FAQs

GRR works hard to place our rescues in the most suitable homes taking into account their age, history, temperament and any special needs. In order to do this GRR prefers that you email your enquiry about the dog in which you are interested along with a completed questionnaire. The questionnaire is found on the Contact page of the website. GRR will contact you by email, advising if your preliminary application has been successful and this will be followed up by contact from a representative of GRR to arrange a convenient time to conduct a property inspection. When the property inspection is successfully completed and your application is approved, posters of the Goldies that may match your preference will be emailed as the Goldies become available for rehoming and before they are advertised on the website.

No, they are not. That page contains only some of the rescue Goldies currently in care and looking for new homes. Some of our rescues require only a minimal amount of time with a foster carer before they are assessed and ready to go to an approved family, whereas other dogs may require extensive veterinary treatment or behavioural rehabilitation depending on the circumstances from which they have come. For these reasons GRR does NOT post every rescue Goldie on that page, in fact, the VAST majority of our Goldies are rehomed to applicants already on the approved list who have been waiting for the right Goldie to come along.

GRR only rehomes dogs in NSW, the ACT and VIC. Very rarely do we rehome in other states due to lack of resources to maintain our rehoming procedures. We do keep approved questionnaires from South Australia on file and contact these applicants if we hear of a dog needing a home there.

GRR’s rehoming fee is $700 for rescues over the age of 12 months, or $800 for dogs under 12 months of age. The rehoming fee is tax deductible as GRR is a registered animal welfare charity. The rehoming fee goes towards covering the cost of desexing, vaccinating and heartworm testing as well as preventative treatment for heartworm, intestinal worms and fleas.

GRR endeavours to recover the veterinary costs associated with preparing the Goldies for adoption and whilst there is a small margin on dogs who are surrendered by families where the dogs have already been desexed this is quickly absorbed by dogs who require extensive vet care and also in routine costs such as food, all wormers, flea treatments, dog bedding, collars and leads. It would not be possible to put a dollar value on the time and effort or the incidental costs associated with rescuing the Goldies such as mileage and fuel for collecting dogs from pounds and attending vet appointments, by the team of volunteers associated with GRR, not to mention phone costs involved in the rescue and rehoming of each dog. If you are approved to adopt a Goldie from GRR you can expect your new family member to be microchipped, desexed, vaccinated, heartworm tested and on heartworm prevention, wormed for intestinal worms, clean, groomed and flea free and wearing a brand new collar and lead. You can be sure that the rehoming fee goes entirely towards the costs directly associated with the rescuing and rehoming of Golden Retrievers.

GRR is a registered animal welfare charity and is not a registered breeding kennel. GRR does not breed and only supports and encourages the purchase of puppies from Breeders who are registered with the governing canine organisation in that state e.g. Dogs NSW, Dogs VIC etc. GRR very rarely has young pups surrendered and the pups that have come into the care of GRR often have medical issues requiring surgery and ongoing veterinary care. If you and your family are looking for a pup please contact the Golden Retriever Club in your state who will be happy to help and guide you on your search for a Golden Retriever puppy

The Golden Retrievers that come into GRR’s care receive a vet check during which their hips are rotated and the movement assessed. Should GRR’s vet indicate it is warranted, x-rays are taken. All families are advised at the time of adoption that GRR is rehoming in good faith and has done its utmost to check the health and well being of each of the dogs that have come into GRR’s care. Every Golden Retriever has been vet checked and deemed fit and healthy for adoption. Any medical problems will be disclosed when the dog is advertised and before you are invited to meet the dog

GRR does not operate a shelter. All the rescues that come into GRR’s care are housed with foster carers, living in a family environment. When you have been approved by GRR and are on the waiting list you will receive posters of the rescues as they become available to be rehomed and before they are advertised on the website. When you see a Golden Retriever that interests you, arrangements can be made to meet the dog at the home of the foster carer. The foster carer has been personally involved with the training and housing of their foster dog and can best advise you of the dog’s personality traits and behavioural issues.

GRR prefers that privately owned dogs do not visit the homes of foster carers for a number of reasons. Firstly, the foster carer may have other rescues recently arrived from pounds at their home so there is a risk of Kennel Cough and other viruses. Additionally, assessing how two dogs will get along in a backyard with new smells and other dogs is difficult and GRR prefers the family to meet the Goldie without the stress of another dog being present and if the meeting goes well GRR is happy to help with introducing the rescue to the rest of the family including the resident dog/s. Depending on the circumstances it may be possible to arrange with the foster career to meet you and your dog at a neutral location such as a securely fenced dog exercise area.

