The Retriever Rescue of Colorado

Retriever Rescue of Colorado takes in needy dogs, cares for them in loving foster homes, and adopts them to carefully screened adopters. We are a nonprofit organization and funds are always scarce. We were excited to accept a litter of Lab mix puppies.

When their transport arrived, one beautiful puppy, Edmonton, was deceased.
Another, Toronto, was fighting for his life. The remaining three clearly were sick but were not as ill as Toronto. We took Toronto directly from the transport to one of our amazing vet clinics, Deer Creek Animal Hospital, where he spent the next ten days and where he received excellent care that saved his life.

The three girls (Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax) were fostered by a volunteer who was able to provide extraordinary medical care at home, under the direction of the fantastic vets at VCA Aspenwood Animal Hospital.

All four puppies were diagnosed with parvo but made it through! The unexpected expenses of their care means that our ability to accept other dogs in need is greatly compromised. We received an amazing donation of $2000 toward their care, leaving us just over $8000 in veterinary fees for these sweet puppies. Our bills are due and we are in need of some assistance to pay for these puppies' expenses. All funds donated toward their care will be used solely for veterinary expenses. We're committed to helping as many dogs as we can. With your help, we can make that happen despite this huge expenditure. Donations will help us continue to accept others in need. Please consider a donation toward our sweet puppies' expenses so that others will also lead great lives! Thank you so much!

The Retriever Rescue of Colorado has two litters of puppies and a new mama that are in desperate need of help.

 The first, our “Instrument" Litter were seen being dumped at the side of a busy street.  When people stopped to try to help them, these terrified puppies fled to a nearby field.  Four puppies were gathered until they could be transported to us in Denver.   Sadly, one of the puppies passed away on the road.  What devastating news.  We were understandably worried about the three surviving siblings.

 Shortly after they arrived in Denver, the puppies went directly to one of our wonderful vets.  They were dehydrated, exhausted, and scared.  They received fluids and went to their foster home.  They seemed to deteriorate as the night went on.  The two girls, especially, seemed sick.  Giving the puppies electrolytes and special food likely saved their lives.  But one just couldn't rally so she headed back to the vet.  A thorough exam revealed that she has parvo.  The vet asked that we bring the other two back in immediately.  The other girl was discovered to also have parvo, but to a less severe degree.  The little boy's test did not show parvo but we know that this could change with no notice, as parvo is like that.  During the entire incubation period, the dogs can seem fine and just crash while the very sick dogs can suddenly turn around.  Obviously we'll be hoping for all three to soon be healthy little puppies.

 The pups are named Zither, Dulcimer and Dobro and are  12-14 weeks old. 


 Zither’s condition was critical.  She is getting excellent care, so we can only hope that she recovers quickly.  Please send some good thoughts for little Zither.
Dulcimer is improving.  Our little boy, Dobro, is smart and silly and healthy so far.  Fingers crossed that he continues to thrive.

The little girl who didn't make was named Fiddle.  So sad that she didn't make it here to have a chance at a great life.

 Our second group is a Golden/Pyrenese Mama and her 11 newborn puppies, we named the "Asiatic Lily" Litter. Our brand new mama, Asiatic, is very ill.  She has severe anemia and can't keep anything down at the moment.  She is also heartworm positive and will need to be treated once she is healthy.  She really cannot nurse eleven puppies, so her foster mom is bottle-feeding the babies.  Puppy formula is very expensive, but we are committed to caring for these tiny babies and ensuring that they receive proper nourishment.   Asiatic is getting excellent care, so please send positive thoughts her way, and hopefully she will soon be back to full health.  


Our bills are mounting, but our commitment is unwavering to make sure our Instrument litter and Asiatic pulls through and that her puppies thrive.

We hope that you will be there for Zither, Dulcimer, Dobro and Asiatic and her litter.

Even the smallest donation will help with the hospital and medical expenses we incur.  Please give what you can and share this on Facebook.

 Any funds we raise in excess of the Instrument Litter and Asiatic’s medical needs will be used to care for other homeless retrievers.   We are a nonprofit charity and donations are tax deductible to the extent dictated by state and federal law.

We have a wonderful dog who needs a little more help than do most of our rescue dogs. We're reaching out to kind-hearted folks because we know this dog will touch so many people.

Dustin is a two to three year old dog who had a family. We have every reason to believe he had grown up in that home. So how did he end up in a crowded shelter? Dustin was hit by a car. Thankfully, he was not killed but he couldn't put any weight on one leg and he had numerous patches of road rash on him. His family opted to take him to the shelter instead of to the vet because they said they couldn't afford any vetting for him. Any at all. This poor dog. He was hit by a car and then lost his home as a consequence.


So Dustin found himself in the shelter.  The shelter vet examined Dustin and proclaimed that he should go to rescue so he'd recuperate in a foster home away from the shelter. This vet thought just a quiet place to heal was all that Dustin needed.

We were contacted. We were asked if we could take this lovely Golden/Collie mix boy with an injury believed to require no further vetting. We hustled and found the perfect foster home for him.  The shelter put Dustin on painkillers and some antibiotics as a precaution and sent him our way. One of our loving volunteers met the transport and promptly fell in love with Dustin. We'd scheduled him to go directly to one of our vets so she transported him there and reported that she thought he needed more care than we'd originally been told.

After tests and thorough examinations, the initial vet told us that Dustin was going to require surgery to correct his back leg.  We consulted specialists. We scheduled Dustin's expensive surgery at a clinic able to accommodate his extensive needs. He sailed through this first surgery and then was moved to the amazing foster home.

Dustin will require physical therapy. He most likely will require one or two more surgeries. How things progress depends on how well he heals. We do know that we were not anticipating his expenses and we're asking for help. We have spent over $3000 so far on his care and expect to spend a minimum of another $4500. We're asking for help paying Dustin's expenses. Every little bit helps. Funds we spend on his extraordinary care are not available to spend on routine care for a bunch of other dogs. Your contributions toward Dustin's expenses thus will help Dustin and his colleagues in rescue.

We could not let Dustin suffer. We couldn't leave him in pain. We didn't know about his additional expenses but we're so glad that he is with us. Dustin is charming, loving, and affectionate despite the excruciating pain. He simply adores people and the feeling is mutual. Everyone he meets mentions an immediate connection to him.


We were so relieved to get him the veterinary care he desperately needed. But now we need help in paying some of his expenses. Please place a donation to help pay for Dustin to literally to get back on his feet. Any funds raised in excess of Dustin's needs will be used to care for other homeless retrievers. We are a nonprofit charity and donations are tax deductible to the extent dictated by state and federal law.