For six weeks, Yankee Doodle, Liberty and the other “Freedom Golden Retrievers” have been adjusting to life in America and learning some English — understanding it, not speaking it, of course. “Now is the fun time,” said Lauren Genkinger, founder and president of Adopt A Golden Atlanta. In May, the nonprofit embarked on the largest international rescue of abandoned Golden Retrievers when it flew 36 dogs — 20 males and 16 females — from Turkey to Atlanta. Now the dogs are in the process of being adopted, the fun time Genkinger was referring to. She also talked about why her group took on the rescue effort, what it has meant to the members and how they plan to return for more dogs for the foreseeable future.
Q: Why the rescue?
A: The situation in Istanbul is bad, with 50,000 dogs of all breeds living on the streets. People there imported Golden Retrievers as a status symbol. Who doesn’t love a Golden Retriever puppy? Then the dogs got really big and many people in Turkey do not allow dogs in the house. A lot of Golden Retrievers are abandoned in the forest around Istanbul, which is dangerous because of the feral dogs. The fate of Golden Retrievers on the streets is to beg for food.
Q: How did your group get involved?
A: An American living in Istanbul was helping in a shelter and found 18 Golden Retrievers and contacted a small rescue in the Northeast. We are part of the rescue arm of the Golden Retriever Club of America and got involved that way.
Q: Don’t dogs here need rescuing?
A: All of the 95 Golden Retriever rescues in this country have waiting lists of families wanting to adopt. The Turkey dogs didn’t put any U.S. Golden Retriever at risk.
Q: How big was this undertaking?
A: We worked directly with the shelters in Turkey, which had to get approval from the municipalities. All of the dogs came with health certificates. It has been costly. A lot of our partners have discounted their services. We’re applying for grants and people have been making donations.
Q: How are the dogs?
A: All of them are extremely friendly and social and had to be to survive. They have been working with trainers to learn commands and to share. Four dogs had major health challenges that we are surgically fixing but most of them are healthy.
Q: You named them?
A: We had to so they could get passports. We hope some of the new owners will keep their names as a symbol of their journey.
Q: What has the response been like?
A: We had over 500 applications for these dogs in the first 72 hours. We are concentrating all the adoptions in Georgia or adjoining states. We don’t want the dogs to travel any more than they have.
Q: Are adoptions still open?
A: Yes. We are bringing over 15 more dogs from Turkey on Father’s Day. As long as we have the resources, our goal is to keep going back.
Q: Any special requirements for adopting these dogs?
A: Families must have a fence because these dogs are used to wandering. The dogs need attention so for the first few months we want someone who works at home or is a stay-at-home parent. No children under 8 years old. We have had all the dogs evaluated to make sure there is no aggressiveness but the chances these dogs will steal food from little kids hands is pretty high.
Q: How has the effort affected you?
A: We have rescued dogs from puppy mills and hoarders. This has to be the most rewarding rescue we have ever done. People are so excited because this group of dogs would have never had a chance.
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