applied. After being approved, it was several months before being notified that a breeder’s pregnant female was on her way to Arizona. Yes, we’d gladly adopt a female puppy! That was the start of a wonderful new chapter in our life.

When we first saw Bella at six weeks, we instantly knew we made the correct decision. It was only a matter of selecting a name matching her cuteness and preparing our yard and home for her arrival.

We knew Bella was meant for us since she was born on our wedding anniversary! What a fantastic anniversary gift.

As with all pups, she had a curious mind and loved to eat, play, and sleep in that order. We elected to send her to puppy school for two weeks, and she graduated with honors!

A year later, she has grown into a beautiful golden girl. She loves being outdoors, chasing quail from our yard, or watching the golfers behind our home. She’s become best friends with many dogs and people in our neighborhood. She particularly loves one neighbor who welcomes her with a biscuit.

Topping off her first year, she was selected as Miss July and named the official mascot of our favorite Italian restaurant, Ciao Bella. We named her after the restaurant.

Thank you, RAG of AZ!

Teddy Bear, now almost 2 years old, came to us when he was barely nine weeks old and has been a complete joy. He loves to chase the shadows of the summer butterflies on the ground and swim in the pool. I think his favorite season is definitely summer!

He has done so well with all his training and behaves around people, other dogs, and in the house. He does occasionally still have a case of the “zoomies” but we tire him out with fetch, swimming, or a game of chase. He also plays with his toys independently which is hilarious to watch. He has learned to throw his toys for himself and sometimes he just holds a toy between his paws whilst chewing on it.

Teddy Bear is a great joy and we love him very much. We are very grateful to the RAG volunteers for bottle feeding Teddy Bear and caring for him his first nine weeks of life. He has a forever home and family.

My name is Buddy. I am four years old and I am a really good dog.

My first two years of life were hard. My previous adopters did not understand me and returned me to Rescue A Golden. The volunteers at the rescue did not give up on me and saved my life.

I would not eat indoors, and I spent a lot of time circling the backyard. I spent most of my days preferring to be alone.

In May 2024, I was fostered by my new humans but, after two weeks, they knew they could never let me go and promised they would never let anyone hurt me again.

Slowly, I am coming out of my shell and learning how to trust humans. I eat all my meals inside now, and I am always ready to snuggle. I love going on long walks and meeting new dogs. I am still fearful and am working hard to be the best dog I can be. And what’s with all the yellow balls they keep tossing to me?

The volunteers at Rescue A Golden did not give up on me, and I know my humans won’t either. There are so many dogs who just need a chance. Please consider supporting Rescue A Golden of Arizona to help make life better for dogs like me.

Love, Buddy

Pretzel has many nicknames, Sweetie Belle, Pretzie, Pretzel-tina, Tina, P-dawg, Teeny tiny, Smoochie and Nugget, to name a few. Her middle name, Marietta, is the Ohio town where she was rescued.

When guests walk in, Pretzel grabs a toy and runs to them. If she could, she would say, “Hey there, wanna play with me, wanna play?” Pretzel’s favorite game is Tug-o-war. Only the strongest most durable toys can survive!

She gets the zoomies at least once every day, then promptly takes a nap.

She obeys daddy and is always sweet for him. But for mom and siblings she shows her salty side grabbing shoes, tea towels, pillows or decorations and holds them in her mouth looking as though she is saying, “Wanna play?, wanna play?”

She enjoys walks. Sometimes we have to spell, W-a-l-k, so she doesn’t know what we’re saying. However, we think she is catching on to that!

Pretzel gives the best kisses. She lovingly licks salt off our legs and feet all the time. If you think that’s yucky just imagine our son, who lets her kiss him on the mouth!

She loves her daily Greenie and various dog treats. As for human food, she likes frozen mangoes and green beans, yogurt, bananas, blueberries and peanut butter. She also loves refreshing ice cubes!

You usually find her happily chewing on a stick or just holding one. She’s our best furry friend and we love her tons…which reminds us, time to vacuum up more fur!

Hi, 2-year-old Biscuit here!

