Maggie

My name is Maggie, also known as Maggie-Poo, Magpie and Sweet Baby Girl, depending on Mom’s mood. I am a South Fork Kennels survivor and I had glaucoma. Both of my eyes were removed in January, 2012. My new Mom came to meet me at the veterinary hospital on the day I had my stitches removed. I was afraid nobody would want to adopt me, being blind and having no eyes, but guess what?!? A lady in Stockton contacted GGBR specifically ASKING for a blind dog!! Mom says I’m exactly the little girl she was looking for. I have a brother, his name is Mo. He’s half basset and half Aussie. Mom calls him a Bassetralian Shephound. He has short legs and a long body just like me, but his ears stand straight up and he has long, silky hair. He’s a couch potato with a strong herding instinct and he’s the best brother I could ever have wanted. Mo is trying to teach me to play with toys, something I never had a chance to learn when I worked at the puppy mill. I’m really happy in my new home J Lynda Beckler

Pineapple

How lucky are we? Very lucky! After loosing our beloved Basset Hound Roxy at age 13 ½ we called GGBR and let them know that we hoped sometime in the near future we would like to welcome another Basset into our lives. Because we rescued our Roxy with the help of Gloria so many years ago, we knew everyone would work hard to find us the right match. Low and behold, just after New Year’s we received a call about adopting a 7 month old girl. Sunny (originally named Pineapple) came into our lives and brightened our hearts. She is sweet, kind and wonderful with children. She is still very young so she has a bit of growing to do to fill out her big paws and long ears! She smiles a lot at the dog park when she chases the large and small dogs. Sunny has an occasional desire to nip at our feet (especially if we are wearing socks) but we know she will grow out of this habit as she matures. We’re already signed up for training and can’t wait for the Fourth of July Parade – a tradition we shared with Roxy many years ago when she was young. Life without a basset hound is just not living. We feel very lucky to have her in our lives. We wish to express our gratitude to the previous owner, Gloria, Sally and Donna and all the others who give their time and energy to ensure that the Golden Gate Basset Hound Rescue is a wonderful resource. Thank you, The Rossi Family

Sadie (and Charlie)

See Charlie and Sadie's story below...

Charlie (and Sadie)

We have been a 3 dog family for many years. That changed in the fall when we lost our old guy, our 12 year old lab. Then, on December 17, our precious Buddy, a basset, died of intestinal cancer. It was a terrible time for our family. With Buddy’s death we became a one dog family. Hank, our younger lab was now the head dog of the family, and since he was used to being the baby, he was having a terrible time adjusting to the loss of his brothers. For quite a while prior to Buddy’s illness I had been checking out Golden Gate Basset Rescue regularly, and I knew when the time came, we would adopt a basset from them. A month or more before Buddy’s death I saw Sadie and Charlie on the GGBR website and fell in love with them. They had to be adopted together, and I just sensed their place would be with our family. I was not ready to adopt them yet, but I felt that when Buddy was gone, it would be his legacy to welcome them into our home. We brought Sadie and Charlie home on December 22. We had new collars, Christmas stockings, and presents under the tree waiting for them. They slept in bed with us the first night, and within days it seemed like they had always been members of our family. Sadie is a little princess. She’s a doll and she knows it. She’s spring loaded and will jump into our laps before we even see her coming, then wiggle and kiss, kiss, kiss. She’s got lots of squishy wrinkles and she loves to cuddle. She’s also a howler, and she’s taught her big brother Hank how to howl, too, although he sounds pretty ridiculous. Charlie is a quirky guy. He likes to cuddle, too, but he’s kind of pushy about where and when he wants it. For some reason, he often looks down at the ground, so we are really working with him to keep his head up by scratching him under the chin and lifting his chin towards us when we stroke his head. He’s not big about giving kisses, but just in the last few days he’s licked my nose twice. He gets so many kisses, so I guess he’s figuring out he might as well give some out, too. Our biggest challenge with Charlie has been his obsession with food, but since he’s learned there is always food in their feeder, he’s grown relaxed about it. He’s a great hugger, and at night loves to sleep between my husband and I on our pillows. Sadie and Charlie are wonderful dogs. They’ve fulfilled Buddy’s legacy more than we could have ever hoped. Buddy would be so happy to know Sadie and Charlie have found a blissful new life with us. We are so thankful to GGBR for rescuing them so that they could join our family. I hope Sadie and Charlie have forgotten any unhappiness from their past life and now only know what their life with us.

Lily (9/12)

Our love story with Garnatxa started 7 years ago, so please bear with us until you judge her exquisite name. We got married 7 years ago and have been planning to have a dog since then. Major disagreement point: the breed. Wife was crazy about basset hounds. Husband wanted a "smarter" dog. Finally, in conjunction with the 2012 primaries, the basset hound campaign started for real! Husband was opening his mind to the breed, specially after we were introduced to the wonderful work of the Golden Gate Basset Rescue. Our house was inspected by two dear bassets, we went to the Basset Hound Waddle in Novato and that was it. Mission accomplished! Husband is in! Yay! All forms are filled! Yay! We got approved by the diligent people of GGBR! Yay! But... wait! Where is our dog? All we wanted was a young dog because this was going to be our first dog and we were not ready for a senior one yet. We waited, we waited, we waited. Three months went by... We decided to go on a trip and try another breed after we came back home. We were wine tasting in Spain and we finally got the email! There was a girl for us! Even before meeting her, we knew she was ours and we immediately picked a name: Garnatxa (the Catalan word for grenache, the wine grape). Of course, we didn't think about the unpronounceable aspect of it, we just stuck to it because it was a very important moment for us (and probably because we had tasted a little bit too much). Your guess is right: people do have a hard time in understanding it, but you know what? They don't forget it! Because Garnatxa is unforgettable, unmissable, irresistible. She has been such a gift! She spontaneously went to her bed at bedtime on day 1 and even came housebroken. She has been learning some commands at a "smart dog" speed. Because she is smart. Because basset hounds are smart and one should not be fooled by their omnipresent emotional side. Garnatxa can outtrick us with her workarounds and proactive requests. She talks with her eyes all the time. She has the funniest way of stretching herself. She barks sparsely (our greatest fear) and she lets us have dinner quietly at the table. She takes center stage every time she is at the dog park. A problem? She needs some modeling classes because it is impossible to take a good frontal picture without her moving towards the camera. In case you ever bump into us, you better start practicing pronouncing her name: Gar.na.cha (like the Mexican nachos, the unique scent coming from her ears, as from her foster parents' assessment). And the husband? He can't wait to take her to work wearing her Sherlock Holmes costume on Halloween! Thank you so much to the wonderful people of GGBR, specially Donna (the maestra), Fran (our house inspector), Melinda & Quincy (foster family). Best, Izabel