from!theboard!ofdirectors! goldengreetings! … · 6...
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FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS We would like to announce some recent changes that have taken place on the GRRoM Board: • Due to pressing business demands, Scott Baumann
has turned over the position of President to Gail Rellox. Scott will remain on the Board of Directors as our medical consultant.
• Gail Rellox has been voted in as President and continues her role as Director of Intake Coordination.
• Betty Curran has been voted in as Vice President and Director of Foster Coordination.
• Lisa Sollish continues her position as Board Member.
• Erin Weaver is our new Treasurer. • Patti Cichy begins her new role as Mentor and
Foster Coordinator. • Susan Jones begins her new role as Mentor and
Foster Coordinator. • Laurie Foondle continues her role as GRRoM's HR
Coordinator. We wish to thank Dave & Shelley Bauer for their years of service to GRRoM. Dave (previous Board member and Treasurer) and Shelley (previous Foster Coordinator) have resigned their positions. Heather Meixler has done a terrific job as our Special Events Coordinator this last year. Unfortunately for GRRoM, Heather is relocating to Virginia. We are very much in need of someone stepping up to fill this position. If any one is interested, please contact either Gail at [email protected] or Betty at [email protected] and they will be happy to discuss what this position entails.
GOLDEN GREETINGS CHRISTMAS GREETINGS #1 Cathy & Maddie Frei sent Christmas greetings from Indiana! You might remember the story of Maddie from our fall newsletter. Maddie is the yellow lab that went missing from Indiana and made her way to Ann Arbor before being rescued by our amazing GRRoM volunteers! Here's Maddie's Christmas message: Hi! Merry Christmas friends! It's me Maddie. Mama calls me yellow doggy. I love her! Somebody sent me a blue collar. Look how pretty I am! My family says thanks! I've been really busy taking so many walks. My Dad walks me and feeds me. I have been busy too playing with my sister "Indy.” I think this Christmas tree must be for me because every time I turn around my tail knocks stuff off the branches, but they just laugh at me. I love you guys! Maddie
Cathy & Maddie
Christofer Michaels, Publisher Lyn Baumann, Asst. Editor Laurie Foondle, Asst. Editor
Spring 2015
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Maddie & Friend
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS #2 Jean Gilbert sent along a Christmas card to GRRoM: Greetings from Jean Gilbert & Max! Warm winter wishes for a bright and beautiful season! Here is our Max with our granddaughter and also at graduation last year. He was great!
Jean & Max
MAXIMUS By Chris Getsoian We adopted Maximus (Max) in 2010 from a "family surrender.” It is too hard to believe that someone would want to give him up. He is just a joy to have in our family, and he has us well trained. It's funny how that works. He does have a skin allergy and has to have a shot and medicine, but we have that under control. This summer we had Max tested to be a therapy dog, and he passed. He is now a member of Therapy Dogs Inc. We take him over to the hospital and it is so great to see the patients' faces light up when he comes into the room. Of course, it’s not like he doesn't like all the attention! He loves to be the center of attention, and he will "roll over" to let you know he wants to have his belly scratched. We just want to thank GRROM for letting us adopt him into our family!
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Maximus
RAINBOW BRIDGE CROSSING CODY By Steve & Fran Preuss My wife Fran and I want to regretfully inform the Golden Retriever Rescue of Michigan that our beautiful boy “Cody” lost his battle with a Cancerous Tumor on Wednesday October 22nd. Fran and I along with our 2 daughters adopted Cody from Pat Podlesak, GRRoM’s foster, on April 28th 2007. We fell in love with Cody the moment we saw him, we knew he was the Golden we were looking for. Cody looked like our beloved Golden Chelsea that had passed away a few years earlier. Cody was 16 months
young when we drove him to his forever home that day. For the next 7-‐½ years Cody filled our days with laughter and love. Fran would take him on daily walks and rides in the car while I was at work. In the afternoon around 4pm Cody would start looking out our picture window waiting for my truck to come down the street as I drove home from work. He then greeted me at the door with his wagging tail so happy to see me and knowing we would be taking him on his second walk of the day. I was then fortunate to retire in 2010 allowing Fran and I to take Cody almost everywhere we went, long walks, car rides, vacations and just being together every day. Just this past February Fran and I noticed something was amiss with Cody. We went through many visits to our Vet to determine what was causing his energy loss, and during this time Cody also started losing weight. Our Vet found an upper respiratory infection, and then later arthritis in his spine and tail. We treated both of those conditions and Cody still kept his spirit up during this time. He always was ready for a walk or a ride which is what we did daily. Just this past August Cody went on our annual family summer vacation up north. We found new hiking trails and Cody led the way enjoying every moment. We all had a great time on our up north get away.
