Author Dave Carter with his rescue golden retriever, Boston.
Potomac — A Potomac resident for over 35 years, Dave Carter knows many of his neighbors and even more dogs — specifically golden retrievers. He is an active member of GRREAT (Golden Retriever Rescue, Education and Training), a non-profit organization that rescues golden retrievers from shelters and or poor living conditions and places them in forever homes.
After a person who is interested in adopting a dog fills out an application, a home visit is arranged with a golden retriever, said Carter, "to see 'do I really want a golden?' and to see if your environment is best for the golden."
Carter and his wife Nancy go on these home visits with their golden retriever, Boston. "After all the homes I went to, I thought there must be a story in all of this so that is why I decided to write the book." His book, "Golden Angels," is about his experience with golden retriever rescue. A percentage of all of the book's sales will be donated to GRREAT.
"For me, the golden rescue and home visits have been a positive experience. I have met phenomenal people and had some phenomenal experiences," he said.
His own golden, Boston, was a rescue dog that was in a foster home in Virginia before coming to the Carter's home. In addition to Boston making home visits to see how people react to him and how Boston reacts to them; he is also a service dog that visits sick children in a hospital as a therapy dog. The children can pet and play with him. Carter said that "some of the children have never seen or pet a dog. Some are blind and the fur is a new experience for them. Some children even clamp onto Boston and try to ride him. Pet therapy is known to help patients' physical and psychological outlook."
While Boston is a service dog and used for home visits for people to become familiar with the golden breed; the Carters' first golden, Rio, was more of a homebody. Rio's job was to stay at home and protect his house and yard. "Golden Angels" tells the story of both dogs. "I had a blast writing the book, Carter said. "I went through all the home visit reports and got a sense of the good, bad and ugly of home visits."
For more information about golden retriever adoption visit www.grreat.org. To order "Golden Angels," visit www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.