• Why Adopt
• Are You Ready?
• Adoption Application
• Fees
• Frequently Asked Questions

     Maggie 2 is a 1 year old, female, purebred Golden Retriever.  Maggie's owner relinquished her at the Golden Fun Day in Anchorage.  She has juvenile cataracts in both of her eyes and she is slowly going blind.  She has been to the veterinary eye specialists like Sampson 2 but her owners could not afford her much needed surgery, $ 2200 an eye.  She has some sight in one eye and we are looking into getting surgery on the worse eye and giving her the best possibility of sight.  The surgery has a 95% success rate if she is still a candidate for the surgery.  The eye specialists are out of town till the end of June and we are getting her an appointment for a ultrasound, recheck exam and possibly surgery.  Maggie is a very sweet little golden that was purchased in a pet store in the lower 48.  Juvenile cataracts are not that common in Golden's.  This is the first time we have seen it and now we have two dogs with it.  Even Dr. Cho (eye specialists) stated these are the only two golden's she has seen.  Convinced that Maggie was a poorly bred golden her owners have opted to purchase another golden pup.  We did stress that this pup may have worse problems.  We really want to express to owners that dogs may have medical needs that come up very unexpectedly and to please be prepared.  Maggie got a ride home to Fairbanks with Jerry and Andra Burns and she was very nervous but settled down nicely for the long trip.  Maggie has now been spayed, tattooed, micro chipped and she had her hips x-rayed and they look great.  We were so relieved! 

Maggie quickly went on trial with a very loving and giving family in North Pole.  Maggie adores children and this family has two.  She just lit up when she saw them and jumped right in the car with them.   She is doing very well on trial and is awaiting her surgery appointment.

7/28/05  Maggie new family is expecting a baby this week so surgery was planed while they would be in the hospital.  They arranged for Susan to take her after surgery for all her veterinary care.  She will have an E-collar (Elizabethan collar) for 10 plus days and lots of medications.  Her family would have loved to take her to Anchorage themselves but the baby is overdo and must come this weekend. 

     Maggie was flown to Anchorage for her eye surgery.  Thank you Frontier Flying Service especially Kevin and Patrick!   A wonderful GRRF volunteer, Lynn Cartmill, who had adopted a senior golden Mickey from GRRF a few years back and is owned by other rescued golden's, picked up Maggie and took her to her eye appointment today.  Dr. Gaarder examined Maggie's eyes and called us prior to surgery.   He thought the worst eye, the left eye, was the best candidate for surgery.  She has almost no sight out of it at all and her right eye still has a small cataract but it has not grown since her last appointment in May.  He felt having the surgery on the left eye and restoring the sight and having partial in her right would be the best.  He also thought that we could just keep and eye on the right one in the future but thought perhaps she may never need surgery on it.  Later that day Lynn picked up Maggie as the surgery went very well.  Maggie was a little slow and has to now wear an E-collar for 10 days.  Surgery cost was $2700  and worth every penny!!!

7/29/05  Maggie came back in the morning for a recheck and everything was looking great.  Lynn took her to the airport for us and sent her back to us.  Much appreciation goes to Lynn for taking off work, making so many trips and babysitting little Maggie for us.  Lynn your a dear!!

8/1/05   Maggie had a recheck done at Aurora Animal Clinic with Dr. Maddux and everything looks great.  We sent Dr. Gaarder a picture of her eye via email and

he was pleased.  We were a little concerned flying Maggie but everything worked out well.   Maggie is being fostered by Susan Sampson who is a Veterinary Technician at Aurora Animal Clinic and Maggie can go to work with her and get her many eye drops 3-4 times a day.  She is so good about her drops.  She doesn't like it but gets a treat in between and sits well for them.

8/3/05   Maggie's owner came to visit her.  They just had a baby on Friday last week and brought little Abby to meet Maggie.  Maggie was so happy to see her folks!!! 

8/5/05   Maggie had some new drops prescribed and an eye pressure test done and everything is looking great.  She is keeping her e-collar on and is a lethal weapon with it on and scoops you up from behind.  She is getting very restless with all the crate time and not being able to run and play.  Soon Maggie... soon.

8/8/05   Maggie's e-collar is now off while someone is home and she can play with the other dogs.  She is soooo happy about this.  Her family is very anxious to have her back home.  Tomorrow she will get another recheck if all is well and depending on if the e-collar can stay off she will get to go home!! We can't have her scooping up children in the family.  We should say that Maggie could see right after surgery but as the days went on we could really notice a difference.  She runs right up to things and doesn't hesitate.  Not so good with an e-collar on though. Ha.  With the collar off we can really see the change.  Maggie would have to turn her head in the past to see out her right eye and was becoming more hesitant in new surrounding.  Now she is more confident in new areas and we can see her tracking things with her eyes and every now and then we catch her just "watching" things quietly and she seems amazed at it all.  Maggie has been a fun and rewarding project for all of us involved with her.  Her spirit has touched us all!!!

8/8/05   Maggie was reunited with her new family and new baby.  She has been adopted and all is going extremely well.  They say she adored the kids and is just silly about playing and retrieving things now that she can see so well.

GRRF had a Doggie Wash and Yard Sale at Aurora Animal Clinic to help pay for Maggie and Sampson's veterinary bills.  Maggie's new family brought a hugh truck load of things for the yard sale and single handedly took all the remaining items to a location for a yard sale the next weekend for our local Animal Shelter.  They are wonderful folks and feel grateful to have such a loving and beautiful golden as Maggie.