23-072 Sparky  was a 3-year-old not-neutered male Golden Retriever when he was surrendered in September 2023. The owner had a new grandchild that was allergic to dogs.  Sparky  reportedly loved to swim. He had lots of energy – he needed a home with a yard and a pool so he could have an outlet for that energy. He knew "sit," "shake," and when he was told NO he  would go to his bed. However, he needed leash training. He was very strong and pulled on the leash. An adopter in Glendale fit the bill for our Placement Team. She is a retired single lady who has 25 years’ experience of owning and training Goldens. She has a nice yard with a pool – good for  Sparky . After he was surrendered, he needed our standard vetting and to be neutered. He also appeared to have some issues with allergies, both with food ingredients and probably various other things, so we had him evaluated at  Dermatology for Animals . They changed his food to a rabbit-based food and started him on Apoquel. One of the vets thought  Sparky  might have perforated eardrums, a result of scratching too much from his allergies. After he was treated for ear canal inflammation, they found the eardrums were okay. The adopter changed his name to  Rusty  and is just delighted with him. She related: 

He is the best dog. He gets along with the cat and any other dogs that visit.  Rusty  does have allergies, but I keep them under control with special food and Apoquel. Liz  [Health Care Director]  has been incredibly helpful. I am grateful to the Rescue for all that they do. 

Another comment from the adopter:  Rusty  loves to cuddle and the only other thing I can say, as corny as it sounds, is that we rescued each other. I just love him! 

The adopter  has brought  Rusty  to a couple of our events, and we hope to see both of them more in the future.