Current Residents at Golden Years Dog Sanctuary

Capetown

Celebration

Love this dog! Capetown, formerly, choco, was dumped at the Castaic Animal Care Center on March 9, 2022. Susan saw him when she visited the care center on volunteer days and figured someone would adopt this handsome, friendly dog. But he was overlooked. A volunteer told us they were concerned as he had no interest and had trouble walking. To honor our sweet Captain, we rescued him on March 20, 2022. He is best dog! Super sweet, friendly, playful. he loves chew toys! He gets along with the other dogs. And walking? He moves all day on our 11 acre farm... he is doing great!

Celebration

This adorable 12 year old hound dog mix was owner surrendered at the Lancaster shelter on May 5, 2021 after being adopted from the same shelter in July 2010. She was so shy and scared, she stayed in a dog house for the first three says at our sanctuary. And then, she realized she was safe and burst out of her shell. she is so happy. She wags her tail, she smiles, she is so happy to be free.

Capricorn

Celebration

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

When we rescued Stella, now Capricorn, on September 10, 2022, we thought she had been in the shelter for nearly a year! She was owner surrendered on September 30, 2021. She was very sick in the shelter and was adopted out in November of 2021. However she was returned by her owner in July of 2022. Of course she was being overlooked as she was an older black pit bull mix. She is the sweetest thing! She loves her toys and still runs to play fetch. You would never know she is 13! She immediately fit in at the sanctuary and gets along with the pack. Welcome to the best of the rest of your life!

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

She was only given hours to live. Celsius was brought to the SEACCA shelter on May 20, 2022. She had kennel cough. it turned into a bad URI. They wanted her out of the shelter or they would kill her. We had space, but no way to get her out or over to our sanctuary. Thankfully, the rescue world is full of caring helpful people. She arrived on May 25, 2022 and we nursed her back to health. It was touch and go at first as she had quite the fever. Now, Celsius is a happy go-lucky dog. If it were not for her gray muzzle we would not believe she is ten years old! We are hoping to find her a forever home where she can run and play and have the joy of her own family. She gets along great with all the dogs and is very kind and loving. She does have quite a prey drive and can not be in a home with cats or horses.

Camshaft

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Camshaft

Here is something normal.... a dog that was brought to a city shelter with medical issues and was set to die! Enzo, now Camshaft, was brought to the Harbor shelter on March 12, 2023 as a stray. He is estimated to be about 10 years old. He has a weak hind end, a few small masses on his back and is not neutered. The shelter is so crowded, he did not even get a kennel. He was in a crate! No wonder he had trouble walking; he had no place to move around on his own! He was set to die but was given a few extensions as he is a favorite on social media and every one was rooting for him to get out! We wanted that too, but had no foster. Someone stepped up with only hours until his death date. They said they would foster so we agreed to pull him. His freedom was given on April 19, 2023. Then they tried to pawn him off to some one else without telling us! Clearly not a good move so we took the dog and now he is at our sanctuary. He has only been here a few days and is awaiting his neuter surgery. he is super sweet and seems to like his new doggie family! We would still love to get him into a forever foster home.

Checkers

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Camshaft

We heard there was dog that was going to be killed at the Palmdale shelter for having a tumor on her leg. They said surgery to remove it was impossible as she also had a splenic tumor. While one has nothing to do with the other, there was no need to kill this dog for that, so we saved her! Checkers, aka Midnight from the Palmdale shelter, is a 7 year old shepherd mix that was owner surrendered on February 19, 2023. Her leg tumor exploded while at the shelter, but has now shriveled and is not interfering with her daily life. She is anemic and not the healthiest dog. We are hoping to find her a forever foster so she can spend the rest of her days in a home! She is very sweet and loves people. She gets along with other dogs as well.

Cargo

Countdown

Clifford

Meet Cargo, aka maya from the East Valley Shelter. Can you believe the shelter wanted to kill this dog just because she is over-weight? They said she was obese and could not walk. She is a big bodied rottweiler. Granted, she could stand to lose a few pounds, but she is not obese or unable to move! She is so happy at the sanctuary. She was brought into the shelter on March 17, 2023 with a possible owner and set for euthanasia on April 6, 2 2023. We saved her April 6, 2023 and are excited to give her the best of the rest of her life.

Clifford

Countdown

Clifford

Clifford, aka Homer is a very sweet 11year old neutered male lab-mix. He was our first foster dog. Homer was at risk of being euthanized at the shelter in 2019. A shelter volunteer asked us if we could pull him. We could not keep him at our sanctuary as we were full, but could not let him die in the shelter. We found him a wonderful home a week after we rescued him from the shelter. Fast forward to 2022, Clifford would escape from his yard when neighbors would set up fireworks. It was not a good situation for Clifford, so we took him back. We were worried about him being a flight risk. However, I think he knows he landed in a safe place and is loving life as one of our barn dogs.

Countdown

On May 20, 2023 someone owner surrendered their 13 year old dog because she was having trouble walking. The shelter put her on gabapentin which made her more ataxic. They also gave her a deadline of May 25, 2023, to find a home or be euthanized. Of course we stepped in to rescue her! When we brought her to the sanctuary, she had no use of her hind legs. She was friendly with the other dogs and eager to meet them. The next day, when the gabapentin was out of her system, she could actually use her hind legs. Albeit, she is weak and can only walk a short ways before falling. however, she is getting around fine and even waked the two steps to the garagaminium! We can't wait for our veterinarian to see her and we can see how we may be able to help her even more!

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

We were contacted by a volunteer at the Ridgecrest Shelter,. Could we take a large senior dog, they asked. They didn't mention that she was scared, shy and doesn't even want to walk on a leash. as if that matters. We said yes and with the help of volunteers had her transported to our sanctuary. We wanted to name this extremely frightened dog coward. But we found a better name to describe what she needs and not who she is at this time. Her new name is compassion. Her old name was 22-197. They think she is about 10 years old. Compassion did great with all the dogs until she came in to heat. We did not know she was not spayed. She became aggressive to the other dogs. She is now spayed, but she is still aggressive to some of the dogs . We need to find her a forever home as the only dog. She is really learning to love attention and enjoys going on walks. But she hates being separated, and we hate it too!

Composer

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

After twelve years, Brownie, now Composer was owner surrendered to the Downey ACC. While he was a model dog at the shelter, did well in his behavior assessment and had little medical issues, he was still overlooked and unlikely to be adopted. So we rescued him and now he can have the best of the rest of his life at Golden Years Dog Sanctuary. Composer is a gentle, kind dog. He gets along with everyone. he loves going on slow walks and just hanging out.

Courage

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Cranberry

In September of 2018, Susan was asked to come adopt "pretty mamma" from the Downey Animal Care Center She was ten years old and red listed to be PTS. She was so shy and scared, she would not lift her head to greet us or to be petted. Of course we would take her! She is now living up to her name. She loves to carry toys around in her mouth. She loves to run as fast she can across the cross country field and onto her bed. She loves to stand guard and protect us. She is one of the most grateful dogs we have!

Cranberry

The Carson ACC listed this dog, Missy, as a 16 year old lab mix. They have the lab mix part correct. No way this dog, now cranberry who we rescued her on December 6, 2021, is 16 years old. She is a senior as you can see in her face and eyes. However, if she is 16, do not let her know! She is so spry and active! she loves to run and play. She gets along great with all the dogs. She is enjoying her life at the sanctuary. We are so happy to give her the best of the rest of her life!

Country

Cranberry

Casualty

Our plan , September 25, 2021, was to rescue a 15 year old dog from SEAACA. However, another rescue stepped up. One of the networkers asked if we could take a dog that could not walk. We had the space, so of course, we said "Yes!" So "Stetson" was delivered to us, and lo and behold, he could walk! He does have hip dysplasia and his hind legs move together when he runs. He doesn't care! He is obsessed with tennis balls and toys! He almost always has one in his mouth! Carprofen and joint supplements are helping his hind end. He is not quite a senior, which we did not know when we pulled him. our vet thinks he is about 5 or 6 years old. We would love to find him a forever home where he could hang out on someone's couch and have his own yard in which to play!

Casualty

Cranberry

Casualty

We constantly get pleas from our local shelters for dogs that will be euthanized if not rescued within a certain time period. So often, we have to ignore those pleas as we are full. But when a plea for a 12 year old dog at OC animal care that could not walk came out...we jumped on it! And so we drove to Tustin to rescue Esme on November 5, 2021. We named this incredibly sweet, docile dog Casualty, because she would have been a casualty of the overpopulated system. Now, however, she gets to spend the rest of the best of her life in a loving home!

Compact

Cadillac

Princess, now Compact, found herself dumped at the South LA shelter on October 17, 2022 after being a loyal loving dog for 15 years! No one wanted her as Staffordshire terriers are a dime a dozen. But, we did! We had to wait until we had space. We were so sad to lose 15 year old sweet blue sage Camino, but we honored his passing by saving another 15 year old! I know Peggy would be smiling if she saw what we did! Compact just arrived as we write her notes. she is going to be so happy when she realizes she has a great forever home at our sanctuary. Unbeknownst to us, Compact was still sick with her URI. It turned to pneumonia and she spent over a week in our intensive care room. She recovered, but then her bloodwork reveled that she has diabetes. So now she is on insulin and doing great!

Cadillac

So many dogs being dumped on the street and at the shelters. So many dying. Someone reached out to us and asked us to save Alice from the Lancaster shelter. We emailed the shelter and asked about her and waited for a reply. On thanksgiving day we received a call from someone who said the shelter was trying to contact us. Alice was scheduled for euthanasia on thanksgiving! But the shelter waited as they were hoping we could help her. so we did on November 28, 2022. Alice, now Cadillac, has many mammary tumors which, unfortunately, can not be safely removed. Our dear Calamity had tumors similar to this and they grew back fiercer when we removed them the first time. Cadillac was fearful of the dogs at first and would bark at them through the fence. Not surprising since she came to the shelter with several wounds on her face. Clearly she was in a dog fight. She now knows no one will hurt her here and is fine with the dogs. In fact, she loves hanging out with her doppelganger, Chalula. She is a kind, sweet dog who loves the company of people!

Camelot

Cadillac

Camelot

Puffy was first brought to the shelter as a stray in 2014 and adopted in less than a month! Then he was returned to the shelter on January 12, 2023. Camelot is an amazing dog. He was a shelter volunteer favorite and everyone was rooting for him to get out. We were hoping to find a foster, but when non one stepped up and an opening came at our sanctuary, we saved him on May 3, 2023! He is very mellow and gets along with the other big boys. We are excited to give him his freedom and look forward to spending the rest of his life with him.

DOGS IN FOSTER

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Save a life! enrich yours! Join our team and foster as senior dog. We take care of medical and food and supplies, if needed. You just give them a loving home and a place to have the best of the rest of their life. Our application can be found here FOSTER APPLICATION

Chubby- NEEDS FOSTER

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Chubby is available for a forever foster or adoption. He is a super sweet 11 year old neutered English bulldog that found himself at the Castaic ACC after his owner was hospitalized. He was overweight and under muscled, but is doing much better now that he is ina home. He has a thyroid condition which we are treating and will provide medicine on-going to his adopter or foster. He is currently in a temporary foster home. We are hoping to find him a forever foster or adopter asap. We are told at one point that Chubby broke through a screen door and attacked a dog which did not live. However, there has been no investigation to prove this. At his current age and energy level, we now this could not happen again. However, to be on the safe side, we are requiring that Chubby be in a home with no other dogs and secure fencing and gates. Chubby deserves to spend the rest of his days on a bed at the feet of someone he adores and who will adore him. How could you not with that face!?