Cody
Weeks later on October 3rd our vet found a tumor, we were told that Cody might only have 2 weeks to live. Fran and I spent all of our time with him going on rides and walks and caring for him as best as we could, but roughly 3 weeks later on October 22nd Fran and I had to make that fateful decision to ease Cody’s pain.
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Cody gave nothing but love to us and anyone he met, and was such a big part of our lives and meant so much to us. It is difficult to understand how he could be taken away from us so soon in his short life; he was only 8 yrs. old and still had so much life yet to live. As I write this with tears in my eyes, I wish that somehow we could bring him back and hug him once again, throw his red ball or say let’s go for a walk maybe go for a ride in the car to one of our favorite trails, but that’s not how life works. Fran and I are still grieving, but each day is getting a little better. One day when we feel it is time, I am sure that we will open our hearts to another Golden. Rest in peace my little angel, I will meet you at the rainbow bridge. CHRISTMAS PARADE WITH GRRoM Every year Grosse Pointe Woods has their Christmas parade the day after Thanksgiving and each year there is a large showing of Golden Retrievers representing GRRoM. The 2014 parade was the 15th year that GRRoM has participated. Colleen Kelly headed up the parade this year and located sponsors for the first time. John Martin of John Martin Photography took the following photos. Bow Wow Baketique was on hand with some great gifts for the dog participants of their original biscuit line. Colleen handed out packets of the goodies to parade watchers who attended with their Goldens to entice them to participate next year and she made the bandanas the Goldens wore. Lou’s Pet Shop in Gross Pointe Woods offers a 10% discount to any anyone who mentions “GRRoM” and the parade. Lou’s will also be a sponsor next year.
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GOLDEN TIPS FOR YOUR GOLDEN
WHY WHAT YOU FEED YOUR DOG MATTERS By Jill Tack, Owner and Founder of The Pet Beastro We’ve all heard the saying “You are what you eat.” And for our dogs, this is especially true. When you feed your dog a healthy diet, you will see that they live a happier, healthier and longer life. Specifically, a biologically appropriate diet for your dog will improve his or her health in the following ways:
1. Less stool issues. Alternative pet foods are made to accommodate a dog’s natural diet and digestive system. So, they’re much easier to digest and thus, your dog will have healthier stools. Also, since serving sizes for alternative foods are generally smaller than those for commercial foods, your dog will also have smaller, more compact and less frequent stools. 2. Improved skin & coat and fewer allergies. Many pets are allergic to grain and gluten, common ingredients in many commercially made foods. When you eliminate these ingredients by feeding a more biologically appropriate diet, your dog will no longer suffer from symptoms of food allergies like dry, itchy skin, licking and chewing on their paws, skin infections and rashes, and unusual hair loss. 3. More satisfying. In order to get the same nutritional value from a commercial food as an all-‐natural food, dogs have to eat more of it because commercial pet foods are made with artificial vitamins, minerals and other unnatural ingredients/fillers that are not as easy for pets to digest. On the other hand, alternative pet foods are made to accommodate a dog’s natural diet and digestive system. So they’re much easier to digest and thus, dogs get all of the nutrients they need from a smaller serving. 4. Improved disposition and reduced hyperactivity & sugar spikes. Eliminating carbohydrates and grains from our dogs’ diets is essential to improving their disposition. Unlike humans, carbohydrates are not a source of energy for dogs (except in excessive sprint activities like greyhound racing). In addition, grains break down into sugars in the body and sugars feed unhealthy conditions like hyperactivity, cancer, obesity, diabetes and some skin problems. Dogs derive their energy from fats and protein, like those found in alternative foods. 5. Healthy teeth. Raw meaty bones, grinds and all natural chews offer dogs vitamins and minerals that will improve their dental health. Developing healthy chewing habits is also essential to keeping your dog’s teeth clean and strong. 6. Less body odor. Alternative pet foods will help your dog have healthier
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teeth, which means they will have less smelly breath. An improved diet also helps eliminate body odors. 7. Limited Ingredients. In the age of highly processed foods, less is generally more (in terms of ingredients). Alternative dog foods are made without the fillers, artificial additives and unnatural preservatives that are common in many other pet foods. So, you can be assured that the food only contains the ingredients that will improve your dog’s well-‐being. If you’re looking to revamp your dog’s diet, consider scheduling a Nutrition Consult with us (available both in our store and over the phone or Skype). We’ll help evaluate your dog’s current food and health concerns and help you form a customized healthy menu of options to feed them. To learn more, feel free to give us a call at (248)548-‐3448 or visit our Nutrition Consult homepage here.
