General Donations
Your general donation helps to pay for food, veterinary exams, microchips, vaccinations (distemper combination, rabies, Bordatella), deworming medications, Lyme disease/heartworm testing, heartworm preventative, flea and tick preventative, spay/neuter, post-op pain medication, and other various medications. In addition, this fund pays for operating expenses at Golden Gateway such as heat, phone, postage, air conditioning for our kennels, sanitation supplies, etc. You can make a general donation through our secure online donation form.
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Recurring Donation Plan (Guardian Angel)
You want to help sustain us on a regular basis but don't always remember. Your "to do" list gets longer and longer every day, especially when your dog is reminding you it's time for dinner, a walk, or some overdue belly rubs.
What's a loyal DVGRR supporter to do? Easy! Sign up for our Recurring Donation Plan and let your contribution be sent automatically in the amount you specify. Choose from the following amounts:
You may also print and mail a recurring donation plan form.
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The Cody Fund
The Cody Fund was established in 1994 as a resource to help Golden Retrievers who enter our program and require veterinary care above and beyond the routine care provided to other program Goldens. Typically, this involves trauma care, orthopedic and other surgeries, treatment for heartworm disease, blood chemistries for Goldens eight years old and older, and dental care, including extractions. Read more about The Cody Fund.
Donations to the Cody Fund can be made through our secure online donation form.
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Sponsor a Golden
Through our donation service, you can sponsor one of the Goldens currently in residence. As a sponsor, you will receive a photo with your dog's photo and be listed on the dog's webpage as his or her sponsor.
Meet Zola 12-065: She came to DVGRR as a youngster, just a year old. Friendly, sweet. Unfortunately, she was tied
out a lot and left alone to protect herself in her former life and is a reactive dog. While a young dog usually heads to the top of our “adoption most wanted” list, Zola’s behavior and dislike of other dogs (and especially cats!) presented challenges.
Meet Squirt 11-261: He came to DVGRR from a puppy mill with a serious medical condition – unable to properly pass urine. A complicated surgery was his only chance for hope of a normal life. After ten trips to the veterinary specialist and two surgeries, Squirt found a fur-ever and now lives a happy life with his canine siblings and adoptive family.
Both of these DVGRR dogs were sponsored, and that sponsorship helped us offset the costs for Zola’s extra training 
and Squirt’s veterinary care. That certainly doesn’t mean that dogs in our program who aren’t sponsored don’t get the training and medical care they need. They certainly do!
In fact, the real beneficiaries of our sponsorship programs are the humans. Countless sponsors have told us about the satisfaction they get knowing that they helped to secure loving and permanent homes for dogs that come into our program. Some of our sponsors are former adopters; some are considering adoption; some simply love Goldens and want to learn more about specific dogs. No matter the reason, sponsorship provides a special connection between one of our dogs and a human… between a Golden and you.
Maybe you want to help improve the life of a dog that only knew the confines of a small wire kennel, never feeling grass beneath her paws or the loving touch of a human hand. Maybe you want to help a senior dog relinquished to us for simply being “old” and wondering what happened to his loving family. Maybe you want to help a dog like Zola or Squirt reach their true potentials.
When you sponsor a dog, you will be helping us provide veterinary care and needed medicine as well as food and training for the dog. Most importantly, you will be helping secure a bright, loving future for a special dog. In addition to the heart-warming satisfaction you’ll get, we’ll send you the dog’s photo, and you’ll be listed on our website as his or her sponsor.
DVGRR is not typical. Dogs stay with us as long as needed to ensure their health and rehabilitation before going home with their adoptive families. To that end, every Golden that goes home with his or her new family, figuratively has a few $100 bills attached to the collar and joyfully wagging tail. That’s the average difference between the adoption fee and the costs we incur while the dog is at Golden Gateway. Your sponsorship helps us offset that difference and continue providing bright futures for wonderful dogs.
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Bricks to the Bridge
A perpetual tribute to your canine or human friends can be made through our Bricks to the Bridge program. These beautiful black granite bricks include your choice of text plus one laser etched photo (if desired). They are placed in our lovely and peaceful Rainbow Bridge Memorial Garden.
Bricks can be purchased through our secure online donation form. Include your desired text where indicated in the form (longer text will result in smaller size lettering) and send photo via email to office@dvgrr.org.
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Gateway Angel Tribute
Sometimes we face the sad reality that one of our Gateway Guests is so medically compromised, or debilitated, that a reasonable quality of life no longer exists. During these unfortunate circumstances, we act as family, holding and stroking the Golden while our vet helps them pass peacefully to Rainbow Bridge. We authorize a private cremation and the ashes are returned to Golden Gateway and interred. A small laser-etched granite bone marks the final resting place.
The marker (engraved with the dog's name and DVGRR ID#) becomes a lasting reminder of our departed friend. You can help memorialize these wonderful Goldens by contributing toward the cost of a granite marker in their memories. Donations designated for a “Gateway Angel Bone” will be applied toward these beautiful granite plaques. We will let you know which Golden it memorializes and send you a photo of the plaque when it is received.
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Submit Your Golden's Memorial Story
For a $25 donation to DVGRR, you can memorialize a canine companion who has crossed the Rainbow Bridge by sharing his or her story on our Memorial page. What better way to honor your pet than by helping us rescue other Goldens so they can experience the same loving relationship you had with your own dog. Learn more about how to submit your story on our Memorial page.
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Naming Opportunities at Golden Gateway
If you have ever thought about honoring a special Golden or friend in a unique way, there are still naming opportunities available. These are perpetual tributes and will remain in place forever. We are happy to send a certificate if you would like to purchase this as a gift. Automatic credit card payments are available as well.