Combustion

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Combustion

Combustion is the sweetest little dog. The picture of her on social media broke our hearts! This little 35 pound shepherd,/Shiba Inu mix was named Lazy and was scheduled to die at the Lancaster shelter. She was brought in as a stray on April 3, 2023. She had an open abscess on her cheek from an infected tooth! She was severely matted and could not walk well. She certainly walks well now...and all over the sanctuary! She is a kind, gentle dog who deserves a great forever home! She had surgery to remove her infected tooth and is feeling much better. One of our fosters fell in love with her and wanted to give her a forever home, so now she is foster which frees up a space for us to rescue another senior in need!

Cadbury

Charleston Chew

Combustion

Guess who found her forever foster home? Sweet, shy Cadbury. This dog was set to die at the south LA shelter. There was not one post on her. Cadbury, aka Boba, was brought into the shelter as a stray on February 25, 2023. they estimated her age at 12 years and in less than a month at the shelter, she was going to die. So of course, we had to save her. To honor our precious Candy who died on 3-12-2023, we named her Cadbury, She is a very calm dog who keeps to herself but is enjoying her freedom. We felt she was not moving around enough. she loved her walks without the other dogs so we thought a foster hoe with less dogs would do her good. She is loving her new foster home with her two little furry brothers!

Creed

Charleston Chew

Creed, AKA, Soto from the North Central Shelter, was brought in as stray on July 25, 202 2. He had a large ulcerated mass on his neck. The shelter removed the mass and he recovered in a kennel while he waited for a forever home. And he waited, and he waited. He spent 255 days at the shelter! Finally, a foster stepped up and we were able to save this loveable 10 year old pit mix, on April 7, 2023. He is so happy in his forever foster home. He has a brother that looks just like him and a younger sister. He still has another mass on his prepus which our Veterinarian said can be removed. We want him to enjoy some freedom before he has to under go surgery again. It is not urgent, but we will take care of it.

Charleston Chew

Who dumps a 15 year old, blind, sick, matted dog at the shelter after adopting him from the shelter when he was two years old? Well, that is what happened to Tiger, now Charleston Chew, named as a candy in honor our dog Candy. We rescued him from the Downey shelter on March 15; he was dumped on March 4, 2023. It took us almost two hours to clip his hair and find the adorable, happy dog under all his hair! The shelter told us he had a 5/6 heart murmur; blood work revealed he is in kidney failure. Our goal, as with all our dogs, is to give them the best of the rest of their life for however long we can. Charleston has an incredible foster who will do nothing but the best for him.

Caboose

Creampuff

Caboose has luck on her side! Susan went to the Lancaster shelter to save a 14 year old German shepherd. When she got there, the dog was already rescued. So she asked for any big dog over 10 years of age. There was one. She had no name and had just come to the shelter as a stray on September 13, 2022. She had a possible owner, but no one showed up. So we saved her! Caboose is Cucumber's doubleganger. Paul used to call Cucumber Steam engine, so Caboose was a fitting name for her twin. Caboose is very sweet and gets along with all the dogs. The first few nights she barked a lot, not wanting to be without us. Now, she has found her couch, gets along with the gang, and is at home

Creampuff

Is this not the cutest dog? 15 year old Chulo, now Creampuff, was brought in to the easy valley shelter by someone who said the dog was a stray on November 23, 2022. A medical plea was issued as he is old with a heart murmur and a deformed hind leg. We had a foster who was trying to help save a little dog from the shelters. The first two dogs we chose we pulled by other rescues before we could get them. Third time is the charm, and so is creampuff! He was very nervous at first and unsure of his new home and his new people. But he has realized he has hit the jackpot and is very happy now. Happy life, little man!

Cannoli

Creampuff

Cannoli

Breaks our hearts every time! Another senior dog owner surrendered for no good reason. This is Cannoli, aka Grace from the South LA shelter. She was dumped on June 29, 2022 and was scheduled for euthanasia on November 17, 2022. So we saved her. She is the sweetest, happiest dog. She loves being out of jail and gets along great with the pack. We are happy to give her the best of the rest of her life! We sent her to boarding when another foster dog was returned. The people loved her so much they decided to forever foster her.

Catya

Cannoli

The shelters are so full that 72 hour notices are being given on nice adoptable dogs! Catya, called Kona from the Downey shelter, found herself incarcerated on December 8, 2022. She is a 10 year old Germán shepherd that is friendly with people and nervous with other dogs. She was given a 72 hour notice after only being in the shelter for two months. She was on our radar but we needed a foster to save her. Luckily we had two people reach out to foster! One had other dogs, but her forever fosters did not. She now has a great forever home. She is a little anxious, but once she realizes she has a forever home, we are certain she will relax and soak in all the love her fosters want to give her

Coco

Catya

Cyrus

How do people let this happen! Coco from the West Valley shelter, was brought in as a n owner surrender on March 30, 2023. She was emaciated! The shelter was going to euthanize her due to her health as she is in liver failure and emaciated. However, Once she was out of the cage and free, she had plenty of pep and life! We saved her on April 18, 2023 and immediately took her to our veterinarian for an exam, chiropractic adjustment and a cold laser treatment to help any inflammation and pain. This 50 pound dog, should weigh over 70 pounds; we are working on that! She is getting medicine to help her liver. our veterinarian thinks she has liver toxicity and we are hoping to reverse the damage, if possible. Until then, she will be loved and pampered and fed!

Cyrus

Catya

Cyrus

Cyrus, aka Bubba, was brought to the West Valley shelter on April 5, 2023 after his owner died. He has a large mass on his cheek along with a mass in his abdomen. He has dental disease and skin issues. What terrible shape he was in! The shelter sent him to a private vet to have one small mass on his elbow removed, but did not address the mass on his face! We rescued him on April 26, 2023, so we can give him the proper care he needs and love in a wonderful foster home!

Cassia

Cherokee

The shelters are really losing it! This dog, Cassia, aka Aurora from the Harbor Shelter, came in a s stray on March 13, 2023. She has a bleeding tumor on her hind leg, so they wanted to kill her! She had a deadline of March 17, 2023! We found transport and had her pulled and brought to us. We put her on oral medication and used quic stop topically and the tumor is not bleeding. It does not bother her. We had the mass removed, and it is not cancer! It was proud flesh from her constantly licking a sore. Perhaps she had a cut or foxtail in her toe. At first she seemed to be aggressive with the dogs, but after a week or so to relax, she is fine! She gets along great with all our dogs. Now, she has a foster with one other dog. She is super happy to be in a home.

Cherokee

This poor dog! Cherokee, aka Lacie, is an 8 year old spayed female shepherd mix that was brought to the Castaic ACC on March 7, 2023 as part of an animal cruelty case. She can tell by the scars on her face, her hunched posture and reluctance to be leashed or move that she was abused in some way. As with all the dogs in the shelter these days, no one wanted her and pleas were sent out with deadlines. Then, one of our previous fosters stepped up and said she wanted to give Lacie, now cherokkee, a happy forever home! We pulled her on April 22, 2023. She needs time, but is already feeling more comfortable and will son realize her new home offers her nothing but a safe place and love.

Chai

Cherokee

Carter- NEEDS A FOREVER HOME!

Can you imagine how scared this little 8 pound, 10 year old dog must have been when she was brought to the shelter as a stray on January 12, 2023. Lucky for her, we had a foster who could not wait to give a little dog a forever home! Maya, now chai, is so loved and well cared for! She had terrible teeth, so we had a dental and most of her teeth were rotten and removed. She is so much happier now!

Carter- NEEDS A FOREVER HOME!

Carter is the sweetest dog! Some of these dogs just pull at your heartstrings. Carter, aka Domino from the Palmdale ACC, was one of those nice dogs scheduled to be euthanized by the shelter. We scrambled to find someone to foster to adopt Carter, before it was too late. Carter was actually first brought to the Castaic ACC on August 3, 2021 as a stray dog. He was later transferred to Palmdale in hopes of him getting adopted. However, he was losing weight and stressed at the shelter. No one wanted him. He lost 17 pounds in three months and despite pleas from our sanctuary and volunteers of the shelter, no additional medical care was given. Our vet was worried he may have diabetes, but turns out his blood work came back looking great. What he did have was Guardia. He was given the proper medicine and is now doing better and gaining weight! Carter gets along great with large dogs, but should not be a in a home with small dogs or cats. he is the biggest love and goofball. We are hoping to find his forever home soon!

Caspian

Carter- NEEDS A FOREVER HOME!

Caspian

Caspian had it rough at the shelter. He was brought in as a stray to the North central Shelter on January 13, 2022. He had a URI for weeks and then developed an infection on the suture site after his neuter. He was not recovering well at the shelter and was in danger of being killed. We rescued him on March 5, 2022 thinking he would be a hospice foster. However, he is doing great! His foster mom loves him and he is better from his infections and our chiropractor helped his mobility.

Casino

Carter- NEEDS A FOREVER HOME!

Caspian

Casino was owner surrendered at the Downey shelter after being a loyal dog for 13 years. Known as Symbah at the shelter, this calm dog had multiple medical issues and was doomed to be euthanized if no one stepped up. We wanted to help him, but we were full. luckily, our neighbor decided to once again foster one of our dogs and we had space to save Casino. He is a super calm, chill dog who gets along with everyone and has made himself at home. At our sanctuary, Casino choose to hang out under the bushes. We found a wonderful person to foster him. He has his own human who spends lots of time loving on him. He has a great life now.

Carburetor

Carburetor, known as Seymour from the OC Animal Care Center, was not doing well at the shelter and on the euthanasia list. He came to the shelter as a stray on January 3, 2021. They noticed he was arthritic, had ear and skin infections and seemed depressed. We had to save him! Since we pulled him, he has been neutered and his skin and ear infections are being treated. We hope is continues to improve with his health. His mental state improved immediately when he left the shelter! He is in a loving home and enjoying life.

Colt

Carburetor

Colt, aka Dexter, came to us from the South LA shelter on June 24, 2021. Colt is a 9 yr old neutered Staffordshire terrier mix. He is a little guy, weighing in at 47 pounds. He gets along great with other dogs and is living with three small dogs in foster. He was brought in to the shelter on April 21, 2021 as an owner surrender. He has limited use of his left hind, but it doesn't stop him from moving around, playing or being the biggest love. he is currently in foster and awaiting his forever home!

Caiman

Carburetor

Courtney

This dog is amazing! He gets along great with other dogs and is very friendly. Unfortunately, one of the dogs at our sanctuary likes to beat up on him. So we would love to find him a forever home. he is currently in foster where he is living with other dogs and cats. Caiman, formerly known as Brownie, is from the East Valley Shelter. This 2007 model was skinny, fearful, and has a tumor on his throat. He was not likely to get adopted. So we stepped in to save him. He has quickly opened up and is very happy now. He is gaining weight and loving life. Unfortunately, his tumor is inoperable, but he is happy and healthy at the moment, and that is all that matters.

Courtney

Cavaletti

Courtney

We are heartbroken when one of our dogs passes on. We honor their life by saving another senior dog from the shelter. One of our fosters feels the same way....and that is how Courtney came to be saved! After Chloe left us, her owner found another black female senior pit bull that no one else was going to adopt. Courtney was brought to the North Central shelter on November 5, 2022 with a possible owner that never came for her. She sat and was overlooked for months. She participated in the K9 obedience training at the shelter where her current foster met her. We saved Courtney, formerly known as Mousey on may 4, 2023.

Citrus

Cavaletti

It is tough for us when someone reached out and says, "Can you save this dog.? She dies tomorrow at 1." It is especially when it was already after 3 pm on a friday and the dog is at a shelter at which we are not an adoption partner. However, little Daphne, now Citrus, deserved a chance! So we did all the paperwork, sent in all the documents, found someone to foster and someone else to transport...all by 9pm on Friday. Saturday morning the shelter called to tell us the paperwork was in order and we could get the dog! There were videos of this dog on social media showing her unable to use her hind legs. We pulled her thinking she would be a hospice dog. But, lo and behold, once on a non-slippery surface...she could walk! She looks like charlie chaplin from behind, but she can walk. She has two little fur siblings that she gets along with well. The smile on her face just shows how happy she is.

