Ricky

Ricky: a Success Story We adopted Ricky in October of 2008 and he has been a fantastic addition to our family, a perfect fit. He is smart, mellow, playful and so sweet! He loves kids and he loves other dogs. We take him to a local dog park and he is in heaven. I feel so fortunate to have discovered him through the Golden Gate Bassett Rescue. We could not have found a better dog for the needs of our family!

Sunshine (was Bailey)

SUNSHINE (originally named Bailey) Wow, its been almost a year since Sunshine came into our lives. We were originally only going to foster her but four hours into taking care of her we realized there was no way she was leaving our care. Sunshine was about twelve to fourteen months old when we got her from GGBR. We went to go pick her up at the Hayward shelter and the staff there were so sad to see her go. She was a little tentative when we got her but warmed up to us almost immediately. The first night she stayed with us, I put her in a dog bed in the hallway where she was going to sleep. It took me more than twenty times to get her to stay there instead of sleeping with us in our bedroom. I had read how stubborn and willful the breed is and knew from the get go, that I had to establish who was the dominant female in the family. A challenge that has diminished greatly (that’s not to say she conveniently forgets her name when she wants to). Although now that she’s so in our hearts its hard to say no when she jumps up on the bed to say goodnight or to take a “nap” with either me or my husband. She is one of the sweetest creatures I have ever encountered. I know I am bias but every single person who passes her on the street or meets her comments on how beautiful and cute she is. See the attached pictures. She makes us laugh and chuckle every day. And she is not only cute but very smart, willful as all get out and an amazing runner! One of the funniest things is to see her flying around Joaquin Miller Dog Park with her ears flapping as she chases the larger dogs. And folks respond, ”Wow, she’s really fast!” Another of her favorite things to do is to make friends at Point Isabel. She recently has discovered swimming and now likes going into the ocean or into the water to play with other dogs. Adopting Sunshine was one of the best things my husband and I have done during our newlywed year. I feel like we have a real family. Five months ago we adopted a kitten so Sunshine can have a play partner and its amazing to see them wrestle, chase and play with one another…complete joy is in our home. I wish we had a larger house and more time so we could foster at least one more basset but I’m hoping as Sunshine continues to get more settled we can foster another beautiful basset. When we first got Sunshine, folks would stop us on the street and exclaim how they grew up with bassets and how they love the breed. I was a little surprised at the passion and vehemence at how folks extolled the virtues of the breed. And now, since we have one of our own, I understand the extreme delight of a basset hound owner. I am truly a convert now. Can’t wait until next year’s Waddle…it was our first GGBR event and such an amazing time. At least three times a week of extol the wonders and importance of GGBR and tell everyone who we meet that if they are interested in fostering or adopting this wonderful breed they should contact GGBR. I hope that some people have followed up on the wonderful opportunity to bring bassets into wonderful, loving homes.