Also, here is a list of some of our upcoming events, which are all great opportunities for pet owners to dip their toes into the alternative pet care world. These will all be held at our store in Madison Heights. • Vendor Expo on 3/25 from 5-‐8 p.m. This is a free
event we're hosting with some of our favorite brands. There will be lots of samples and prizes.
• Herbal Seminar For Pets with Dr. Harvey on 3/26 from 6-‐7 p.m. (This is also free.) • Easter Photos With Your Pet & Specials on 3/28 from 12-‐3 p.m. • Grand Re-‐Opening Day on 4/6 from 12-‐8 p.m.
ADOPTION OPTIONS CONFERENCE Friday, May 1 in Novi, MI Adoption Options is a FREE multi-‐city animal welfare workshop tour across North America. Petfinder is proud to bring nationally recognized speakers to local communities. Presented in conjunction with Petco Foundation, each Adoption Options is full of useful information for employees and volunteers of animal shelters and rescue organizations. These single-‐day workshops cost nothing to attend and cover topics focused around the placement, promotion and behavior of homeless pets. The mission of Adoption Options is two-‐fold. 1. We bring nationally recognized speakers to a variety of cities.
2. We want to offer a forum for networking amongst animal welfare professionals and volunteers. Many Adoption Options attendees have not had the opportunity to attend another animal welfare educational conference. By bringing our energizing single-‐day events to your backyard, we aim to join the local animal welfare community together and drive change that helps you help your community’s pets and people. Each Adoption Options attendee receives: -‐ Breakfast and lunch -‐ An Adoption Options tour t-‐shirt -‐ Fun freebies to take home -‐ Copies of each presentation for reference -‐ A copy of the attendee roster, allowing you to continue networking long after you leave -‐ Continuing Education (CE) credits for attendees with CAWA certification* Presentation topics may include: -‐ Shelter medicine (feline URI, disease transmission, controlling ringworm) -‐ Dog behavior (how to keep your adoptable dogs behaviorally and emotionally healthy while they wait for their new homes) -‐ Cat behavior (what is Fluffy really trying to tell you and how will this help get her a new home?) -‐ Creative adoption and fund raising programs that have worked for others – learn the dos and don’ts And more! Please be sure to register 10 days before the event to ensure enough materials for everyone. Questions? Email for more information. Adoption Options 2015 Conference Friday, May 1, 2015 Diamond Center at Suburban Collection Showplace 46100 Grand River Avenue Novi, Michigan 48374 *Did you know Adoption Options are approved for continuing education credits through The Society of Animal Welfare Administrators (SAWA)? Our courses have been pre-‐approved for Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits. If you would like written verification you attended the Adoption Options, or if you have questions, please email [email protected].
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GRRoM LINKS www.facebook.com/groups/grrom Connect with other Michigan Golden lovers for laughs, great advice from others, hear about fundraisers to help GRRoM continue in its’ mission. Click on the link and join GRRoM’s Facebook page. www.grrom.com Our website offers deals that not only save you money but help GRRoM in its mission, links to the GRRoM Petfinder page for Goldens looking for their furever homes, fund-‐raising events, info on how to adopt a GRRoM Golden and more!
GRRoM WANTS YOUR DOG...stories Be a contributing writer with the quarterly GRRoM Newsletter! Our readers’ and supporters’ input is what makes the GRRoM Newsletter what it is. I especially want articles and photos from the volunteers who attend and work the many events. Please send via email to: [email protected] no later than May 23rd for the Summer 2015 GRRoM Newsletter due out around June 1, 2015. Articles can be emailed in any format. Photos can be dng, jpeg, tiff or psd and need to be at least 3-‐1/2 inches wide or as large a size as your email program allows. The following dates are the approximate publishing dates of the GRRoM Newsletter: March 1st, June 1st, September 1st and December 1st.