Cavaletti

Bella, now Cavaletti, was brought to the shelter as a "stray" on March 16, 20. She was slightly sick and put in medical where no one from the public could see her. She then sat for 50 days in a kennel without getting out for a walk! When they did take her out , they said she was weak in her hind end. They put out an orange alert and gave her only a week for someone to adopt her or she would be killed. We already had our eyes on her as a networker knew about her situation and asked us to find her a foster. We did and we saved her on May 22, 2023. She is weak in her hind end, but the more she is walking, the better she gets. She in only 9, so young for us a s senior. She may be available for adoption in the near future. Of course, as always, e hope her foster will foster fail and adopt her!

Cider

Churchill

We heard there was a 15 year old shepherd that was brought in a stray to the East Valley shelter. really? We didn't know anything about him, we just said we would take him! Logan, now Cider, is the sweetest little dog. he has little ears like a sharpei and the face of basenji. Who knows what he is; who he is is fabulous! Happy life little man. Welcome to the best of the rest of your life! Cider is now in foster with a loving couple who saw his story on social media and wanted to give him a home for the rest of his days. What a lucky pup!

Churchill

Churchill, aka Big Boy from the North Central Shelter, was brought in as stray on March 18, 2022. He had inflammation around his anus. While the shelter did give him medication for his condition, they were not able to heal him. He had trouble sitting down and going to the bathroom. he was medically alerted and was in danger of being euthanized. We really wanted to help him, but we needed a foster. A wonderful person in Oxnard stepped up to care for Churchill in his time of need, and we rescued him on May 1, 2022. He is super lucky and has a most wonderful foster. He is getting the treatment he needs and hopefully, will be doing better in the near future.

Caldwell

Churchill

Caldwell

SEAACA has gone mad, issuing 24 hour deadlines on so many healthy loving dogs! Caldwell, formerly, Emmett, was one of those dogs. He is a super sweet, gentle 10 year old tri-colored dachshund that was set to die because they said he had a URI and was weak in his hind end. He also has some odd scarring on his abdomen as if he had a leash, wire or some other material tied so tightly on him for a long period of time that he has a scar around his entire torso. What torture that must have been! Thankfully, someone reached out and said they wanted to foster him. So of course, we rallied help, got him pulled and into a temporary foster as the permanent foster is in Temecula. As always, our veterinarian checked him out, did a chiropractic adjustment and give him the thumbs up on his health. Of course, he has senior issues, don't they all. But we are excited for this next chapter where he will only know love!

Cassidy

Cashmere

Caldwell

We heard that there was a lab mix at the Carson ACC that was at risk of being euthanized for being old and having a tumor. Princess, who was first at the shelter as a two month old puppy in October of 2009, was found as a stray in May, 2022. We just lost Crocodile and of course wanted to save another life. So we did. However, we missed the part where the mix of the dog is with a corgi. Cassidy is a super sweet loving 12 year old corgi-lab mix who wants nothing more than to be with you and give kisses. She is currently in foster with another GYDS alumni and having the time of her life!

Cher

Cashmere

The shelters are so crowded, that dogs are being given exit pleas left and right. One such plea was for Xica, a 13 year old Chow mix at the Downey Shelter who was owner surrendered on July 11, 2022 for being old. She had an open infected wound infested with maggots at that time. The shelter cleaned her wound and it was healed by the time we rescued her on September 2, 2022.. She has an older ID number and was spayed in June of 2010. So she was in the shelter system before. She is the sweetest, quietest, chow. We couldn't pass up the chance to save her and give her the best of the rest of her life! Xica, now Cher, immediately felt at home at the sanctuary. She was fine with other dogs, but did not want to indulge in the air- conditioned dogominium. We reached out to a previous foster who was more than happy to welcome Cher in to her home. We love giving these dogs the best of the rest of their life!

Cashmere

Paxton is a sweet ten year old akita mix who was owner surrendered to the Castaic Shelter on September 7, 2022. We were sure someone would adopt this sweet old lady, but no one came. Finally, someone reached out and said they would foster her. What great news! now, Paxton, now Cashmere, is in a loving home ready for the best of the rest of her life.

THOSE THAT HAVE LEFT FOOTPRINTS ON OUR HEARTS SINCE 2018

Constance

We could not find one post on this dog on social media. Had it not been for someone looking for a senior dog to foster, Queen Mary, now Constance, may have perished. Constance was owner surrendered at the age of SIXTEEN on May 25, 2022 at the Harbor ACC shelter. We rescued her on June 15, 2022 after spending too many days in a cold small kennel. She is actually quite healthy for her age, but does have issues with mobility. She has hip dysplasia, spondylosis and arthritis. So does her foster! So the two are doing short walks together to build strength and give Constance the best of the rest of her life. We thought Constance would be a hospice dog. But with love, a home and medical care...she had 11 great months! On May 13, 2023 her body decided it was ready to go. With her foster by her side, we said goodbye and goodnight for one last time.

Coyote

Constance

Harrison came to the Downey ACC shelter on November 7, 2022 as stray. They estimate his age as 12 years old,but he seemed much older than that. He had difficulty walking and bad skin. No one wanted him and he was put on a 72 hour notice. Thankfully, a wonderful person stepped up to foster and gave him an incredible life. Unfortunately, his body had other plans. he didn't want to eat and our veterinarian suspected he might have stomach cancer. He was going to the vet on May 11, 2023, for a check up, but died on his own terms instead. It was quick and painless. RIP our little lovebug!

Capulina

Constance

Capulina

Capulina was brought to the shelter in July 2020 as an owner surrender. She was on our radar, but we passed on pulling her, first to save cheddar, and then to save captain and cupid. After four months, we were finally able to save her in November of 2020. The shelter labeled her "Rescue only" because they said she tried to nip and they could not handle her. At first, we could not either. She was scared just to have a leash put on. We had to put the blanket on her at night without touching her legs. She had to have a leash on her so we could catch her in the yard. Now, She is still guarded at times, but also really opening up. She is loving attention. She can't wait to see us in the morning. She wants attention. She loves to snuggle in bed. This silly old heeler mix is finally learning love and joy. Her favorite time of the day was her morning run through the field at Goldspirit farm. She was so happy. Sadly we lost her way too soon on April 4, 2023. She was al most 14, but still so full of life. RIP little one.

Crash

Columbine

Capulina

Crash, aka Zeus, was left at the West Valley shelter on July 16, 2022. He had difficulty walking, a weak hind end, ataxia, and bad ear and skin infections. The shelter wanted to euthanize him. We found someone to adopt him. He was neutered and was treated for his ear and skin infections and went to his new adopted home. He was fine for about a week and then began to fight with one of the dogs and wanted to kill the cat. We had to take him back into our sanctuary. He immediately became best friends with composer, but Camel and Celsius did not like him. So he spent his nights in the kennel and was outside during the day, which he loved. Unfortunately he had degenerative myelopathy and over time he was unable to use his hind end. When he had one working hind leg, we would use a sling to take him for walks. he tried to run! he was not going to let anything slow him down. We were sad to have to say goodbye on March 30, 2023.

Columbine

Columbine found herself at SEAACA on April 7, 2022. It wasn't long before she was on their euthanasia list. We rescued her on April 23, 2022. She is a kind sweet dog who just needed a bed and a home. We got her a foster who was supposed to be temporary. However, they fell in love, and now they adopted her! She is a very sweet dogs who gets along well with people, dogs and cats! We are so happy she has a forever home! Unfortunately, Columbine got cancer; a very aggressive cancer. She died only three weeks after she was adopted.

Calorie

Columbine

Calorie came a long way from the emaciated condition she was in when she was dumped at the shelter in October of 2022. You should see her intake photo...or perhaps you should not! She was skin and bones. She was owner surrendered to the east valley shelter on October 8, 2022. We saved her on November 18, 2022. The previous owner said she had cancer. Little did they know, she actually had diabetes. She also developed pancreatitis! She probably also had cancer. With the help of a wonderful good Samaritan, Bella, now Calorie was taken to the veterinarian hospital where they could do glucose testing and determine the amount of insulin she needed. We had her in foster for a the first few weeks, but that did not work out. We had her at our farm, but we really wanted to find her a forever home. She hated being in the kennel, but for her safety as she could not see well and was dog selective, she could only get out supervised. We tried to keep her out as much as possible, but it wasn't enough. She was full of life and spunk. she loved being around people, and going on her daily walks. Then, our dreams came true and we found a foster for her on March 5, 2023. Calorie was loved and had a home and a bed inside the house! She was so happy. Tragically, she died on March 13, 2023. We were so sad to hear of her passing, but so incredibly happy to know that she died in a home, being loved. We do what we can for them. sometimes we can only give them a short time, but always we give them the best of the rest of their life. RIP Calorie.

Candy

Cantaloupe

Chipmunk

We saved Candy in 2013 after another dog we had for only a few months, tragically, died suddenly. Clive was heartbroken and needed a new chew toy. Candy, a 2008 mix of unknown breeds who we adopted from the Lancaster Animal Care Center, was the answer. She was the greatest dog, our alpha, our fastest dog, our mountain goat-dog, our barn protector, coyote chaser... the last of the original barn dogs. She was the barn favorite. She was everyone's favorite. People were always asking us if they could adopt her. No way. She was my heart-dog. And now my heart is broken. After 9 years of seeing this bundle of joy at the barn every day, what will I do? On March 12, 2023, at 9:42 pm we laid with her while she took her last breathe. We were lucky to have 3 extra months. We thought we were going to lose her in December when she suddenly was paralyzed in her hind end. After 5 days of not being able to move...she stood, sorta. but she recovered, thanks to prednisone, the wonder drug, and our amazing vet. She didn't care that she had nerve damage and that sometimes her hind end went a different way than her front end...she still chased the coyotes ( even though everyone yelled at her to stop) and went straight down the hillside's vertical faces like a mountain goat. She loved life. She didn't even have a name when we saved her. She was #A4634595. I thought of her as a daisy, but she needed a "c" name and since she was sweet as can be...she became and was candy. RIP my beloved dog. Life will never be the same.

Chipmunk

Cantaloupe

Chipmunk

We are so grateful to have people willing to foster these old little dogs! Chipmunk, aka Kenai from the Castaic Acc was dumped at the shelter on January 28, 2023 as an owner surrender at the age of 15! He walks very slowly and is skinny. Our wonderful foster saw him and reached out to us for assistance. Of course we said yes and rescued him on February 3, 2023! Besides moving slowly, he has a heart murmur and dental disease. We discovered he was also in kidney failure. His foster adopted him and did all she could to help him. She gave him a wonderful month full of love. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his disease on march 6, 2023.

Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe, aka Spike, was an 11 year old chihuahua mix from the West Valley City shelter. He was turned into the shelter on June 5, 2022 as a stray with a possible owner, who failed to retrieve him. Someone who previously fostered for us, reached out and asked if we could save him. So we did on July 1, 2022! Cantaloupe had a grocery list of medical problems including being over weight, a heart murmur, limited vision, and skin issues. We did a dental, gave him heart medicine, helped him lose weight and gave him a great life for 7 months. In the end, his little body was just too sick. He earned his wings on February 14, 2023 with his foster mom by his side.

Crusader

Cantaloupe

On April 5, 2022, a nearly 15 year old German shepherd dog named Smokey was owner surrendered to the Baldwin Animal Care Center. Immediately there were emails and posts on social media to save this dog. We had just lost Comet, so we had a space open. However, we had already promised that space to a long term shelter resident. So we pleaded for a foster, and Dawn came knocking on our door! Gladly, we rescued Smokey, now Crusader, on April 17, 2022. He immediately fit right into his forever home where he had a little brother and was spoiled and loved as every senior dog should be! His fosters loved him so much, they had to adopt him and call him theirs for as long as he will grace them with his presence! In January 2023, he started having more difficulty with mobility and the use of his hind end. On February 13, 2023, his forever mom made the decision to say goodbye. Susan went to visit him before the vet arrived. Crusader perked up for the visit, playing with his favorite toy and eating hotdogs. It is always difficult to say goodbye to our beloved dogs, but at least they go out happy and knowing love. RIP crusader.

