Strut Your Mutt!

As Good as Gold is partnering with Best Friends Animal Society to participate in the online dog walkathon called Strut Your Mutt to help raise money for our needy goldens.

You don’t need to leave your armchair to help! If you would like to join our pack, simply go to www.strutyourmutt.org/team/agag, click on "Join this dog pack" to register, and then set up your own web page. You can then begin to ask your family, friends and co-workers to either raise funds for AGaG by joining the Pack or make a contribution to your webpage.

The rescue organization registering the most Pack members by May 19 will be awarded an additional $1000 by Best Friends Animal Society!  Your registration makes a great gift to AGaG to help celebrate our tenth birthday on May 15!!!

It's fast and easy to join our pack!  Click here for instructions. f you are unable to participate as part of our Strut Your Mutt team, but would like to make a donation instead, you may click on any of the dog pack member links at the bottom of AGaG's dog pack website (link above) to contribute.  Contact Miriam Feldman, “Leader of the Pack,” with any questions at mirnjer@aol.com.

 

Let the Celebration Begin!

On May 15 As Good as Gold observed its 10th anniversary!  Our members selected Making Golden Dreams Come True Since 2003 as the phrase that best describes what we do.  The graphic design above, created by AGaG member Lauren St. Andre, will be used in numerous ways throughout the year.  Be sure to look for it with the most current news about the ways in which we plan to celebrate our first ten years!

As Good as Gold wishes to thank the generous donors who are participating in our $10 for 10 anniversary fundraising campaign.  They include: Alice Abraham, the Ahlberg Family, Stratos & Sheryl Athanassiades, Sue Battalini, Deborah Bean, Terry & Denise Becker, Russ & Barbara Bigelow, Brian & Sharon Blaszak, Jim & Jennifer Burklow, Michael & Carrie Cleary, the Conroy Family, Rand Nickerson & Carrie Coonce, Mike & Renee Crawford, Tom & Sue Durante, Nancy Eggert, Gary Masterson & Jenni Erdman, Larry Fajardo & Gina Buresch, Ronald & Jennifer Golembiewski, Tom & Eve Gramer, Karen Grandt, Dave & Kathy Jakubowski, Bob & Sheila Johnson, George Kages, Jean Karczewski, Paul & Terri Klimek, Ronald Kline, Vickie Kukulski & Judy Bartolini, Darlene LoCascio & Contessa Mancini, James & Laura Machin, Sally Macnamara, Matt & Ann Mahoney, the McGary Family, Joan McGowan, Eric Meadow, Tami Meer, Lisa Nelson, Colleen & Nina O'Brien, Ron & Carol Petersen, Ken & Jodi Phillips, Taralyn Phillips, John & Colleen Pochron, Bob & Fran Puchli, Steve & Cyndi Raine-Dentinger, Roy & Sheryl Roush, Trudi Schoening, Bylle Skoczek, Sam & Lynda Smith, Jerry & Laurie Stecker, Janet Syverson & Sarah Bleeks, David & Theresa Taylor, Greg Wessman, Ken & Cathy Williams, and two donors who wish to remain anonymous.

Click here for more information about As Good as Gold's $10 for 10 monthly recurring gift program.

As Good as Gold K9 Wine Makes a Great Gift Anytime!




Here's your chance to order six different wine varietals with our beautiful goldens on the labels.  Just click HERE to see Kayla, KC, Calypso, Lido Casey and Autumn.  The wines are wonderful; they're produced on a trade-free vineyard in the Lontue Valley in Chile and are all certified organic. In addition, they're vegan-friendly. Our goldens would love to show off for your friends and guests!  Benefit Wines will donate a portion of every sale to As Good as Gold!  As you enjoy the wine with your friends and family, you're helping us continue to rescue beautiful golden retrievers!

