Update on Dakota written by Lynnea Landers

Dakota was born January 27, 2007, from Noel who was rescued by Golden Retriever Rescue Atlanta. Against the odds, he survived, even though Noel had shoved him to the side along with 2 other puppies. As soon as Debbie Glover showed us his picture, we were so excited to meet him. We adopted him in April of 2007. He was and is a "Velcro" dog and absorbed all the things we did with him. We went on walks every day and then started going to Petsmart classes.

By the end of 2007, he had been through all the Petsmart classes. Once we finished the advanced classes, we knew we wanted to do more with him. Through Petsmart, as well, he got his Canine Good Citizen certificate. He is such an enjoyable dog and is such a pleasure to be around that we thought it would be great if he was able to be a therapy dog. So we went to the orientation at Happy Tails in December, and in January of 2008 we went for testing. He passed the test with flying colors!

We are currently doing 3 visits a month, one at Children's Healthcare, an assisted living home called Laurel Creek, and a special needs class at Windward Elementary. At first Dakota was a little shy about his visits, but now he loves them and knows he is "on the job" when he goes. It also helps that he is able to entertain everyone with one of his many tricks. Even though he knows many tricks, rollover seems to remain his favorite. J's, my husband, favorite is "Bang", where we pretend to shoot him, and he plays dead.

In the meantime we continued taking obedience classes and soon joined an agility class in the summer of 2008. At the beginning of 2009 Dakota had so much "under his belt" that he was ready for competition. We participated in Rally Obedience in February of 2009, and he won a title in Rally Novice. In the summer, he received the Rally Advanced, and then in the fall he achieved Rally Excellent. During this time, we also participated in a few AKC agility trials, and he was able to achieve his Novice Agility title, Novice Jumps, and Weaves titles. So, all in all, he achieved 5 titles in one year, and all before the age of 3!

The Sawnee Mountain Kennel Club recognized the two of us as "2009 Dog Team Handler of the Year", which thrilled us so. 2010 is off to a great start in that he has already achieved his title for Companion Dog obedience. We are now working on his Graduate Novice Title. Already he has more letters after his name than the average doctor: Dakota RN, RA, RE, NA, NJW, CD, CGC.

Dakota was a "mix" and looked different from the typical Golden Retriever, but he is the perfect blend of Golden and Border Collie. His disposition is so much like a Golden which has toned down the "crazies" that many Borders typically have.

Congratulations to Dakota for all of his accomplishments! He is pictured above with Lynnea.

[08/01/2010]

Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta™, the original Golden & Labrador Retriever Rescue in Atlanta, is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to saving Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers that have been left in animal shelters. Started in 1991, Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta™ is registered with the State of Georgia and is licensed by the State Agriculture Department as an animal shelter and rescue group. Please click here to make a donation - no donation is too small and all donations are greatly appreciated.

Click here to read other rescue stories from GRRA™.