At the Falls Mysteries, December is a time for giving.
At the launch party for When the Flood Falls, we collected donations for 3 causes tied to topics in the book: golden retrievers, myalgic encephalomyelitis (Jan's illness), and domestic violence.
In December we revisit those causes, beginning with
Golden Rescue Canada, which rescues, rehabilitates, and re-homes abandoned or neglected dogs.
Last spring, nearly 10 years after I gave the character Dee her golden retriever named Duke, I had the good fortune to become acquainted with the happy owners of a beautiful golden retriever named Jenny.
They shared photos and her story of
transformation from an abandoned dog roaming Turkish streets to a cherished therapy dog in southern Ontario.
Cynthia, Jenny's very happy new human, told me:
Jenny was in a shelter for at least 6 months in Istanbul, with over a thousand dogs. It’s a
major crisis. So many dogs roaming the streets... They have a no kill policy
so the few shelters that exist, are bulging.
A few years ago, Golden Rescue heard about the situation and a few
board members flew over to see. So they have been raising money since then to
fly dogs over.
Jenny arriving in her crate from Istanbul
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| Truly the paws of friendship! |
Jenny's Canadian family, which has fostered, adopted and volunteered for Golden Rescue
since 2006, subsequently ran a fundraiser called Project Air Buddy on
canadahelps.org "in memory of our Buddy, a rescue from Canada that we
lost last year."
Thanks in part to Jenny's new family, 18 more rescued Goldens arrived from Istanbul on
May 10th of this past year.
Cynthia, who has a chronic illness, is still singing with joy over all that Jenny has brought to her life:
My rescue dog Jenny has rescued me! Through her, I am able
to get out in my community and volunteer with seniors. Jenny is a certified St.
John Ambulance Therapy dog and she spreads her joy to everyone she meets! I am
in awe of her ability to learn English (as she is from Istanbul), and her confidence in trying new
things such as swimming! She has brought so much joy to our family! I couldn’t
imagine our lives without her!
Project Air Buddy is over but there are many more deserving dogs in Canada and around the world.
For your December Donation consider giving a little to
Golden Rescue Canada to help other abandoned and neglected golden retrievers find lives of love and fulfillment in the coming year.
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