Great Ways to Shop and Give



iGive lets you help your favorite cause every time you shop!  This website is free to use and it features a network of over 900 stores, including favorites like Macy’s, Kohl’s, Home Depot and Crate and Barrel, so you can get all of your shopping done online.  If you sign up and designate As Good as Gold as your preferred charity, iGive will donate a portion of your total sale to us! The company will donate $5 for using iGive and $5 when you make your first purchase.  It has donated over $5 million to organizations just like ours. The donations keep growing as you keep shopping!

iGive also makes a donation for every web search completed through iGive, so by using iGive as your search engine, you can contribute to a good cause. If you search the web multiple times a day, like many of us, this adds up!  So search and shop away and help rescue goldens, too!  Visit iGive by clicking on the logo above, or click here and click on the green “Join Today” button to get started.




Did you know that you can raise money for As Good as Gold just by shopping at Amazon.com? This site carries thousands of items from electronics to baby gear to dog supplies. Oh, and books.  And ebooks.  And ebook readers.  And all kinds of things you can use, and even things you didn’t realize you needed.  If you’re an online shopper, you can check off all the people on your Christmas list when you shop at Amazon.com.  Their service is excellent, their shipping is fast, and their prices are competitive.  And best of all, they’ll donate a portion of every purchase you make to As Good as Gold.

If you have a Kindle, are getting a Kindle, or are an avid book reader, you can help raise money for As Good as Gold every time you buy a new ebook or book. (If you are not getting your Kindle until Christmas, you can still download the Kindle app, buy your ebooks now and load them on your ereader when you get it.) So for those who buy books all year, this is an easy way to help your favorite rescue while enjoying a great read!  Click on the logo above or here to go to the Fundinco site.  When you get there, click on the box that says “Click here to begin shopping!”

Special Thanks to Our Grant Donors


As Good as Gold recently received a $5,000 grant from the Petco Foundation for its 2012 Rescue Conference held November 17, 2012.  The conference was attended by 78 participants representing 43 animal welfare and related organizations from throughout the United States.  We are so very thankful to the Petco Foundation for its generosity and willingness to fund such an important event.

In April 2012, the Petco Foundation awarded As Good as Gold a $5,000 grant to fund a project called Rescue-Love-Foster-Adopt.  The money was used to rescue, medically treat, and care for healthy, adult golden retrievers and golden mixes taken into our care for a six-month period (April through October 2012).  We are happy to report that 19 four-legged friends were helped by this grant.  Thank you Petco Foundation!

As Good as Gold has been awarded a very generous $1,500 grant from the Build-a-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation's Domestic Pet Program for "Meds 4 Pets." This grant will help pay for medications for our foster dogs, as well as our long-term care dogs.   Thank you Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation!   The Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation is committed to making life more bearable for children, families and pets, in need of a helping paw.  With the sale of each full-sized Bearemy’s Kennel Pals® friend -- a collection of Build‑A‑Bear Workshop® plush dogs -- one dollar is donated to domestic pet programs including local animal shelters, stray pet rescue and rehabilitation organizations, and pet education programs around the country.  These funds are available to qualified non-profit organizations in the United States and Canada.  Visit www.buildabear.com for more information.

Best Friends Animal Society has awarded As Good as Gold with a one-time training grant of $3,000.  This award will help support our Pawsitive Beginnings Training Program - a comprehensive training program developed to provide specialized training, education, and support to foster families.  We believe these innovative programs will help enhance the adoptability of dogs that need some special training.  Best Friends works with humane groups all across the country to bring about a time when homeless, unwanted animals are no longer being destroyed in shelters, and when every healthy dog or cat can be guaranteed a good life in a caring home.  Best Friend's dream is to make No More Homeless Pets a reality, and we share that dream.  Thank you Best Friends!

As Good as Gold is honored to have been chosen by the Greg Biffle Foundation as one of their annual grant recipients.  Their generous $1,000 award will be used to help pay for veterinary care and expenses for our senior goldens.  The Greg Biffle Foundation for Animals was founded in 2005 by Greg and Nicole Biffle to create awareness and serve as an advocate to improve the well-being of animals by engaging the power and passion of the motor sports industry.  Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Greg Biffle Foundation for helping our senior goldens.

A huge thank you to Nylabone for donating some wonderful chews and toys for our dogs in foster care!  You have made our dogs very happy.