Rookie's life before GSRBC was as a yard dog. Chained day in and day out to a dog crate that was barely big enough for him to fit in. Everyday, all day and night for over a year, Rookie sat alone, watching the world go by. After many attempts, animal control was finally able to convince his owner to turn him over. Once in their care, they called us for help. 

Despite Rookie's beginning, he remained a confident, large, gorgeous, very well mannered boy who loves to be with people. He was a young dog, around 2 years old, who showed lots of enthusiasm and bounce when you first got home. Then would calm down quickly while following you around the house. 

While Rookie was in our care, we learned he was eager to please with the basic commands of sit and down. He had good energy and loved to play and run, but sadly, didn't seem to know what all the toys were for.


Rookie was a delight to be around, and we fell hard for this special boy. He greeted everyone with polite interest and was very well-mannered and easy to handle.

Rookie plays very well with dogs and people, but he also likes to just lie around just knowing that someone's nearby.
He knows sit and shake; is good on-leash, and has excellent recall. He is very quiet and hops up into my van as soon as I open the door for him. He's a wonderful companion on the road or at home. He would do fine in a house with another dog as a playmate or as the only dog in the house.

Rookie LOVES children. He gets all wiggly and full of kisses whenever he sees them. He loves everyone actually and is a big cuddler :)
He is the perfect mix of energy and ease. Very polite, very loving, gentle and easy, easy, easy!


Update April 30th:

Well our sweet Rookie hit the jackpot and went to his new home on Sunday! A wonderful family has come along and are very excited to add our special guy to their home.  Yay for Rookie! This is a wonderful match :)

 

 

Special thanks to Rookie's Sponsors:

Joe & Lucille 

Deborah Stevens

 

Update ~ August 13th 2006

Just wanted to let you know how things are going with us here. Rookie is wonderful as always and seems really happy here. There is always someone around to cuddle and love him- which he just loves. Christopher and Rookie have gotten really close and he's very protective of Callie.
 
I finally found a raw diet that he loves. It costs a bit more ( $30.00 /week), but he is definitely worth every penny and then some.
 
Believe it or not, Rookie enjoys car rides now...because he knows that when he goes for one he ends up at my parents place and gets to spend the whole day with his new buddy Clyde (my parent's golden retriever), not to mention having 6 people around to give him loving!!  Rookie and Clyde are really funny when they get the zoomies, Rookie takes off running and Clyde tries to keep up. When Clyde was a puppy he could never catch up but now he's right there beside Rookie the whole time. 
 Rookie has even gone for a ride in my car, stretched out on the back seat and fell fast asleep-big change from our ride home with him!!!
 I still haven't been able to convince Rookie that water is fun to play in, but that's ok. He actually plays with some toys now- but only if they are the kid's toys and only plays with the kids.
I feel so lucky to have Rookie in our lives. He is the most gentle, loving dog. A cuddle from him can make even the craziest day seem like the best day.
 
I noticed that Daisy is back, when I first looked at your website she was the dog that originally caught my eye. I keep trying to convince Richard that Rookie needs a full time "buddy", but I think with 2 cats, 2 kids and Rookie he's a little overwhelmed by the thought of another family member. But you never know, I just keep talking about the dogs and showing him the pics.
 
I promise I will send some pictures soon, if not by email then in the regular (snail) mail. I have some really nice ones that I took with a regular camera and I promise to take more with my digital camera.
 
Bye for now,
 
Linda  and of course Rookie too.

 

Update ~ January 4th 2007

 

Hope the New Year finds you and your family well. Things here are great. Thought I'd send you a couple of pictures of Rookie, the golden is my parent's dog, Clyde, who's 11 months old. Him and Rookie are great friends and love to zoom around everywhere, except when there's cuddling going on, then Rookie's right there pushing him out of the way so he can get all the loving!!! Sound familiar!!
  Rookie is the most loving and gentle dog, he likes everybody although he does have his favorites. I call him my shadow because he follows me everywhere, when I leave the room so does he.
 He is good with the cats, pretty much ignores them, but when he is in the yard if a neighborhood cat makes the silly mistake of climbing the fence into the yard, it quickly retreats and does not come back again. A couple of months ago we had about 50 quails laying in the grass and under the cedars and Rookie took a look and decided it wasn't worth the effort and laid down with a grunt, even when they started moving around he had no interest whatsoever.
    He is amazing with the kids and greets them each morning with a wagging tail and lots of kisses. One day I took him with me when I went to pick up Christopher after kindergarten and Rookie was in heaven- he had 16 kids giving him pets and hugs. Whenever I take him for a walk kids seem to come out of nowhere asking if they can pet him, and he just loves it.
    We have had 7 wonderful months with him and are looking forward to the years to come together. He is such a wonderful dog, always with lots of love to give.
    When I'm sitting down he comes over and lays his had in my lap and looks up at me with those eyes of his and my heart just melts.
    He still won't come up on the couch but he's been in Christopher's bed twice- big step for him!
    Well I could probably go on about how wonderful he is, so I should say bye for now.
    Thank you again for helping us find each other.
 
Linda and of course Rookie

 

 

 

 

 

We are a registered non-profit Charity as of April 1st 2005