A senior rescue retirement community for Golden Retrievers in Houston, Texas is rebuilding after being ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, Click2Houston reports.
Golden Retriever Acres Senior Sanctuary (GRASS) has a main house and an enormous backyard for the senior and special needs Goldens to roam free. But when the flooding from Hurricane Harvey ensued, it hit GRASS especially hard.
“It was really scary. The water rose so quick that by 11 in the morning it was waist deep in this house,” Joshua Radcliff, manager of GRASS, told Click2Houston. “We had all dogs brought to the front of the neighborhood and they were picked up by their fosters.”
As soon as local volunteers realized how much GRASS had been impacted, they jumped at the opportunity to help. “When I heard about how bad it was, my family and I came down here,” volunteer Delaney Johnson said. “We scrubbed the wood to get this place back up and running.”
Another volunteer, Laura McLaughlin, explained the importance of rebuilding a place that is so special to so many dogs. “I think the fact that they take in older dogs and give them the chance to enjoy the rest of their lives is a great opportunity,” she said.
For Radcliff, it’s imperative to get GRASS restored so that he can continue his mission of helping the senior Goldens—sometimes right until the very end. “We will not allow a dog to pass alone. So I am present during every one,” he said, choking back tears. “I deal with it often, but it’s rewarding. Just knowing that dog had a golden year, golden month, weeks or days makes everything worth it.”
Currently GRASS’ Goldens are staying with foster families until the facility is restored, but they remain available for adoption. It is Radcliff’s hope that people will continue to open their hearts and their homes to these special dogs. “When they are rehabilitated and re-homed and they find a forever home where they are loved and cared for, that is the most fulfilling feeling I have ever had,” he said.
To view the dogs available for adoption at GRASS, click here.
To donate to GRASS’ recovery efforts, click here.
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