Intake/Surrender Info

You can feel confident that through our rigorous adoption process, the dogs in our program are placed with carefully screened adopters who match the dog’s personality, activity level, and training needs. While at Golden Gateway, the dogs in our program receive all necessary medical care, multiple opportunities for play and exercise each day, premium food, and lots of love and affection from our staff and volunteers.

Our facility and staff are entirely supported through donations, supporters, and fundraising. If you are surrendering your dog, we ask that, if at all possible, your dog be current on all immunizations, tested for heartworm and intestinal parasites, and spayed/neutered. If these needs must be taken care of by DVGRR, they will represent substantial cost and time. However, we understand that may not always be possible, and we will not turn away a dog that needs vaccines or other veterinary care.

We respectfully ask for a donation to help offset a portion of the veterinary care we provide; however, no dog will ever be refused if the owner cannot afford a donation or cannot take care of veterinary needs in advance of surrendering. In such cases, we simply ask that the surrendering owner remember us in the future if possible. In order to continue saving Goldens, Doodles, Labs, and dogs with “hearts of Gold” and ensuring them happy, adoptive homes, we rely entirely on the generosity of our donors and supporters.

Final determination of a dog’s acceptance into DVGRR’s program shall not be made until DVGRR staff or authorized volunteer(s) meet the dog in person.  If the dog being surrendered to DVGRR does not appear to meet DVGRR’s Intake parameters, DVGRR reserves the right to turn down the dog.  This shall apply even if the dog was previously deemed as being accepted to the program based on a photo, following a phone or email conversation.

Click to review the Intake Procedures, read the Surrender Terms & Conditions, then proceed to the Intake Profile form. We ask that this form be completed to help us better match dogs and adopters.

We understand how difficult it can be to give up a beloved pet. We want to make the process as painless as possible. Some facts that help people feel more comfortable about surrendering a dog to DVGRR:

• While at DVGRR, your dog will stay in a kennel. We don’t think of them as cages; they are spacious and secure. Dogs get out into the yards at least 6 times a day with staff  and also get walked by volunteers and participate in training with volunteers.
• We will match the dog with other dogs for play time, having assessed that they get along with others. Play time is always supervised.
• Our kennels are cleaned at least once a day. The dogs get  clean bedding and toys daily. They get fresh water several times a day and are fed high-quality food. From 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. is nap time, and it is quiet in the kennel. At bedtime, they get a peanut butter-stuffed Kong or other preferred treat. The kennel has a fire alarm and sprinkler system as well as security cameras, so staff can check on them remotely. Our resident caretaker checks on any dogs during thunderstorms.
• Dogs get a full vet exam including bloodwork for all dogs and X-rays for older dogs. Any veterinary care will be performed, usually right here at our BARK hospital. We have a full-time veterinary assistant.
• Once released for adoption, we require any interested family (as well as any dogs already in their household) to come to Golden Gateway to meet the dog.
• When adopted, families sign an extensive contract that stipulates things such as keeping the dog up-to-date on vaccines, keeping the dog as an indoor pet, and most importantly, returning the dog to DVGRR if they cannot keep him/her for any reason.