When we first met our new family member, she seemed quite sad and worn down. We weren’t sure we had what it would take for her to progress to a happy life. But her captivating eyes drew us in, and we brought her with us to her new forever home.

Why the name Rona? During the long ride back to the house, Heather and I talked about a name for her. Heather said we needed something pretty. Jokingly I said, “Like the Mona Lisa?” Since this drive was during the corona pandemic, we turned Mona Lisa into Rona Lisa. Or Rona for short.

Despite our initial uncertainty, we know now that she can’t be anywhere else. She is  s l o w l y  starting to come out of her shell. We have another sweet dog, Shandy who I credit 100 percent for helping Rona learn and build confidence. Shandy is being the best mentor and really calms Rona. Rona had never run and had no clue what a toy was. She would not take treats, even if we laid them in front of her and walked away. When we let her out, she wanted to run but her legs just weren’t coordinated enough. She had been a breeder dog for most of her previous life. After a few days of watching Shandy, she picked up on the idea of running and is now even seems interested in pursuing squirrels. She’s still unsure about any toys, so we have a Kong bone we fill with treats and she watches Shandy to learn how to work with it.

Roma is warming up to Heather and me, which is a positive. Daily morning walks seem to have built a trust among Heather, Rona Lisa and Shandy We know she is going to be a great girl, and soon she will find out that she just won the people lottery as she will be receiving lots of love and care in her new surroundings.

Her favorite thing to do is sleep! We think this poor girl really hasn’t had rest like this before and she is truly taking advantage of it. She LOVES the air conditioning registers and will sleep with her nose literally right up against it. She loves being outside and the freedom to roam around in the fenced area. Since she’s been doing so much better, she got to meet several new people friends this week. She did pretty darn well. She is starting to wag her tail more than tuck it. Rona will fall asleep in the grass and loves to stop and smell flowers. This freedom and love is all new to her, and she deserves to experience it all.

Adoption Process
ADOPTION REQUIREMENTS, NO EXCEPTIONS:

  • Be at least 23 years of age

  • No children under 6 years of age living in your home

  • We primarily adopt goldens to families living within Illinois, Northwest Indiana, and the southern most counties of Wisconsin

  • If you do not own your residence or live in a condo, you will need a letter from your landlord or property management company

  • Provide excellent vet care for your dog(s)

  • Do not use an invisible fence

  • Are not over your town/county's pet limit

  • Have the knowledge and agreement of all adults living in the household

  • Be prepared to make a lifetime commitment

  • QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR POLICIES? All your answers in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

If interested please fill out our online adoption application form; please make sure you fill in every required field/question or your submission will not go through. Please note that we take time to learn as much as we can about each dog in our care and our bios are our current observations; we are unable to make any guarantees on the future health or temperament of your adopted dog. Most dogs in our care come with unknown pre-rescue history and as such breed and age estimates are an educated guess.

Available Goldens for Adoption