I was born in Ohio with a breeder and my future seemed uncertain. I didn’t know how long I had to wait for someone to love me and to give me a place to call home. Then, the best day of my life came in August 2023 when I was 5 months old! Grateful to RAG of AZ, I found my forever home here! But why was I still there at that age?

Well, people must have thought I was too petite, timid, fearful, or simply not as sweet or cute as my siblings. Having been here with my family for almost 2 years, I still bark frantically at any human (except my mom who works from home and is with me 24/7), any noise or anything new to me. I am still too afraid to leave my house, not even stepping out to the garage or front porch. But she guarantees me that I will overcome my fear one day. So, I am really taking my time now, enjoying my privilege of still being a “puppy”! Despite all this, I am super SWEET and CUTE now and have even won myself a calendar page!!!

Now, every day I snuggle with my Golden sister, Ginger and roughhouse with my Golden brother, Butter. This is the kind of life every Golden should have. Thank you, RAG of AZ, I am forever grateful to you for choosing the best family for me and only me!!

Love,
Biscuit

Bodi – The Reluctant Foster Fail

Bodi was born in Texas, where he was adopted into his first home. At seven months old, he was adopted again—this time by someone in Arizona. After four months, they turned him over to Rescue A Golden of AZ.

Enter “the Bobs,” board members and masters of gentle persuasion, who convinced me to foster this sweet boy due to a lingering paw issue. A couple visits to an orthopedic vet later, and we were on the road to recovery. Spoiler alert: fostering lasted about as long as his healing, because Bodi had already claimed his forever home.

At two years old, he’s the definition of calm (unless there’s water involved—then he’s all in!). He runs like the wind, swims like a champ, and somehow has a very specific distrust of boxes and plastic. Lawn mowers? Totally fine. Go figure.

Now he’s healthy, happy, and living his best life—a proud foster fail with a heart of gold.

Happy New Year! I’m Rosie, but call me Audrey…Hepburn, that is. I have her style. Everyone who meets me is charmed by the oh-so-chic way I cross my legs.

Mom looked for me for two whole years! My predecessor, Riley, was another rescue dog from Rescue A Golden, and from what I’ve heard he was truly the Cary Grant type. So suave that when mom wrote her memoir Riley figured prominently in her story…the golden guy who got her through medical mayhem and her introduction to widowhood. With Riley gone she now longed for another companion, and she searched and searched and searched.

Rescue a Golden made my mom’s dream come true. We are now a family, and beautifully suited for each other. I am a five-year-old retired mama dog. The mellow type. I am petite and weigh only 48 pounds. We live a quiet life, but I don’t miss having walks because we play with squeaky balls and have lots of mind games. Plenty of exercise for me, and easy for my mom’s back.

Here’s the best part…I get to be a studio dog. I have an extra bed in her art studio. I am the official greeter. The students are enchanted when I elegantly cross my legs, and I have them trained to bring me treats.

My wonderful Rescue A Golden foster family prepared me for kindness and love. My mom says I was worth the two-year search. We know we both have struck gold!

Mariah and her siblings were born into rescue on May 10, 2024. Momma Ella, a puppy mill rescue from the midwest, took wonderful care of her six girls and two boys.

Since Mariah was born on my birthday, well let’s just say the rest is history! She captured my heart from day 1. You see, I fostered this family for 9 weeks!

The name Mariah means: “rebellion,” “beloved” and “wished-for-child”. In reality she is named after my great grandmother, Amanda Mariah. My great-grandmother was 4’11” and raised 11 children in the foothills of northern West Virginia. Mariah is living up to her name, she is truly an independent soul who marches to her own drummer!

I should have known, when at 8 weeks of age she ate the puppy collars off of 2 of her siblings and we spent the day in the ER, that I was in for a roller coaster ride with her! She has also eaten earrings, torn apart an extra-large dog bed, discovered the kitchen counter and loves anything paper that she can tear apart! She has been more challenging than my last 3 male puppies, all put together!

Mariah is also very sweet and loving and spends her days playing with her big sisters Mia and Penny. She also loves playing with her sisters Margo and Bella, who live in Prescott. She runs like the wind and always has a big smile on her face!

Thank you RAG of AZ for bringing Mariah to us!