Cannon

Cha-Cha

Cannon

Poor Cannon sat in a small cold kennel at South LA shelter for over three months! His name was Kero and he was owner surrendered as an 11 year old on March 1, 2022. Many pleas were sent out for this dog and no one wanted him. His neuter resulted in a hematoma that abscessed on his scrotum. He was sick and was going to be euthanized. We pulled him and nursed him back to health! Cannon is a kind, old, slow moving, sweet dog. While he was loving life at our sanctuary, one of our other dogs beat up on him for no reason. Luckily, one of our neighbors agreed to foster him. he is so close we can visit often, and we know he is in great hands. We plan on giving him the best of the rest of his days, for how ever long he chooses to bless us with his presence. Unfortunately, he developed a very aggressive mylopathy and within weeks was unable to use his hind end at all. While he didn't mind dragging his 90 pound body around, it wasn't fair. His condition would only get worse. We are so fortunate he had a wonderful foster home where he was so loved. We always wish we could give them more time. We said goodbye on February 4, 2023

Clinic

Cha-Cha

Cannon

Apparently cats are not the only animals with nine lives! meet Clinic, aka pumpkin from the west valley shelter. Pumpkin, a 14 year old chihuahua mix, was brought to the shelter on July 5, 2022. On July 6, they found him lying on the kennel floor, his tongue purple. he was barely breathing. He next few days at a veterinarian hospital where he was diagnosed as having a heart disease called MMVD. He was given a deadline by the shelter to find a home or be put to death. Thankfully we had a wonderful person step up to foster. We saved him on July 22, 2022. We couldn't hold him, he didn't walk on a leash. He was not housebroken and he was on the brink of dying. Still, Carrie cared for him and loved him. In time, he was better about being petted briefly, but still would not allow a leash on his neck or to be held. On his final day with his foster, she was able to give him a warm sponge bathe. He seemed to love it. He actually enjoyed the pets and attention with the bathe. And then he fell he asleep for the last time. RIP little Clinic, you were one of a kind. January 28, 2023

Cha-Cha

Is she not the cutest little thing? Cha-cha, formerly known as Bella, from the Castaic ACC was brought in as an owner surrender on May 28, 2022. A volunteer at the shelter didn't want to see this little dog scared in the kennels, so she asked if we would rescue her to foster. How could we say no?! So cha-cha was saved on June 4, 2022 and spent the rest of her days with other small dogs and a wonderful foster family. The owner said she was 10, but she seemed much older. Unfortunately, her little body was in bad shape. While she was hand fed chicken and treated like a princess, she still did not gain weight. We made the decision to goodbye on January 19, 2023, when it was clear she really had no quality of life.

Callie

Camino ( Blue sage)

Cha-Cha

Callie was a 12 year old gray Staffordshire terrier who found herself owner surrendered at the Lancaster ACC on May 11, 2021. She had tumors and while she was super sweet, she was overlooked due to her age, breed, and medical condition. The shelter removed her tumors and someone reached out to us asking if we would pull her for him to foster. Of course we would! On September 13, 2021 we rescued Callie, providing her with a wonderful foster parent who adores her. Callie's dreams came true as her foster has decided to adopt Callie and love her forever. In October of 2022, her bleeding tumors returned and we did surgery to remove them again. We were hoping we could buy her another year. However, on Christmas eve, Callie had trouble breathing. Our veterinarian said she most likely had tumors in her lungs. There was nothing we could do. We gave her some pain medicine to keep her comfortable and to give her the best Christmas ever. We said goodbye on December 26, 2022

Camino ( Blue sage)

Camino was a stray dog in our canyon. He was shy and scared. Our neighbor and friend, Peggy, took him in and gave him a home. Flash forward a dozen years or so and 15year old Blue Sage Camino needed a place to land after our dear friend Peggy succumbed to cancer in October 2022. Camino was a sweet mellow dog who got along with everyone. I think his favorite day was going to Peggy's memorial at Dexter Park where all of her ( and his) friends were there. He was so happy and frisky that day. He loved sleeping in the big dog house in the middle kennel. Unfortunately, that is where we found him on November 20, 2022.. He died in his sleep. We were glad to give Peggy comfort knowing we would take care of her beloved dog, and we are happy Blue Sage Camino had six weeks at our sanctuary. RIP

Camilla

Camino ( Blue sage)

Duchess, now Camilla, was found as a 13 year old stray in the Carson area on August 31, 2022. She was on a 10 day microchip hold, but her previous owners never came back for her. Before her hold was even up, we contacted the shelter and said we wanted to rescue this poor girl. They said she had weak hind legs and trouble walking. She may be slow, but has no problem cruising around the sanctuary! She is quiet and gentle as a senior dog should be. We are glad we could save her and provide her with the love and freedom she so deserves! Unfortunately, our time with her was too short. On September 23, 2022, we found her in the morning laying down next to her bed, not in her bed. She was barely responsive, but she was alive. We rushed her to the vet hospital. Her blood work was not that bad, but her temperature was already 104. X-rays showed a large mass in her abdomen. She also couldn't move her back legs. She could not stand, she was completely non-weight-bearing . She was clearly in pain in her back and her belly area. Her fever rose to 105. We knew there was nothing we could do to relieve her from her pain except to say goodbye. We only had her for 10 days. We were heartbroken

Castaway

Did you hear this story? Old dog thrown into the ravine by a homeless man. Shopping cart dumped on top of him. Left to die in 100 Degree weather. A couple young boys saw him and called the authorities. He was brought to the Ramona Humane Society were he was treated while on a stray hold. Social media went crazy, trying to find a rescue to take him. We could. We just needed transport. Thanks to a wonderful volunteer, he was delivered to us on July 20, 2022. It seemed appropriate to call him Castaway. He was fearful, scared and growling. After one night in a safe place, he relaxed. He wagged his tail and sought affection. At first he was leery of other dogs, but quickly realized they are friends. he was happy. We knew he was not the healthiest dog and we were closely monitoring his diet and medicine to get him back to health. One night he had a seizure. it did not last long, but the affects never wore off. We took him to the vet and discovered he was bleeding internally from a ruptured tumor. We had to say goodbye. That was only 5 1/2 weeks after we saved him. we were heartbroken.

Curry

Castaway

We were fortunate enough to have Curry in lives for over three years! He was one of the first dogs we saved when we obtained our permit and became a non-profit. Back in June of 2019, Susan was called about getting a dog, named "oso" from north central. She was a little worried, as male dogs can sometimes be aggressive. She was assured, not the case with this sweet 10 year old dog that was caught in the streets. No owner came to pull him from the shelter. So on a Friday afternoon, Susan drove down to the shelter to adopt him only to find out, another shelter "pulled" him. They put a hold on him, but then never came for him. The next day at 4:50 pm, Susan was asked to adopt this dog sight unseen or he would be pts. Who could say no to that? With the help from Angels for Animals; we saved "Oso"! And, didn't we luck out! Curry was the most gentle, loving, sweet dog...and a chow on top of that! So much for stereotypes! Curry had spondylosis making his back stiff and a partial paralysis in his trachea making breathing difficult. He laid with his back straight, head elevated and legs straight out in front of him. More than once, we had to look twice to make sure he was breathing as he slept in the position of a dead dog. Age finally got the better of him and we said goodbye to our dear friend on August 20, 2022

Clubber

Castaway

Calamity

Living to be 14 when you are a big dog is awesome! Clubber left us on July23, 2022. According to his bloodwork, he was in "kidney failure" for two years. He didn't care. He just like Winnie the pooh, he lived for food and love. He had his bed and his routine. However, when it was finally too difficult for him to get up, we knew we had to let him go. Clubber was the first dog we pulled after the quarantine. Usually we meet the dog at the shelter first and then do paperwork. The shelter thought it odd, we wanted to meet him before we would agree to save him. Once we saw him walking toward us, wagging his little rump, we knew we would save him. And so we did. Clubber, known as Bam Bam at the South LA shelter, was owner surrendered on December 8, 2019. He was in the shelter for five months; no place for an 12 year old dog. He was very happy to meet all the dogs. Us, on the other hand, he growled at. It took him a few days to realize we were good people. Now, he gets quite pushy wanting to be hugged and petted. What a love!

Calamity

Do you know what happens when a dog is brought to a high kill shelter with a necrotic bleeding tumor? They give it less than 24 hours to live. Calamity, aka Sunny from the SEAACA shelter, was brought in on Friday, and given to the end of the day on Saturday to be rescued or they would kill her. We had space. We found a transporter and we saved her on January 29, 2022. First thing Monday morning, we brought her to the veterinarian's office. She had surgery that day and the giant tumor, along with a second smaller tumor, were removed. She was the sweetest little dog. She was only 7 years old, and while we had her up for adoption at first, no one wanted her. That was fine with us, We loved her. A second tumor grew and we had it removed. Her skin never fully healed as her entire belly clearly had cancerous tissue. A third tumor grew and started to bleed. We had surgery planned for her. Unfortunately, her cancer was greater than we imagined. She died in her sleep. It was peaceful. It was sad. RIP July 22, 2022 .

Crayon

Calamity

Crayon

At 15 years of age, Smoke's human died and he was brought to the Lancaster shelter. We had our eyes on him, but could not find a foster to take him and we had no space. He was extremely underweight and a cold shelter was no place for him. When Couch Potato died unexpectedly, we jumped at the opportunity to honor him and rescue sweet crayon. At the shelter, staff gave us a drawing of him made by girl scout troop that was visiting the shelter, hence the name. Crayon was unneutered and had prostate cancer. We had him neutered to help him out a bit. Over time, he gained the weight he needed, but he also developed myelopathy in his left hind leg. His cancer grew and his ability to move waned. He always kept his amazing appetite and we were sure to feed him plenty on the day we had to say goodbye, July 19, 2022

Cindy

Calamity

Crayon

Cindy is an adorable little chihuahua mix that was found as a stray at West Valley Animal Shelter July 21, 2021. She was at the shelter less than a week when they placed her on orange alert and gave her a deadline. If she was not pulled by Wednesday, July 28th, they would euthanize her. Their reason? They said she was in poor health. She is a little senior dog. Of course she is in poor health, but not in grave danger. Our neighbor was interested in saving a smaller dog and stepped up to the plate to foster. Cindy has an amazing last year of life. We saved her on July 27, 2021 and she died July 16, 2022. her heart just gave out and she died in her sleep. Her foster said when Cindy wanted something she would walk up to her human, look her straight in the eye and give one Gruff. Live, and death, done were her way!

Cappuccino

We were so saddened by the sudden passing of our dear Cappuccino on June 24, 2022. She died on her birthday. She was 15 years old. She was a barn favorite and had been with us nearly five years! We rescued her from the North Central Shelter back in 2017. We always described her as gorgeous, healthy, happy, and rambunctious. Only most recently did she start walking a little sideways. The veterinarian said it was mechanical and not painful as she still walked and ran everywhere. She wanted to be with us and she was happy. Cappuccino, known as Effie at the shelter, was first in the shelter as a one year old dog in 2008. She was treated for a skin condition, spayed and adopted. Nine years later, she was back again. This time she had terrible oozing wounds over her entire body. She an ear infection as well as a skin infection. She also developed a respiratory infection. For six months , she would show signs of improvement and then get sick again. This was not a good prognosis for an overcrowded shelter! So of course we had to save her! Once free of the stress of the shelter, she responded to the medicine and her skin cleared up.

