Group rescues 100th Irma golden retriever
Maya, a golden retriever rescued from hurricanedevastated Puerto Rico, arrived Saturday at Miami International Airport — the 100th rescue by the nonprofit Golden Rescue South Florida.
Waiting to greet the 4-year-old dog was her new family, the Montellos of Miami, who promptly renamed her Ginger.
“We’re going to be playing in the backyard, and she’s going to rest” said Angelina Montello, 8, while hugging her new companion.
Since the hurricane, two to five dogs in Puerto Rico are being surrendered each day, said Denise Libby, of the non-profit rescue group. The dogs are medically treated and sent to a foster home to be evaluated before they are sent to Florida.
“When we know a dog is coming in, we have a wait list of people that we’ve done home visits on. We’ve checked them out, and we try to match the dog with the house,” Libby said.
People interested in adopting can go online to Golden Rescue South Florida or on Facebook to see which unmatched dogs are available.
A volunteer from Golden Rescue will arrange a home visit and help decide if a dog is a good fit. Since goldens are extremely social, they require someone who spends a lot of time at home.
Once approved, the person or family is placed on a wait list and matched with the next compatible dog. This process could take months.