Obi

UPDATE AT END: Obi started out as a personal rescue by a shelter worker in South Lake Tahoe. He had already lost one predecessor at his house due to an 'accident' when the garage door fell on him, and the rescuer persuaded the family that he would be much safer in another home. At nine months old he was just a bundle of energy. He needed to be neutered and vaccinated and the rescuer already had other dogs to care for and rehome, so she asked Golden Gate to take him. We paid for his medical treatment, and with the help of the rescuer and our own volunteers moved him down to the Bay Area, where, after a stay with one of our foster homes, the Stocksicks, he had the perfect family waiting for him. His energy while at his rescuer's home got him into deep trouble when he jumped up on the stove, turned the ring on and caused a minor fire... he needed training and consistency in a stable environment to turn him into the sweetheart lurking under the surface. He is now loved and cared for by Shannon Stack and her family. They are up to the challenge and loving every minute of it. The story of how he got his name is quite endearing - here is the email we got from Shannon: We have decided to name him Obi (like Obi Wan Kanobe). It's actually quite funny how we came about the name. We decided that we were going to let the dog pick his own name, and decided to call names and see what he responded too. We tried Waldo, and Fred, Sam, etc, and finally Michael had the "brilliant" idea to try Darth Vader. I said I'm not calling our dog Darth Vader, Chewbacca, or Obi Wan Kanobe. When I said Obi Wan Kanobe he responded to it, so I said it again, and he responded to it again. Rather than call him Obi Wan Kanobe we settled for Obi. I am also very happy to report that we have had no accidents thus far. He is a very mellow boy, and such a sweetheart. He sits every time I put a leash on him, and he has been going to the door when he wants to go outside. Three cheers for Obi and his new family!! HERE'S AN UPDATE ON JULY 14, 2009: I just read Obi's success story on the rescue site, and couldn't help but laugh. It is so hard to picture him as such a rambunctious little ball of energy. He has been nothing like that! Obi is doing very well, and is sometimes quite the lazy little thing. He does not like waking up in the morning, and I actually have to take him out of his bed, so that I can walk him! I really don't mind because we have had no potty accidents :-). He is doing very well on a leash, and is still a curious little fellow. He loves taking baths, other animals (except for the geese on Travis AFB, but I'm not even a huge fan of them either), any person he meets, and is even learning how to shake hands. While we have invested in a crate, we hardly ever have to use it, even when we aren't home. Obi really hasn't needed much discipline at all. We've learned that if we give him a long walk a few hours before bed, it tires him out, and he's usually the one to go to bed first. We are so happy that he is part of our family, and couldn't imagine not having him with us. We really can't thank you enough for making this happen. FURTHER UPDATE - November 26, 2009: Hello everyone! Thanksgiving time has really provided us with the opportunity to reflect on how grateful we are to have had the opportunity to be the adopters of our little Obi. It has been almost 5 months since we have had him, and it has been such an experience to watch him mold into the little dog he is today. We cannot find the words to thank you guys for all the hard work and dedication the members of Golden Gate Basset Rescue display in placing the dogs into their forever homes. On another note, I thought I'd give an Obi update! Michael is currently undergoing a military retraining, so while we wait for him and to find out our next destination, Obi and I are visiting with family in Connecticut. I must say, Obi has become quite the little traveler. He did excellent flying across country. The vet said that often at times dogs may defecate or throw up in the process, but Obi did nothing of the sort. He quickly made friends with my parents dogs, and does not like to be separated from them. He also has come into the nightly routine of grooming the other dogs before bed. It's actually quite funny to see little 40 lb Obi grooming a 100 lb German Shepherd. I have also taken him to several of my youngest brother's soccer games. At first I was hesitant, thinking he would want to play with all the kids, and chase the soccer ball, but he sat patiently at the side of the field and waited. I have gotten numerous compliments as to how well behaved he is for a young dog, and how beautiful he is. He frequently visits the dog park, and at first was kind of confused as to what to do. Once he realized he was allowed to run around he had a blast! I have also enrolled him in some dog classes, which he starts on Monday. I have attached some new pictures of him, and I hope you all enjoy them. We hope everyone has a happy healthy holiday season. Regards, Shannon, Mike, and Obi

Hank

So where do we begin about the story of Hank and us being foster failures. In April, we were contacted about being a foster family for an older gentleman named Hank. I was convinced that we would just be foster parents until he found a home. We already had accumulated a handful of other pets. Hank is a 9 ½ year old blond basset hound. We picked him up from a previous foster family in May of this year. At first he was a little shy and showed signs of simple nervousness, curiosity of the cats and wasn’t too sure about his new dog friends (a Doberman named Deputy, a beagle gal named Lola and fellow female basset hound named Ballie). After about three weeks he settled in and started to become one of the gang. He even developed wonderful friendships with the kitties, which was supposed to be one of the ”knocks” against him. It did not take long before became very vocal at meal time making sure that everyone was in there positions or by their bowls. I would give him a bear hug morning and night to show that we welcome him and loved him. He would growl quietly but I would continue daily. We would take him for long walks but being his age he tends to take his sweet time. Then all of a sudden one day, he came up to me and brushed his head on my leg like “Hey where’s my hug”. That’s when I fell more in love with him and decided that he could just not leave this house. He currently runs around the house and backyard like a young pup. He loves to carry his ball and play catch with you and the other pups. He loves his sleep and walks around with the cats. He loves to go for car rides, play in the park and inspect while pruning the garden. If he needs to go potty, he will pull the toilet paper off the roll out of the guest bathroom until you notice it in the hall. Sure, we did not need another dog but life without Hank would not have been as fun. Bassets are a huge asset. We are officially foster failures and proud of it.

Sherlock & Sapphire

Dear GGBR, picking up the bassets went well. They are beautiful. The drive down and back went great. They are doing well. They started off slow and scared. Sapphire is the girls name and she took a little longer to warm up but she is still some what scared. Sherlock is the boys name and he is funny. He is starting to chew, play and we heard him bark for the first time today. Thank you very much for telling us about these bassets. They are beautiful. Both bassets went to the vet for a check up and they are healthy. Sherlock is going in for eye surgery for a cherry eye. Now they have been with us a few weeks, Sapphire has warmed up to me but is still a little scared of the guys. Sherlock is now sleeping on my son’s bed. They are beautiful. The cherry eye surgery was a complete success as you can see from the photos. Thank you once again for sending us to these dogs!