When we first put her on the website we wrote: at the young age of thirteen going on three, she can be found running around the entire farm! Cappuccino has no idea how old she is, and we don't plan on telling her! That was true until the day she died.

Carl

Cappuccino

Carl truly had the best of the rest of his life with his wonderful foster family. We gave him more than 15 months of life. Carl was a 13 year old lab mix in that was owner surrendered to the harbor shelter on February 4, 2021 at the age of 12. He was originally adopted from the same shelter as cute one year old dog in 2010. Known as "Scooby" he was a super sweet guy that just didn't belong in a shelter. Thankfully, a wonderful couple offered to foster him and we were able to rescue him. Carl always had thyroid issues which we managed with medication. However, in the end he had trouble breathing and we decided the best thing to do for him was to say goodbye.

Crocodile

Cappuccino

Crocodile

When someone tells us the dog was owner surrendered for snapping at their kids, Crocodile instantly became the perfect "c'" name. Meet Crocodile, formerly, Buddy from the West LA shelter. He is a 13 year old golden retriever that was originally adopted from the shelter in 2010 as a one year old who came in as a stray. He was dumped back in the shelter in October of 2021 for aggression. After medical care at the shelter, his behavior changed and he was once again wagging his tail and eager to be friends with staff. He has a tumor under his tongue and that was enough to put poor Crocodile on the kill list. We found a foster and were able to pull him on February 18, 2022. The resident dog of the foster didn't seem to want a companion so Crocodile came to live with us! We immediately had the tumor under his tongue debulked. However it grew back. We debulked it two more times, each time it grew more aggressively. It eventually made eating and comfort difficult. We were forced to say goodbye on June 9, 2022. RIP our happy little guy!

Crusty

Cucumber

Crocodile

Word gets out when a rescue group is at the shelter. A kennel attendant pulled Susan aside when she was looking at Courage and asked if she could look at another dog. Crusty, as we named her, was old, sick, and not even available to the public. She was doomed, except for the fact that we look for those old, sick, ugly dogs to save. So Crusty had a forever home with us! She was at least 12 when we saved her in 2018. While the shelter listed her as 12, they said in her notes, she may be older. She had an auto-immune problem and skin irritations that we treated with multiple medications until we helped her heal. She was happy. Crusty was going strong up until the day we said goodbye. On June 9, 2022, she decided she had enough. She had eaten dinner the night before and went on her nightly stroll. But that morning, she had no desire to eat or move. We loved on her and said our goodbyes. After she passed, Celsius barked at her and pawed at her trying to get her to move. I think Celsius could not believe our matriarch had finally died. Reminded me of the last scene of The Champ. Crusty too, would not wake up. RIP our sweet girl!

Celeste

Cucumber

We really never know how long our dogs are going to stay with us. We rescued Celeste from Downey ACC shelter on October 22, 2021. Lucky for Celeste, her foster wanted to save two senior dogs! Celeste was a ten year old Border Collie mix that came to shelter as a stray on September 9, 2021. No one came for her and she just sat in her kennel being overlooked for being quiet and old. Lucky for her, we like that in a dog and her foster mom was beyond thrilled to give her the best of the rest of her life with fellow foster dog, Cleveland. her blood work showed she was in kidney failure, but could be managed with medicine and diet, for a bit. Unfortunately that bit was only until June 5, 2022 when her body had enough and we made the decision to say goodbye.

Cucumber

When we first saw this 92 pound Staffordshire terrier being wheeled out of the shelter, we thought she looked like a sea cucumber; we had to name her Cucumber. It fits. Known as Beauty at the Carson ACC, they said she was blind and could not walk. They wheeled her out in a cage; so her freedom walk was a freedom roll. She is not blind and she walks just fine. In fact, she loves to run....for very short spurts. We rescued her and Crush on July 2, 2020. She looked more like a pot bellied pig than a dog. Our veterinarian lovingly called her java the hut! She lived on medication to help reduce the inflammation in her lungs and to make her breathing and her ability to walk easier. She was a happy dog and we were blessed to have her in our life for almost two years! She died in her sleep on May 24, 2022.

Cooked

Cooked, formerly Trucker was brought to the South LA shelter as a stray on March 14, 2021, transferred to West LA shelter on June 17, 2021 and then to the East Valley shelter on March 4, 2022. He spent 378 days at the shelter! Due to understaffing, sometimes he did not get out of his kennel for weeks at a time! he He came to the shelter relatively healthy and developed bone cancer in his hip while incarcerated. He was going to be euthanized if a rescue did not step up as they say he can not walk and is in pain. Our own veterinarian said after seeing the x-rays, that he may only have a few days left. We heard about him the day we had to say goodbye to Clutch. To honor Clutch and give this poor dog a decent life for whatever remaining days he has, we had to rescue him! Day one: he is walking fine, eating and does not seem to be in pain. We were so happy to give Cooked he best of the rest of his life. Unfortunately, his cancer continued to grow. After 46 days of love, joy and freedom in a loving environment, we said goodbye to Cooked. RIP May 10, 2022

Comet

Cooked

Comet was so scared when we rescued him from the South LA shelter on October 30, 2021, he had his tail between his legs and walked slung low waiting to be beaten. Of course, we would never hurt him. From that day forward, all he would know is love. When we rescued Comet, formerly Sonic, he had a huge ulcerated tumor. We thought he was a hospice dog. Turns out, we could have the tumor removed! History has taught us that when there is one tumor, there are more. In fact, his tumor grew back and we had to have it removed again. We never know how long we will have to love on these guys, but we intend to give him the love he deserves every day! Sadly, we said goodbye to Comet on April 10, 2022

Clutch

Cooked

Chauncey

One year in the shelter! You heard it right, Clutch, formerly hutch from the South LA Shelter, spent 365 days behind bars! He had medical issues and after one year the shelter, they wanted to euthanize him. We rescued him on January 12, 2022. His muscles were weak, but his spirits were high as he left the building for good! Clutch was a 9 year old great dane mix who definitely enjoyed the rest of his life at the sanctuary, we just never imagined it would be so short! We tried him in two different foster homes when we first rescued him, but they were not the right match. He wanted to be here with us! He loved being around everyone at the barn all day and he got along with all the dogs. He was a very mellow boy and most definitely the best couch potato! Our clients refused to ask him to leave the tack room and often left it open and unlocked so as to not disturb Clutch! We are so glad we could spoil him. Unfortunately, he had tumors on both is prostate and bladder. In the end we had to say goodbye because of bad plumbing. We said goodbye on March 25 2022; three Fridays in a row we said goodbye to wonderful dogs. May April be a better month!

Chauncey

Cannonball

Chauncey

Funny how things happen sometimes. Networkers for the SEAACA dogs posted that this poor dog was going to need out when his chip hold was up as he had a large tumor in his mouth. One of our neighbors and past fosters posted that she was able to foster if a rescue stepped up. So of course we did! We rescued him November 9, 2021, the same day SEAACA sent out a last minute plea to have the dog pulled or he would be euthanized. 22-04124 ( dandy) is now called Chauncey. Surgery was performed and portions of the tumor that are visible were removed. he vet also removed 9 teeth. While Chauncey certainly looked better, he was not in the clear. The tumor was also in his nasal passage making it difficult for him to breathe and he had a cough. Our foster was diligent in caring for him and under our veterinarian's care, we did all we could to keep him comfortable and reduce the speed at which the tumor grow. But it did grow. He enjoyed his long walks up until the day before we said goodbye. It was becoming difficult for him to walk and breathe. On March 18, 2022 we made the painfully right decision to prevent him from any suffering as the tumor was growing and his quality of life was diminishing. We are so thankful to his wonderful foster who understood this was a hospice situation and was happy to give him the best of the rest of his life.

Captain

Cannonball

Captain was a jolly, go-lucky 14 year old lab mix who found himself at the South LA shelter as an owner surrender on September 28, 2020. He was first adopted out of the shelter seven years ago with another lab. The two were best friends. We didn't have room to pull two dogs, but we could not pull his brother and not him. So we enlisted our neighbors to foster one of our dogs so we would have room. And we are so happy we did. We rescued Captain and his brother, Cupid on October 13, 2020. Captain was a true joy to have around, he loved his big dog house, which he didn't share with any of the dogs. He loved to roll around on the ground and just be a happy dog. Unfortunately, he had very bad degenerative joint disease in both hips. We tried everything we could to make him comfortable. We could not. We had to say goodbye on March 11, 2022. May he reunite with his brother and be a dog again.

Cannonball

We love it when people come to us and ask us to rescue a dog so they can forever foster him or her. This was the case for Cannonball, akas Pancho from the East Valley Shelter. He came to the shelter as a stray on September 3,2021; we rescued him September 16, 2021. He was a 14 year old Chihuahua mix with a very large testicular tumor that the shelter could not remove. It surely caused him pain and discomfort. We had an amazing veterinarian who performed the surgery to neuter him and remove the tumor. He loved life with his wonderful foster mom. She called us March 10th and said something was wrong and he was having labored breathing. We took him to the vet the next morning, March 11, 2022, but unfortunately, he died in Susanne's arms while waiting for the veterinarian. He knew love and comfort literally until his last breathe. RIP our wonderful little Cannonball

Cleveland

CrackerJack

Cleveland came to the Palmdale shelter on May 28, 2021 as a stray. This 15 year old lab mix, wrongly labeled as a Pit bull mix, came to the shelter with a wound on his nose and a broken tooth. Who knows what this poor dog went through. But now, he is safe and will live the rest of days with love, freedom and lots of treats! One of our previous fosters asked if she could foster Cleveland. He spent the last of his days in a loving home with another Golden Years Dog Sanctuary foster, Celeste, as well as two little dogs. Being close to 16, Cleveland was slowing down a bit. One night, he didn't want dinner. he had slept most of the day. His foster mom knew something was wrong. She laid next to him in his bed all night as his breathing slowed and eventually stopped. He died peacefully and with love at 2:00am on February 21, 2022

CrackerJack

"Isabel" was our "foster failure"! This 2007 dog sat in a cage at the overcrowded Los Angeles City North Central Shelter for eleven months! We wanted to start fostering for the shelter. In May of 2018, she became our first, and our only foster. We tried to find her a forever home but she, and all the clients at Goldspirit Farm, decided that we were her forever home! Crackerjack was one of the most amazing dogs ever. She not only breaks every stereotype about staffordshire terriers and pitbulls, but she was the biggest love who did not have an aggressive bone in her body! She was always smiling. She loved to roll around on the beds and cuddle with us. Unfortunately, she had a huge tomor on the side of her face and another in her spleen that were inoperable. We kept her comfortable for as long as we could. On February 17, 2022 her body had enough. She didn't want to eat or really move and so we made the decision to say goodbye. She will forever be in our hearts

Cherry

CrackerJack

Clarence

We work so hard to save these dogs and give them a wonderful end of life. We never expected Cherry's time to be so short. It was serendipity that we even saved Cherry. We were supposed to save a dog at the Downey shelter. Had a foster all lined up. When we got to the shelter, that dog was already rescued. There wasn't any other dog at the shelter that really fit our requirements for this foster. Susan opened her email to contact the foster and saw an email from SEAACA that this little dog was going to be killed at 4pm. It was almost 1pm. She then opened her Facebook and saw a post about the same dog. The foster agreed to take her and Susan rushed to SEAACA to save sweet Cherry. Cherry was only at the shelter a couple of days. She had a huge ulcerated tumor where her right eye used to be. For her safety and well-being, we took all the right precautions: blood work, x-rays, cytology of the mass. We had the green light to have her tumor removed. The surgery was a success, but the universe chose a different path for her and she died in her sleep that night. We are heartbroken as we were so hoping to give her more than a week, but at least in that week she knew only love. RIP 2-15-2022