- Special Care Unit - $10,000
- Gateway Guardian Home Caretaker’s Residence - $10,000
- Exercise and Training Yard - Each sponsor plaque $1,500
- Outdoor Agility Training Area - Each sponsor plaque $1,500
If you're interested in a naming opportunity, need more information, would like a private tour, or would like to discuss your pledge, please contact Robin Adams.
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Ben’s Golden Vision Fund
Providing For DVGRR’s Goldens For Years To Come
Since DVGRR’s dream for Golden Gateway becoming a reality in 2000, we have typically accepted and cared for 4 to 5 arriving Goldens each week.
Our weekly population rarely drops below 22 Goldens, and we routinely enjoy 40-56 Goldens in our care. Relinquishing owners turn to DVGRR for many different reasons. Although they’ve had to give up their family companion, they know that DVGRR will do everything in its power to provide their dog with all needed veterinary care and then place him or her in a home where love will quickly bond the new family together.
More and more, we are faced with the dumping of puppy mill breeder dogs that have outlived their usefulness as a source of profit. We are challenged to care for and find homes for Goldens that are as gentle as our breed demands, yet fear a human’s outstretched hand, are unable to walk on solid ground because they’ve never felt anything but wire under their paws, and have no understanding of the many comforts we lavish on our own Goldens. Stuffed toys, long, leisurely walks on leash, or afternoon naps snuggled next to their person on the sofa are pleasures that will be realized only after many months of rehabilitation at Golden Gateway.
Those of us who treasure “Old Gold” can never understand parting with a senior dog until they let us know their time on earth is ending. Still, senior Goldens are relinquished all too often because their medical needs are beyond the financial resources of the owner or because people do not want to deal with the inevitable.
You will often find four or five aged Goldens enjoying life inside Golden Gateway in a “home” environment. They receive as much exercise as they wish, are provided with medications and supplements to keep their older bodies more comfortable, get treated to a weekly canine massage, and surprise us daily with their joy and silly antics.
All of us who volunteer or work at Golden Gateway are committed to providing the best possible care and love for our breed.
We often feel we “get” more than we “give” in working with all our Goldens – young and old, silly or sedate.
But what happens next year, and the years after that?
The state of our economy has caused an increase in Goldens relinquished to DVGRR while the decline in our own personal wealth has caused a decrease in giving. It has become a struggle to raise funds for daily operations, let alone think about the future.
I want to provide for the Goldens of the future – how can I remember DVGRR in my will or trust?
In 2010, BEN’S GOLDEN VISION FUND was established with the Lancaster County Community Foundation.
“Ben” is a very special Golden Retriever. He ended up in a shelter at 8 years old, and from there he made his way to DVGRR. He impressed us all with his exceptionally gentle, affectionate nature and easily won the hearts of a new family. Two days after Ben was adopted, he suffered a major seizure in his new home. There was no evidence of a seizure problem at Gateway and he came with zero past medical history, so we had no way of knowing if this was a pre-existing or a new problem.
For Ben’s new family this health issue was just a bump in the road (albeit a big one) and they were perfectly willing to address it and work with him. It took many months and many efforts at trying different medications, but today Ben’s seizures are well controlled. Throughout the process he’s been nothing but a trooper and to say his family is in love with him would be an understatement!
Now Ben’s adopters, who so deeply treasure Ben and his amazing spirit, and who are so grateful to DVGRR for helping Ben, have given DVGRR the opportunity to provide for our Goldens forever through BEN’S GOLDEN VISION FUND.
Ben’s Golden Vision Fund has been established to provide a permanent endowment fund with the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Endowment building is a vital piece of the puzzle that has been missing from our future plans for meeting the needs of Golden Retrievers to come.
The idea behind endowment is a simple one: a pool of assets is invested, and earnings from those investments are paid back to a charitable cause yearly in a fixed amount. Any earnings over the fixed percentage are reinvested to grow the principal. In this way, an endowment fund keeps pace with inflation over time. With reinvestment and the receipt of new donations to the fund, DVGRR has a reliable source of income to depend on far into the future.
The Lancaster County Community Foundation has been a trusted resource for local nonprofits since 1924. By establishing an endowment at the Lancaster County Community Foundation, we will receive professional investment management, planning assistance, fund listing on the Lancaster County Community Foundation’s website, secure online giving with personalized acknowledgements and no transaction fees, semi-annual fund reports, and 990 reporting.
With careful planning, an endowment fund can supply revenue in years in which donations are down or charitable need increases – giving DVGRR a reliable stream of flexible resources.
In early 2012, one of our benefactors pledged to match funds to Ben's Golden Vision Fund up to $25,000.00. It's a very generous offer and allows your donation to effectively double in value. We're currently about a quarter of the way to our goal. Every dollar donated to this important endowment fund helps ensure that the work we've started at DVGRR will continue well into the future... meaning help will always be there for Goldens in need. Your kindness can live on forever.
While we do not want to challenge your generous giving to DVGRR now, we encourage you to consider Ben’s Golden Vision Fund in your stock donation and/or estate plans. If you have additional questions, please contact Robin Adams.
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iGive.com
Are you an online shopper? Did you know that while you shop online, you can also be helping DVGRR?
Every time that you shop iGive, a portion of each online purchase is donated to DVGRR. iGive has over 777 brand name stores to shop at, and new registrants who make a purchase within the first 45 days earn an additional $5 donated to their cause. Shop iGive, and help support our Goldens at the same time!
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Donate A Thunder Shirt
Give a Golden the chance to feel wrapped in a hug for comfort and security. By donating a Thunder Shirt you are helping our anxious Goldens feel more comfortable. Thunder Shirts provide a secure feeling to anxious, stressed or thunder phobic Goldens by wrapping around them like a fleece vest.
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A non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The official registration and financial information of Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue Inc., may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Dept. of State by calling toll free within PA, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.