Yes. All Golden Retrievers go to their new homes on a two week trial basis. GRR go to great lengths to ensure that the Goldie you are adopting is the perfect fit for you, your family and lifestyle and it is extremely rare for a dog to be returned within the two week period. However, if the dog isn’t being cared for within the terms of GRR’s rehoming policy GRR will pick up the dog and there will be no further offers of adoption made to you and your family. During the initial two week trial period GRR will be in contact to check on how the rescue is settling into the new environment and is always available to help with any queries or behavioural issues the dog may be displaying in this new environment. GRR asks adoptive families to recognise that when adopting a rescue dog they are already dealing with the fact that their dog has been let down by humans at least once in their life and there needs to be a level of commitment required from you and your family from the outset.

GRR has fabulous foster carers who take the rescued Goldies into their homes and treat them like their own. This means we have very limited space and can’t hold Goldies for any period of time for a family if there are other suitable homes available. We understand that you may already have plans which prohibit the adoption of a Goldie when it is offered to you by GRR and this does not mean you will not receive a further offer to adopt. Your approved application will remain on the waiting list and you will continue to receive posters of the Goldies as they are ready to be rehomed. GRR wants to avoid the situation where we have to turn a Goldie away because we are holding a dog in foster care and there is no place for the new rescue to be housed.

GRR does not have the facility for private listings on the website but is happy to rehome your dog if you are prepared to surrender your dog to GRR. As GRR has a very strict rehoming criteria which entails a lengthy questionnaire and property inspection, GRR prefers to choose the new family for your dog following the guidelines of our rehoming policy. Should you wish to surrender your dog to GRR we require a current photo of your Golden Retriever and will pose a series of questions which, when answered, will allow GRR to produce a poster for circulation to our approved adoption list applicants and for the “Current Rescues” page on the website. GRR does not divulge details of the new home and family to former owners as experience shows that the dog will settle into the new environment more easily without the stress of its previous family popping in and out of its life.

GRR has a committed team of people who mostly work full time in paid employment and volunteer their time away from their families to help GRR in their leisure time. GRR does not have the resources to arrange the pick up of all the Goldies that are surrendered to us on a weekly basis. If you are surrendering your Goldie to GRR you will be requested to assist GRR in finding a wonderful home for your dog by either, delivering your dog to the foster carer that has agreed to look after your dog or organising for the dog to be delivered to a Veterinary surgery of GRR’s choice at a pre arranged date and time. When you surrender your dog to GRR you will be requested to sign a duplicate Rescue Service Agreement handing ownership of your dog to GRR.

Once the dog is surrendered you will not be permitted to visit as this is less stressful for the dog and it will more easily settle into its new environment. All of the information that you have supplied to GRR is confidential and remains in GRR’s files and is not for publication or supplied to the adoptive family.

No, there is no cost whatsoever. GRR takes care of the cost of desexing, vaccinations and heartworm testing of your surrendered dog if this is required. GRR scrutinises the questionnaires, arranges property inspections and will work with your dog should it have any behavioural problems until it is adoption ready. GRR will then place your surrendered Goldie into a loving home which best suits its personality and temperament. GRR Inc is a Registered Animal Welfare Charity and all donations over $2.00 are tax deductible so if you would care to donate to help other Goldies that find their way to GRR we will be more than happy to receive your donation and send you a tax deductible receipt.

The Goldies that come into GRR’s care are picked up from Pounds and Shelters in NSW, the ACT and Victoria. Many of the rescues come from families who, for many different reasons, can no longer provide a home for their dog.

NO! Kids can barely look after themselves. If you are the adult, you will be responsible for all facets of the Golden Retriever’s care including exercise, training, feeding and vet visits for the remainder of its life. As the normal life span for a Golden Retriever is between 12 and 15 years you need to be prepared for a very big commitment. Your children’s lives will change as they grow older and the once much wanted dog will be a thing of the past. Eventually the children will leave home and you will be left caring for the dog. If you are not prepared to make this kind of commitment, do NOT adopt a Goldie.

NO! Absolutely not! As a registered animal welfare charity GRR abides by its Charter and every Golden Retriever that comes into our care is desexed before it is rehomed. GRR supports and encourages the purchase of puppies from Registered Breeders and does not in any way support the breeding or sale of dogs by backyard breeders, pet shops and puppy farms or mills.

The Golden Retriever Rescue Adoption Questionnaire can be found by clicking here. This should NOT be confused with the application to become an approved Golden Retriever Rescue Foster Carer which can be found on the Foster Care page.