Clarence

Cornbread

Clarence

One of our all time favorite dogs! he had such a great personality and always had a smile on his face. Barney" was at the Harbor Shelter for months. When he arrived at the shelter in April of 2019, he was dragging his hind legs. X-rays showed he had abnormalities in his pelvis and hip sockets, yet he remained in great spirits. We adopted him on July 26, 2019. He has no idea his x-rays show abnormalities as he runs around the farm with his tail wagging. He is quite a talkative soul and likes to bark when he is happy. He barks a lot! Clarence had a splenic tumor and despite all our efforts to keep him happy and comfortable, we had to say goodbye on January 13, 2022

Chutney

Cornbread

We are so happy we could save Chutney, formerly nutmeg 22-01761, from the high kill SEAACA shelter. She is a 12 year old Labrador mix who came to the shelter on August 16, 2021. We rescued her on August 26, 2021. She was riddled with ulcerated masses. We immediately took her to the vet where she was assessed nd and a surgery date was scheduled. She had many masses removed and is now living life of luxury in her forever foster home. We are so grateful to our fosters for without them, dogs like chutney would have perished. Unfortunately when dealing with mast cell tumor, they keep growing. Chutney's fosters gave her 5 wonderful months; the best of her life. We had to say goodbye to her on January 13, 2022

Cornbread

"Patrina" was her name at the Downey Animal Care Center. We rescued her just before Thanksgiving in 2017. Another 2006 model with no idea she is a senior. She has quite the personality! She wants so badly to play, but none of the dogs want to join in when she gestures to them it is play time. Although she doesn't like others getting love when we are loving her, she barges in on other dog's love moments without a second thought. She is a great dog; we find it difficult to believe someone didn't claim her when she was at the shelter. Sadly, Cornbread had a couple of seizures in December. We put her on medicine which seemed to help for a little bit. On Sunday, January 9, 2022 she was having difficulty waling. Susan stayed in her bed with her and just loved on her for a long time. She died peacefully in her sleep the next morning. RIP 1-10-2022

Clive

Couch Potato

Clive was literally dumped from a moving pick-up truck at the cemetery up the street from our farm. In 2012, at two years of age and un-neutered, he was quite a handful. He has mellowed with age, but still thinks he is the Alpha, and loves his job protecting the farm. He is quite the love and the favorite of so many clients at Goldspirit Farm. Clive loved people and being at the barn. He and his best friend, Candy, ran the farm, or so he liked to think. In summer of 2021, he developed cancer in his leg. It grew fast and was in a place where we could not remove it and amputation on his leg did not seem fair to him. We kept him happy and comfortable for as along as possible. On December 4, 2021 we had to say goodbye to our dear friend of nearly 10 years.

Couch Potato

Couch Potato was rescued on August 20, 2021 from Baldwin Park ACC. His name was Buddy and he is a 11 year old Labrador retriever. He was brought to the shelter as an owner surrender on August 3, 2021 for biting his owner when the owner had his hand too close to the open wound on Couch Potato's face. We was made Rescue only with a Waiver because of the bite. HIs wound on his face was an ulcerated mass which the Shelter removed. We originally pulled him to be adopted out. However, it did not work out with the adopters and Couch Potato now lives with us at the sanctuary where he will spend the rest of his days lounging in the sun, relaxing on the couch and living up to his name! It turns out he had a large mass on his abdomen. There was no way to remove it surgically. On Sunday, November 21, 2021, he suddenly declined and was in pain. We managed his pain until the vet could arrive, and unfortunately, we had to say goodbye. We had no idea we would lose Couch potato so soon and are devastated. To honor his passing, we rescued a 15 year old Staffordshire terrier the same day. His name is crayon.

Chunky

Couch Potato

Chunky

Bear, from South LA shelter walked out of the shelter, and Founder Susan Friend thought, what a chunky bear. And the name stuck! We rescued him on March 31, 2021 with Carmello. Carmello was the hospice dog, but chunky was the one who could barely walk. His eyes, nose and mouth were crusted over and skin looked terrible. A good bath, veterinarian care, and bloodwork and now we have a super happy dog. Chunky has a thyroid issue and keeping him on his medicine is helping all his health issues. Unfortunately, in June something happened to Chunky and he was unable to walk. We immediately took him to the vet and after some testing, was determined he had damage to his back. We changed his medicine to the wonder drug called prednisone and he was so much better. He could walk again! We have had dogs with spine and disc issues, we knew we were only buying time. But, it was time we loved with our sweet chunky. On October 3, 2021 only six months after we saved him, chunky died in his sleep.

Crosby

Chunky

Crosby may be the sweetest dog we ever rescued! At only 12, he moved more like he was 15. He has the kindest face, walks very slow, and is a total love. When we brought him to his foster home, it was if he said, "Ok, I can live here now." He checked out his home, meet his four legged friends and found a soft bed to lay on. We are so glad we could save sweet "lucky" from the South LA shelter on February 26, 2021. He was owner surrendered on February 18. Eight days was eight days too many for him to sit in a kennel. A few weeks ago, Crosby was having trouble getting up and using his hind legs. We worked with our vet and changed his medicine which gave him a new bounce in his step. He was one happy puppy! Unfortunately, his body had other plans and he died in his sleep on September 19, 2021

Coral

Crosby

Coral

We were so saddened by the passing of Coral on August 30, 2021. She died from post operative complications after being spayed. Coral was a five year old Dogue de Bordeaux that we rescued from Baldwin ACC on May 5, 2021. She came to the shelter as an owner surrender on April 30. The owner said she had seizures. The shelter sent her to a private vet for the weekend where she did not have any seizures. Being scared, she was a aggressive when anyone tried to collar her or handle her. Therefore, the shelter just wanted to PTS her instead of properly caring for her medical issues, spaying her or helping with her behavior. We had to hustle to find an adopter, transport, and a place to keep her for a few days in order to save her from certain death at the shelter. She was in foster for four months. She was given the medical care and socialization she needed. We were so happy to have her back at our sanctuary and had people interested in adopting her. RIP our sweet Coral

Cecil

Crosby

Coral

Cecil's fosters were looking for a rescue to help Cecil. We were happy to rescue him from the shelter on March 15, 2021. Cecil, formerly, Blue from the Lancaster ACC, came to the shelter as an owner surrender in January. He spent two months being overlooked and would have been euthanized if we didn't step up. His fosters are helping socialize him and teaching him humans are fun to be around. He loves his foster family, but is still leery of strangers. Unfortunately, Cecil became acutely ill on July 10. We hospitalized him for four days for kidney failure. Each night he spent at his home with his loving foster family. His kidney values improved as much as possible. Cecil was feeling better and had a great last four days of life, eating ribs and pulled pork and playing ball. However, he declined rapidly. On July 19, 2021, the decision was made to end his suffering. We are so thankful for his loving foster family for giving him the best of the rest of his life. We had no idea his time out of the shelter, would be so short.

Comfort

Carmello

Comfort was the first dog we rescued completely site unseen. We were not sure of her breed or age (10 year old chow mix). We only knew she was set to be euthanized that day for having a pyometra, or so the shelter thought. We worked with a networker and another rescue to get her out of the SEAACA shelter and to a vet. Turns out she was already spayed and only had a UTI. At the sanctuary, she loved to hang out at the barn. She was very social with everyone, and followed around one of our clients when ever she was there. So naturally, Debra had to foster Comfort. Comfort fit with with Debra's family and naturally became a part of the family. Comfort started having health problems in May. Her family did everything they could for her, but old age won in the end. She died in her owners arms on May 21, 2021.

Carmello

We were shocked when this "hospice" dog we rescued sight unseen came bounding out of the shelter doors. Carmel from the South LA shelter, whom we renamed carmello since we had a carmel before, was an 11 year old full of life hound mix who had nasty carcinogenic tumor on his penis. We asked four veterinarians; they all said it was inoperable. We hoped they were wrong about him being a hospice dog as he seemed so healthy. Then one day, he had trouble breathing, was lethargic and had no appetite. We gave him fluids, fed him by hand and slept by his side. The next day he was back to his normal happy self. The veterinarian said he may have had a small bleed. His lungs did not sound great, but his heart did. She said we could have more days or weeks with him. Unfortunately, that evening, he crashed again but rebounded in the morning. We could not put him through another bad evening and decided to say good-bye on May 20, 2021. We only had him for 51 days. We can only hope they were the best 51 days of his life.

Chatter

Carmello

Chatter

It is with great pleasure and sadness that we save those with cancer and so little time left. Such was the case for Chatter. he died on May 11, 2021. We pulled him on our first venture to the Orange County Animal Center, on January 27, 2021, we saved two dogs: Carburetor and Chatter. Chatter, known as Kenai, was being completely overlooked, even by rescue groups and networkers. He was a very sweet 13 year old dog that had been in and out of the shelter three times over a year. During that time, his weight dropped from 90 pounds to under 60 pounds! Turns out he has cancer. As with all our dogs, we will do the best we can to keep him comfortable and happy. We named him chatter because he loved to talk. Watch videos of him on our you tube channel.

Corey

Caliente

Chatter

You won't believe Corey is 14! Corey was owner surrendered to the South LA shelter in April 2020 for being old. This little dog is full of energy and pep! She is house broken and loves food! We couldn't leave her at the shelter, but she was too small for our sanctuary. So, we found an amazing foster who is spoiling her as she should be! Unfortunately, a year later, her hind legs started to give out. She had trouble walking and could not get up. We made the difficult decision or euthanize her on April 14, 2021. She was loved until the end.

Cashew

Caliente

Cashew was the funniest dog. he barked at nothing and loved to be loved on. He was a wonderful dog. One day, his hind legs just gave out and he could not walk. We took him to the vet and there was nothing we could do. We knew he had neurological issues , and we humanely euthanized him while he sat in Paul's lap on March 30, 2021.

July of 2019, founder Susan Friend LeTourneur, went to the West Valley Animal Shelter just to bring them newspapers. As if she could leave without a dog! She adopted "Mikie" a 12 year old little staffie that would not walk back to his kennel. No matter what they did, or how many kennel attendants tried, he would not budge from the floor of the hallway that leads back to the kennels. He really wanted out. Seems he knew a little about the shelter as he first found himself at the shelter in 2012. He was adopted but then back again in February of 2019. Cashew is the sweetest, happiest little dog; another example of how great staffordshire terriers really are! He gets along great with everyone and just loves being free to roam anywhere he wants.

Caliente

This dog had so much life, and she would not degenerative myelopathy (DM) slow her down. She came to us with a very slight case of DM. She curled her toes and dragged one hind leg when she ran. By February of 2021, she was really dragging both legs. We put her in a harness and bandaged her feet every day to help her out. She didn't care. She still wanted to go in the garden and sit under the lemon tree. When she could no longer manage walking up or down the steps, we knew we had to say goodbye. It was one of the hardest goodbyes as she was still so alive in spirit and her mind. Her body just couldn't help her any more. We said goodbye on March 27, 2021.

Caliente, Pepper from the Downey Animal Care Center, came to the shelter with a tumor on her neck that weighed more than three pounds! She is a fourteen year old owner surrender that came to the shelter on July 19, 2020. The Medical staff at the shelter removed the tumor, providing Caliente much needed comfort! She still suffered from spindlosis and degenerative mylopathy. Sitting in a cement kennel was not the answer for her! At our farm, she has found the strength she needs in her back and legs. They still give out at times, but nothing can keep this dog still. It is great to see her so happy.

CRITICAL

We always wish we had more time. We only had three months to love her. I know she was loved by her foster mom and was given the best of the rest of her life. Her body just gave out, February 9, 2021. 17 years old! Can you believe someone owner surrendered a 17 year old german shepherd? We could not! So we had to rush down to Carson ACC and save her! She was dumped on October 11, 2020 and we pulled her on October 16, 2020. It was a busy day as we also saved Hera from the Castaic ACC. Critical was skinny, had worms and clearly needed love. She is currently in foster where she is getting enormous amounts of love and attention. She is eating, getting the medicine she needs and is enjoying each day. We do not know how many days this sweet old dog has left; but we know each one will be filled with love.

