Can you believe it’s almost Fall? You can tell by the Halloween decorations that are already on display in many stores and of course, the smell of pumpkin spice in the air…everywhere! I am looking forward to cooler days and even cooler nights. Partly so my dogs and I can get back to our normal walking routine and not have to worry about burning paws but also because we’re heading back into our busy fundraising season. We’ve had more veterinary expenses than usual the past few months taking care of several Goldens with some pretty serious health issues. Each case has taken a big toll on our bank account and we hope to replenish it with some of our upcoming events.

Fall is the time we begin to sell our 2020 Rescue A Golden of AZ calendar featuring 15 rescued Goldens. This year we have not one but three “oldest Goldens” to celebrate and will be featuring two “special needs” dogs. We can’t wait for everyone to grab a copy or two! 

Fall is also the season we start planning our largest fundraising event of the year, Top Golf. We are moving this year’s event to November 17th so we’re not bumping into the busy holiday season in hopes that even more people will be able to attend. Last year’s event received such great feedback that we decided toextend it this year by another hour for even more golfing fun! Start thinking of who you’ll invite to be on your team and if you don’t have a team, no worries, we will help you join another team and meet some new people! For anyone who isn’t good at golf (me!) or not sure how to play, don’t worry, Top Golf is fun for everyone, absolutely no golf experience required. No golf clubs needed, no tiny holes to aim for, no clunky golf carts!

We have a few other things going in the upcoming months too. We will elect (or re-elect) several Board seats and announce them at our Annual Meeting on October 19th which is open to all members. Keep an eye on our website and social media for more information on this event! For those in the southern parts of AZ, be sure to come see us at the Chile Festival in Tucson on September 21st!  

Again, everything we do is 100% volunteer driven and we cannot operate or save a single Golden without their help. In this quarter’s newsletter I am featuring one of our long-standing volunteers who’s held a variety of positions and currently serves as our Director of Golden Rescue. Scottie McGowan wears many different hats and spends an enormous amount of her time dedicated to rescuing as many Goldens as possible, near and far. She is the lifeblood behindour International Rescue efforts and none of the dogs coming from S. Korea, Turkey, Mexico and China would be here if not for her work! We would be hard pressed to find a volunteer as dedicated as Scottie!

Speaking of volunteers, we put a call out to add more volunteers for a variety of roles and we were overwhelmed with the response! We knew we had a lot of supporters out there but we were thrilled to see how many of you wanted to volunteer your time with us on our mission to save all the Goldens. We were able to add an additional 25+ to various teams which will help in areas such as fundraising, transporting dogs, event help, shelter walking and more. We are forever grateful to each of our volunteers whether they help once a quarter or every day. 

Heather Marcom

President

Volunteer Spotlight: Scottie McGowan