Calvin (Gilroy)

The boys are just wonderful! Steve and I were just saying how it feels like they have been a part of our lives for longer than 5 months. They’ve settled into our home so easily and were clearly cared for by their previous family. Calvin has a loud personality and loves to tell us all about the squirrels and other dogs in the neighborhood! And he’s very generous with his puppy kisses. Clark is a little more cautious around other people than we thought he would be, and he has every right to make that decision. But he is such a big love bug and melts me with those big brown eyes every day. And we can certainly understand why you wanted to keep these brothers together-they keep track of each other throughout the day. I’m lucky to be retired and get to spend most of the day with them. They’re sweet lap dogs when I’m reading or watching TV and wonderful helpers when I’m watering or pruning plants in the garden. And they love to be brushed every day and are so good with ear cleaning, baths and just lots of hugging and petting. Again, you can tell they have been loved. They’re thrilled when Steve gets home from work because that means dinner time and then our nightly walk. I had to laugh when you mentioned adventures, because every night is an adventure! I’m not sure if they didn’t get out on a leash before or just save up all their energy for the evening because it is “game on” when we head out in out neighborhood. Thank goodness they slow down after a few blocks because I don’t think we could keep up. They are super strong!!!! We really are so very lucky to have these sweet, funny boys as part of our family. Here are some recent photos, sadly I don’t have any of the 4 of us. Please feel free to share our happy adoption story as you see fit. We really are so grateful to GGBR for bringing Calvin and Clark into our lives. --D.K., 24Aug2023

Copper (Atwater)

I just had to share that Copper is seriously the best old man addition to our family, old man being relative. He gets zoomies every other night and plays chase with [my husband] Aaron! He adores Aaron and is super well behaved with all the other dogs, and regularly lets Walter, the old dachshund, cuddle with him. This [photo] is him in the morning....Almost every night, he goes up the ramp to sleep in bed with us. Then, sometime around 1-2am, he stands up and barks once or twice until we lift the blanket up for him to crawl under, and he falls back asleep next to Aaron or me, but tucked under the blanket until morning. He is such an amazing dog and the perfect fit for our family. --Copper's new mom and dad, Jan 2023.

Clyde (11/2013)

Here we are doing just great. OMG.. I can't believe it! Louis (former Clyde) and Zoe they play for hours, take naps together to wake up and play more. He is such a beautiful, sweet and loving dog and we are so lucky we have found him. From the moment I saw his picture on the website I knew he was meant to be in our family. When my partner drops me off at work in the morning, Zoe and Louis need to come in and say hi to everyone and that makes everyone happy in the office. He is doing really well. He's now around 61# with a very shine and beautiful coat. I clean his ears regularly and he loves to be touched (never enough)!! I always recommend my friends and coworkers to check GGBR when looking for an adoption. I wish I had a bigger place and rescue more.

Chongo

Abby, formerly named Chongo, became the 5th member of our family in December 2013, and she has utterly charmed us all with her goofy puppy energy, excellent cuddling skills, curious nature and friendly outlook. Abby loves to, well, insists upon meeting every dog we encounter in the city, and pretty much every human too. Super curious by nature, she will stop to gaze after interesting people, wonder at any new sounds, and fully explore all smells that may lead to something vaguely edible. (We've pulled some very odd things out of her mouth...)Her favorite activities include serious belly rubs, good naps & mealtime, sitting on the front steps watching the world go by, and running on the beach with friends. She's not too fond of car trips, but is making progress, as she will willingly go in as needed. Calm by nature, she readily lets the kids fight over who gets to cuddle with her first after school. We honestly feel like Abby is the very best dog for our family and remain grateful to everyone at GGBR for bringing her into our lives. She truly is an ambassador of goodwill as she brings a smile to strangers faces and in the process, forces us to be way more social too!

Cassandra

After losing both our beloved bassets Electra and Cleo in May and September 2012 (13-1/2 and 14 yrs old) our house was very empty without a dog. So in October we adopted an 8 month old German Shepherd/Catahoula mix from the local shelter. Quite a difference after elderly bassets but I had a German Shepherd mix growing up and she was one of my favorites (we had bassets too of course!). Anyway, we also immediately contacted all the local breeders (thinking maybe a basset puppy) and Golden Gate Basset Rescue. After losing two dogs so recently we just couldn’t face adopting an elderly basset and so decided while we were waiting for the right adoption opportunity that we could offer to foster a dog in the meantime. Well it didn’t take long for the right fostering opportunity to present itself. We found out about Cassie the week before Thanksgiving and it just felt like she would be a good fit for our home (albeit temporarily) as she was a younger dog. So on the day after Thanksgiving we drove to Sacramento to pick her up from the shelter. She was sweet and friendly from the minute we met her and very excited. She didn’t like the car ride home and poor thing was a little sick and cried a lot. I sat with her in the back so that I could reassure her (she was in a crate). Once we got home our dog Pixie was delighted to meet a new friend. They took to each other right away. Cassie was a stray so we don’t know anything about her, but can’t possibly understand who would let her go. She’s very cuddly and will climb into your lap if you sit on the floor. She would love to sit on our laps on the couch or sleep with us if we let her! Our first day and night was a bit interesting. We left her and Pixie in their crates for about an hour to run some errands. When we came home Cassie had escaped from the crate and was sitting looking out the window in the living room waiting for our return. Needless to say we determined that the soft crate we had borrowed wasn’t going to work as she knew how to work the zippers! So we purchased a wire crate. She didn’t like it at first and cried a lot of the first few nights. We toughed it out but it was so hard! In addition to crying at night she would also become upset and cry if you left the room or walked out of sight in the backyard. One can only wonder how much she must have been missing her former family, whoever they were. Cassie is very food motivated so once she got over her separation anxiety she happily went in her crate and she often sleeps in Pixie’s crate during the day. Speaking of food motivation, she is also very agile which is a bad combination in the kitchen. Cassie quickly learned how to jump from our breakfast bench onto the adjacent kitchen counter. Luckily we don’t keep any food up there but it doesn’t stop her from trying when she gets the chance. Have you ever seen a basset on a kitchen counter? Not a sight you will soon forget. Funnily enough our basset Electra who passed last year was also able to do the same thing in her younger years. It brought back bittersweet memories. In December we took Cassie and Pixie up to our cabin in Lake Tahoe where they enjoyed romping in all the fresh snow and then crashing in front of the fireplace afterwards. Two lucky dogs! After much consideration on my part (I was and still am mourning for Electra & Cleo) and absolutely no hesitation on my husband’s part (he says he knew the minute we brought her home) we decided to adopt Cassie in January. She is now a firm member of our family and Pixie’s best friend. Our vet estimates that Cassie is 2-3 years old but she plays for hours with Pixie and can run circles around her. She’s also got a great hunting instinct and has chased rats out of our back garden several times – good girl! Needless to say we’re one big happy family now. Cassie even gets along with our cat Celeste which you can’t say for all dogs. We hope our story encourages others to adopt and/or foster a basset with Golden Gate Basset Rescue. Puppies are cute but they grow up quickly! There are so many older dogs needing homes and we’re certain there is a “Cassie” out there for everyone who is looking. Elke M. Wood