CRUSH

CRITICAL

Sweet Crush would not let cancer stop her from her daily walks and wagging her tail every time her human entered the room. But, it slowed her down until she lay down for her afternoon nap and did not wake up on February 4, 2021. RIP you deserving, loving dog! This poor dog! This ten year old German Shepherd was found on the streets and brought to the Carson ACC with many mammary tumors, including a two pound tumor that hung from her belly like a crushing ball (hence the name). The shelter was willing to remove the tumor and spay her; we had to save her! Known as Darlene at the shelter, she was so shy when we first adopted her, she ran and hid under the dog houses. Now, she wags her tail and comes running to greet us. We are so happy we could save her! One of our neighbors fostered her so we had room to save another dog. Of course, she fit in perfectly with our neighbor's other dogs and became a foster fail almost instantly!

COAL

CRITICAL

CAREBEAR

It is tough when the heart wants to keep on dancing, but the legs can't do the moves. Such was the case for sweet Coal. These old dogs have such big hearts, but their bodies can only last so long. We lost our sweet little man on February 2, 2021 at the age of 16,

This sweet guy really loved his life! Even when he couldn't get up by himself, he yearned for his morning walks. On his last day, he ate well, went for a walk and was surrounded by love as we said goodbye. Coal, (Smokey from Baldwin Park ACC) was owner surrendered on June 13, 2020 for being old and having a tumor, which the shelter removed. .We pulled him in July so he could spend the rest of his days in a loving home. He has sever arthritis in his legs and backs. It is easier for him to canter than to walk. One would think he would have difficulty cruising around the farm, but he cruises all the way up to the barn and loves to visit with the horses.

CAREBEAR

Carebear lucked out with an amazing foster family that catered to her every need. At close to 17 years of age, her body just stop functioning. We had to say goodbye on January 22, 2021 with her foster family by her side. They had her cremated, so they can feel close to the dog they loved so dearly. It's a different world during Covid 19 pandemic. Based on a phone call with the South LA shelter, we decided to pull two dogs sight unseen. Carebear, was one of those dogs. Known as sunshine at the South LA shelter, she was dumped for being old. While she may be 16, she is full of life and spice! She is currently in foster and being the center of attention she deserves in her golden years.

Cheddar

CAREBEAR

Cheddar

After adopting Cheddar we found out she had cancer in her spleen, and maybe her liver. She was a ticking time bomb. We kept her happy for as long as we could. As she started to decline, we gave her sub-q fluids and hand fed her. Her last night, we knew she was dying and we laid with her in her bed. She died peacefully in her sleep on January 15, 2021. This sweet 15 year old dog was found wandering the streets. She was brought to the Downey ACC on September 20, 2020. She has mammary tumors, bad hips and tumors on her legs. We pulled her on October 1, 2020 and can't wait to give her the care she needs to feel better.

Cupid

CAREBEAR

Cheddar

We started the new year with cupid having good and bad days. We did all we could for this sweet dog. However, whether we like it not, it is our responsibility to keep our beloved dogs from suffering. Cupid loved every day he had with us. He will forever be a part of our heart. We said good bye on January 8, 2021. Cupid, known as Fido at the South LA shelter was owner surrendered with his brother in September, 2020. Cupid was not doing well at the shelter. he was shut down. he would not eat, He would not walk. It was clear he was sick. The shelter was one day away from ending his life, then we stepped in! We gladly pulled both him and his bonded older brother, Captain. Then the two of them saw each other was outside the shelter, they wagged their tails and were clearly happy. Cupid's condition improved immediately. He does have a splenic tumor and is on limited time, but we are giving him love and joy every day he is with us. he eats, he walks, he plays, he is loving the best of the rest of his life. Goal met!

Cow

Cooper

September, 2019, at 13 years of age, Cow was owner surrendered at the Castaic Animal care center for being old, blind, deaf, unable to walk and incontinent. While she was old, she had none of those other conditions. She did, however, have a huge tumor on her back leg that looks like an udder from behind; hence the name. She was so happy to be free and able to walk. And walking she did, from one end of the farm to the other and back! She reminds us of Chance, who also did not heed her description of being unable to walk! Thanks to donations, we were able to have the surgery to remove her tumor. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a happy face on a senior dog! Unfortunately, her cancer slowly crept back. We did what we could to keep her healthy and happy. She left this world on her terms on October 3, 2020, over a year after we adopted her.

Cooper

2020 has been a tough year. Each month, we welcome a new dog and say goodbye to old friend. On July 7th, we found cooper in his bed clenching his teeth. He was alive, but clearly something happened. We rushed to give him fluids and called the vet. He responded to the fluids. Color was coming back to his gums. He even sat up. But that recovery was short lived. Susan hung out with him as did his doggy friends. He died surrounded by love. This is our story of when he got Cooper: Sometimes you just "have to" go to the shelter to adopt a dog! That is how we found Cooper. They called him "Jack" at the West Valley Animal Shelter. Copper is a 2008 Golden Retriever. Although at the shelter he was listed as a chow. Jack, as he was called at the Los Angeles City West Valley Animal Shelter shelter, had an owner who never came for him. We were a little unsure of getting a male dog as Clive is a dominant dog. However, in a play group Jack was good with another male dog. We love big dogs, so home he came! Cooper had a little separation anxiety when he first arrived, but has settled in nicely!

Clover

Cooper

Countess

It was a sad morning when Susan went to give the dogs their morning treats and Clover was dead. It looked as though she was walking and literally fell down dead in her tracks. We lost her on June 28, 2020. We gave her two years; we loved every day. She was the happiest of dogs. They called her "Lucky" at the Los Angeles County Animal Care Center in Lancaster. Her paperwork said she was a stray, but she came to the shelter spayed and chipped. Someone owned her at some point. This ten year old dog with cranial muscular atrophy was unlikely to ever get adopted. So we did in May of 2018! She is the biggest love. Although deaf and nearly blind, she is amazing! Her depth perception is off, but can she is able to navigate around the farm and backyard just fine! Once in a while she bumps into another dog, but they all tolerate it!

Countess

Captain Jack

Countess

A week before she died, she was caught red-handed knocking over the recycling can. No denying it was her! Then, on May 26, 2020, she had bloat. She was still wagging her tail and happy. We took her to the vet, hoping we could catch it before her stomach twisted. We did not. We were so sad to lose this 16 year old girl; she was so full of life and so happy, always. Countess, known as Apache at the Baldwin Animal Care Center, was a fifteen year old black lab/pit bull mix. She looked quite sad and pathetic in her kennel, so of course, we adopted her. The day we came to see her, she was diagnosed with Kennel Cough. We were not even permitted to do a meet and greet, for fear of spreading the kennel cough. Once home, even on medication, her cough turned into pneumonia. We were not sure she would make it. It was a long eight days of force feeding her, giving her medicine and subcutaneous fluids and hoping she would pull through. She did! We think she knew there was now love in her life and a reason to carry on! She is so full of love; everyone at Goldspirit Farm loves her. She is clearly happy and grateful for her forever home.

Cotton

Captain Jack

April 6, 2020. After 14 years with us, our sweet cotton passed away after having a stroke. Cotton was one of our longest residents. She came to our farm in 2006 at less than one year old. She belonged to a neighbor, but she was in love with Chester and Cosmo. Every day, despite what the neighbor did to prevent her escape, she would sneak out and come to our farm to hang with her favorite dogs. Finally, our neighbor gave up and allowed her to stay. She has always been one of our favorite dogs. Her joy was wrestling with her "brothers," playing fetch with tennis balls and going to horse shows. Now, like the loyal sheepdog mix she is, she guards the horses every day, and at night she retires to her bed. She has seen many dogs come and go on our farm, including her beloved Chester and Cosmo.

Captain Jack

Captain Jack is a 14 year old neutered male Lab/pit bull mix. We pulled him from the West valley Animal shelter in October 2019. He had a large mass on his back which we had removed. He was adopted out by a very nice woman who had two other dogs. Sadly, captain jack was having more and more difficulty getting up. As with many old dogs, he also had tumors on his spleen. One day he decided he could no longer get up and had no appetite. His time had come. At least we gave him six wonderful months in a loving home before he passed on March 11, 2020.

Crinkle

Crinkle was found wandering the streets by a neighbor; they called us to pick her up in November of 2019. We did, and we took her to the local shelter as is required. We then pulled her after her holding period was up. She was immediately adopted and loved for the last three months of her life. Sadly, Crinkle passed away from cancer in January 2020

Crystal

Crinkle

We were lucky to have Crystal for nearly four years! Even with cancer in her leg and difficulty getting up, she would find the strength to walk to the barn because I and others were there for loving! Sadly, cancer won in the end on March 18, 2020. Crystal came into out lives just before Easter in 2016 when we saw a post on Facebook showing a bonded pair of senior dogs at the Downey Animal Care Center. Crystal and Cinnamon looked sad, scared, and quite pathetic. How could we say no? Sadly we lost Cinnamon in 2018, who we believe was Crystal's mom. Crystal, who we believe is a 2006 model, appears to be boxer and staffordshire terrier with the bark of a beagle. When we adopted her and Cinnamon they had no idea what grass was. They were afraid to go indoors and clearly had never experienced human love. To this day we have never seen Crystal wag her tail but at least she no longer keeps it tucked under herself! Her age is starting to show, but she is still one tough cookie, snapping at the other dogs if they try to share her treats or her mom when it is her time to be loved..which in her mind is all the time!

Cruiser

Crinkle

Cruiser

"Penelope," a 2006 Staffordshire Terrier, was not doing well at the West Valley Animal Shelter. She was depressed, shutting down and had trouble moving around and getting up. Without our intervention, this adorable dog would not be with us now. With a little arthritis medicine, love, and room to move, her arthritis doesn't hold her back. We hoped her name would give her encouragement, and we think it worked! Though her arthritic knees make her very bowed legged, it does not keep her from walking to the barn and back, and cruising around the property every day. She was a fighter up until the end. She had cancer which started on her lip; we treated it for months. Eventually, the cancer throughout her body won, as it always does. We lost her November 23, 2019. RIP my lovebug

Crooked

Charcoal

Cruiser

Susan went to the Lancaster Animal Care Center to adopt a fifteen year old dog who was rescued by another non-profit. Not wanting to leave empty handed, she found Crooked. Crooked was owner surrendered that day; she had not even been evaluated by a veterinarian yet. She could barely walk or stand on her own. We thought for sure we were adopting a hospice dog. It turns out, however, that old dog vestibular syndrome was quite treatable, and fairly inexpensive. She sometimes walked in circles and held her head at a tilt. Hence the name. She blessed us with her presence for 13 months. We lost her to cancer August 26, 2019.

Chance

Charcoal

"Pup" was an hour away from being PTS at the Los Angeles County Palmdale Animal Care Center when we adopted her on November 3, 2018. They said she could not get up or walk; you should see the video of her springing out of the shelter. This 2003, 16 year young dog loved to walk the entire 660 meter gallop track every day! Nothing slowed her down! It is so great to see a dog that was called crippled, walking for hours. She was living it up! Poor chance woke up one morning not feeling well. A trip to the vet's office revealed a tumor in her spleen. We have dealt with that before; we thought she would be ok for a bit. Unfortunately, she was quite uncomfortable that evening. We stayed with her all night until she passed peacefully in her sleep, July 9, 2019.

Charcoal

Charcoal was one of our favorite dogs, and one we saved before Golden Years Dog Sanctuary was incorporated. She was 13 years old when we saved her in August 2016. In 2018 she started having a heart problem. She would fall down and stop breathing for a minute. They should jump back up and run away. If she could speak, we know she would shout out ," just kidding!" We knew her days were numbered. Before our grand opening and open house, we would tell her we were throwing her a big party, and asked if she could stick around long enough for everyone to come love her. She did and they did. Two days later she had an episode and fell down. Her breathing stopped and she did not jump back up and say, "Just kidding."

Copper

We never expected to lose Copper so soon. One minute she was fine; the next she was shaking and her stomach was bloated. She was in pain and it up to us to ensure she did not suffer. We will miss this sweet, happy dog! she was not a planned rescue, but we were always so glad we did! Before we became an adoption partner with the County of Los Angeles, we were prohibited from adopting "rescue only" dogs. Susan went to the Downey Animal Care Center to adopt a dog that had to be an only dog but we did not have the pull rights to take her. We could only save one dog that day. After meeting several dogs, we chose Copper. She is a funny looking 2008 golden retriever mix. Paul calls her "Happy" because she always is! Of course, she is always hungry too! That's dogs!

Cosmo

Copper

After thirteen years at Goldspirit Farm, Cosmo was finally ready to say goodbye. On Thursday February 7, Cosmo he didn't want to eat or get up. We set an appointment with the vet, and gave him a last great day. He had cat food ( what dog doesn't love cat food), turkey and even dog food. He walked to the barn for the last time and put himself to bed for his final good-bye. Cosmos came into our life one day in 2006. he was waiting at the gate as if to say, "May I come in?" At fifteen, Cosmo was the longest four-legged resident at Goldspirit farm.

Champ

Copper

Clouseau

His name was "Muerto" on the owner surrender papers. Volunteers changed his name to "Vivo." When we rescued this 2009 Pit Bull from the Los Angeles County Lancaster Animal Care Center, he could not walk on his hind legs; he dragged them behind. We thought we were going to have to humanely euthanize him. Lo and behold what a little steroid can do! Not only can he walk, but he can climb the steps into the dogominum and even run. at his pace! For two months Champ was loved, was able to be free and wander the grounds, and have lots of 4-legged friends. Unfortunately, his time with us was too short; he died in his sleep only two months after we rescued him.

Clouseau

Cornelius

Clouseau

When we lose one dog, we can't wait to save another. Clouseau was adopted from the North Central Los Angeles Shelter to honor Champ's passing. Clouseau was a ten year old gray staffordshire terrier just like champ. He had four good legs to walk on, but quite a lot of arthritis. He fit in great with all the ladies and gents. He was a sweet soul and we were happy to welcome him into our pack. Clouseau had a grade 4 heart murmur, but it was a sudden bout with cancer in his leg that caused his passing. These darn dogs come into our lives, and we hope to have so much time with them. We were glad to give him his last months with joy and love.

COZY

Cornelius

This sweet dog was so abused when we adopted her, she was afraid to be petted. She came to us a ten year old stray. She was deaf and partially blind. Shortly after we adopted her she was diagnosed with tumors. We didn't think we would have much time with her, but we figured she wanted to live ten years of a good life to make up for her bad life. She lived for over three years with us. One day she heard my voice in the barn, walked from her bed and literally laid down at my feet. She died shortly after that moment. She died with me by her side, cradling her and giving her the love she deserved.

Cornelius

If ever there was a dog that needed saving! Cornelius was owner surrendered at the Los Angeles City East Valley Shelter with a request to put him down! He was 15, semi- crippled, and mostly blind with all sorts of lumps. He looked like a dog that could be in the movie Nightmare Before Christmas! He had lots of spunk! He wanted to get with all the girls. He was Crackerjack's best friend. One night, he just seemed a little off, and the next day he went to sun himself and simply fell asleep. We gave him five wonderful months.

Can-Can

Can-can was brought into the South LA shelter as a stray in August of 2021. The first time he left his kennel for playtime was in October 2021. He was only taken out of his kennel nine times during his eight month stay at the shelter. In May of 2022 he was given a 24 hour notice. Staff said he had become aggressive in his kennel, not allowing staff to enter. We couldn't let him die unhappy at the shelter. Of course, we had no plan for him either. So we contacted the shelter and asked for more time. We were given one day. Luckily for him, someone came forward and said they would foster. We rescued him on May 17, 2022 . While Can-can was very playful and loving, he also had an unpredictable aggressive behavior. He had a bite on his record and became aggressive to the person he lived with. We worked with both our veterinarians and several trainers. Can-can hated the muzzle, being crated, or being confined. We could not safely provide him the freedom he wanted nor could we ensure the safety of the household even after training. Can-can went over the rainbow bridge knowing love and joy.

Cashe

Can-Can

Things were not right at the shelters during Covid. Take sassy here: she was an 8 year old Doberman mix (labeled as a Rottweiler mix) who came to the shelter as an owner surrender for being fat. Granted, she does weigh 114 pounds and she should be at 75 pounds. She can walk, but doesn't choose to walk. Instead of doing any blood work or other medical care as the shelter should; they said they were going to kill her. So of course, we found a foster so we could save her. Ends up, Cash-e as her new little boy has named her, has a hypothyroid condition. She is now on medication and we are looking forward to watching her play and losing weight. Naturally, her foster family has fallen in love and adopted her. Cash-e never lost the weight we hoped she would, but she was happy and loved. She had the best family to love for almost two years! Her family said goodbye on September 16, 2022.

Charger

Can-Can

Cinderella

Charger, known as Dodger at the Baldwin ACC was a volunteer and staff favorite. He was brought in as a stray on December 11, 2020. He was losing weight so they ran some tests. Turns out he has diabetes. We rescued him from the shelter On February 5th. He was going to a home as a foster to adopt dog. He is now getting the needed veterinarian care he needs and loves his foster home. It didn't take long for him to become a foster fail! Dodger most definitely had the best of the rest of his life with his mom. However, as all life does end, so did chargers. We said goodbye to Charger in September 2022, almost two years after he was rescued from the shelter!

Cinderella

Cinderella is the perfect name for Daphne, a 12 year old stray dog who was caught and brought to the South LA shelter on August 9, 2021. She has a large hanging mass on her hind leg and the shelter wanted to euthanize her. We rescued her and campfire ( spike) the same day, August 27, 2021. Her foster mom loves her so much that she adopted her! We were able to do her surgery, removing not only the large tumor on her leg, but also a chain of mammary tumors. We also had her spayed. It was a big day and she recovered great! That was in 2021. On October 1, 2022 she died peacefully in her sleep after definitely having the best of the rest of her life!

Collette

Cinderella

Collette

Collette, is a 13 year old German Shepherd owner surrendered on May 26, 2020. We rescued her May 31,2020 after a huge tumor was removed from her side. When we called to inquire about her, there was not even a picture. It simply said black and tan 80 pound dog in the medical ward. We figured she was either Rottweiler or shepherd. Either way, she needed out and we were the answer. Collette was an amazing dog. She was very sweet and friendly. In the summer of 2020, we gave her to one of our neighbors to foster so we could pull another dog. Of course they adopted her and she spent nearly two years in that wonderful home. We said goodbye to Colette on January 25, 2022.

Campfire

Cinderella

Collette

Campfire, previously known as Spike from South LA shelter, was set to be euthanized for being old ( 13 years old) and having tumors under his chin and various other places on his body. He was THE sweetest dog. We had to save him! He was brought to the shelter on August 18, 2021 as an owner surrender; we pulled him August 27, 2021. We had the dangling tumors removed and he was loving life at the sanctuary. A wonderful couple in our neighborhood wanted to save another dog and have another senior in their home to honor the senior dogs they recently lost. They took Campfire in as a foster and within 24 hours knew they wanted to give him a forever home. campfire spent the rest of his days being loved. We said goodbye to him June 4, 2022.

What's in a name?

You may have noticed that every dog has a name beginning with the letter "C." Susan adopted her first dog the day she closed escrow at Goldspirit Farm. She named her Cody. She then saved Chrissy from a life on a chain. Cujo was a 145 pound German Shepherd that Susan found blocking the driveway on a nearby farm. A client convinced Susan to adopt Cali because she had a "C" name and would fit in with the group. Then one morning two puppies were dumped in a box outside the gate. Susan's brother took one puppy who lived to be fifteen. The other puppy was named Oscar. After only two weeks at the farm, this eight week old Old English Sheepdog mix went for a walk over the hill and never came back. It was decided that all dogs living at Goldspirit Farm needed a "C" name. A few dogs have few come through our gates and were adopted out before were given a "C"name. Since 1999 the following dogs with a "C" name have had a short or long stay at Goldspirit Farm:

Cody, Chrissy, Cali, Cujo, C.D, Charlie, Cookie , Chopper, Colonel, Cupcake, Connie, Curly, Clondike, Citty, Chocolate, Caluha, Camper, Carmel, Carli, Cutie Pie, Corky, Charlotte, C.C, Cassie, Coffee, Charity, Cornelius, Charles, CoCo, Chicken Little, Charcoal, Cozy, Catie, Cotton, Cosmo, Chester, Clive, Candy, Cinnamon, Crystal, Cappuccino, Cornbread, Crackerjack, Clover, Crooked, Copper, Courage, Crusty, Cooper, Cruiser, Chance, Champ, Clouseau, Cleopatra, Cow, Curry, Clarence, Cashew, Countess, Calm, Cool, Crinkle, Captain Jack, Clarence, Clubber, Comfort, Crush, Cucumber, Carebear, Clancy Bear, Chili, Colette, Coal, Cowboy, Corey, Caliente, Cricket, Charger, Cane, Carburetor, Chip, Cash-e, Chatter, Capulina, Captain, Cupid, Caiman, Cream cheese, Clue, Carl, Crosby, Coral, Cecil, Cauliflower, Chunky, Carmello, Chase, Corolla, Corbin, Chloe, Casper, Caffeine, Celebration, Cleveland, Colt, Cognac, Campfire, Cinderella, Chutney, Callie, Crayon, Craig, Cherry, Cowabunga, Conrad, Calamity, Custard, Clifford, Comet, Clutch, Country, Chauncey, Couch Potato, Cannonball, Curtis, Carter, Celeste, Caesar, Cindy, Cranberry, Casualty, Caldwell, Crocodile, Capetown, Chandler, Cheyenne, Cooked, Crusader, Churchill, Cherish, Columbine, Camel, Caspian, Calla-Lily, Can-Can, Cannon, Constance, Cassidy, Cider, Casanova, Clinic, Castaway, Casino, Cantaloupe, Composer, Camilla, Capricorn, Claire, Cher, Chanel, Crash, Celsius, Compassion, Chalula, Chow Mein, Caboose, Chubby, Classy, Compact, Cannoli, Calorie, Compact, Cadillac, Cheedy, Chipmunk, Cheetah, Coyote, Chai, Creampuff, Cashmere, Catya, Charleston Chew, Cadbury, Combustion, Camshaft, Cargo, Creed, Chicklet, Cassia, Cherokee, Camelot, Coco

golden years dog sanctuary: a nonprofit dedicated to dog and cat rescue.

Current Residents at Golden Years Dog Sanctuary

Capetown

Celebration

Celebration

Celebration

Celebration

Celebration

Capricorn

Celebration

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Camshaft

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Camshaft

Checkers

Celsius-NEEDS A HOME!

Camshaft

Cargo

Countdown

Clifford

Clifford

Countdown

Clifford

Countdown

Countdown

Countdown

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Composer

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Courage

Compassion- NEEDS A HOME

Cranberry

Cranberry

Cranberry

Cranberry

Country

Cranberry

Casualty

Casualty

Cranberry

Casualty

Compact

Cadillac

Cadillac

Cadillac

Cadillac

Cadillac

Camelot

Cadillac

Camelot

DOGS IN FOSTER

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Chubby- NEEDS FOSTER

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Combustion

WHO WILL YOU FOSTER?

Combustion

Cadbury

Charleston Chew

Combustion

Creed

Charleston Chew

Charleston Chew

Charleston Chew

Charleston Chew

Charleston Chew

Caboose

Creampuff

Creampuff

Creampuff

Creampuff