Lizzie

As you can see things are going very well at the Street household. Toby, the freckled boy on my legs, came to us from the Amador County Animal Shelter via GGBR in May 2012. He is a true lap basset and the most wonderful companion. He loves everyone and loves to play. Because of his joy with other dogs, we decided to adopt another. Lizzie came to us via GGBR in October 2013. She is an older lady, but also loves to play. One of our favorite pastimes is to watch the basset wrassle dance between them. One can also watch them as they dig through their toy box for just the right toy to chew or throw around. Lizzie has been cautiously but enthusiastically learning about lap time; the photo is of the first double ever. Both love to eat (what basset does not?) and enjoy their walks every day. Our pack is in doggie heaven, thanks to GGBR. Nancy and James Street Pioneer, California

Lily (9/12)

Our love story with Garnatxa started 7 years ago, so please bear with us until you judge her exquisite name. We got married 7 years ago and have been planning to have a dog since then. Major disagreement point: the breed. Wife was crazy about basset hounds. Husband wanted a "smarter" dog. Finally, in conjunction with the 2012 primaries, the basset hound campaign started for real! Husband was opening his mind to the breed, specially after we were introduced to the wonderful work of the Golden Gate Basset Rescue. Our house was inspected by two dear bassets, we went to the Basset Hound Waddle in Novato and that was it. Mission accomplished! Husband is in! Yay! All forms are filled! Yay! We got approved by the diligent people of GGBR! Yay! But... wait! Where is our dog? All we wanted was a young dog because this was going to be our first dog and we were not ready for a senior one yet. We waited, we waited, we waited. Three months went by... We decided to go on a trip and try another breed after we came back home. We were wine tasting in Spain and we finally got the email! There was a girl for us! Even before meeting her, we knew she was ours and we immediately picked a name: Garnatxa (the Catalan word for grenache, the wine grape). Of course, we didn't think about the unpronounceable aspect of it, we just stuck to it because it was a very important moment for us (and probably because we had tasted a little bit too much). Your guess is right: people do have a hard time in understanding it, but you know what? They don't forget it! Because Garnatxa is unforgettable, unmissable, irresistible. She has been such a gift! She spontaneously went to her bed at bedtime on day 1 and even came housebroken. She has been learning some commands at a "smart dog" speed. Because she is smart. Because basset hounds are smart and one should not be fooled by their omnipresent emotional side. Garnatxa can outtrick us with her workarounds and proactive requests. She talks with her eyes all the time. She has the funniest way of stretching herself. She barks sparsely (our greatest fear) and she lets us have dinner quietly at the table. She takes center stage every time she is at the dog park. A problem? She needs some modeling classes because it is impossible to take a good frontal picture without her moving towards the camera. In case you ever bump into us, you better start practicing pronouncing her name: Gar.na.cha (like the Mexican nachos, the unique scent coming from her ears, as from her foster parents' assessment). And the husband? He can't wait to take her to work wearing her Sherlock Holmes costume on Halloween! Thank you so much to the wonderful people of GGBR, specially Donna (the maestra), Fran (our house inspector), Melinda & Quincy (foster family). Best, Izabel

LuLu (4/12)

Let me start off telling the story of our first failure, LuLu. My two daughters and I drove to Salinas to pull a basset who was being held there in protective custody for animal cruelty. She was in very rough shape. They had just completed a pyometra spay and pulled an upper canine which was broken and appeared to have been hit or kicked. They gave us the tooth in a plastic bag in case we could ever find whoever left her by the side of the road in that condition, but we never did. Poor LuLu came out wearing a cone of shame and she was so weak she couldn’t lift her head with the cone on. I removed it right there in the lobby of the shelter over everyone’s objections and put my arms around her and promised her that nobody would ever be mean to her again. She was so scared, she wouldn’t even accept the pastrami I had brought with me to introduce myself. We loaded her into the back seat of the car next to my 12 year old daughter Natalie and drove the hour home to Campbell and introduced her to my two resident dogs (Cyrus the lab and Snoopy the basset). She was so skinny you could see every verebrae in her spine and every rib. She weighed 42 lbs (she weights 56 lbs now and is still a bit thin). She had had many, many litters and her nipples literally dragged on the ground. She had scars on her face and ears and was filthy and stinky and terrified. Her toe nails were over 4 inches long and she couldn’t walk because of them. After they were trimmed her feet took months to start to look normal, at first the vet said they may always be deformed because the ligaments had been stretched so much. At that time there was nothing pretty about LuLu but her soul. She was supposed to be a foster but this gem of a lady basset was going NOWHERE. Sweet and gentle and caring through it all she never ever has done a mean thing to anyone, man or beast. She let me clean out her ears. She let the vet examine her and trim her toe nails. After the vet said we could she let me bathe her. She let me pick her up and she let me hug her and she did everything we asked of her. She was on canned food for a while but over time she switched to kibble and she ate what we asked her to eat. She slept where we asked her to sleep (which was on a dog bed on the floor at first). Over a few months LuLu slowly put on the weight she needed. Her coat became soft and started to shine She fell in love with our family. Strangers stopped being horrified by her appearance and instead started saying how cute she was. My husband was going through chemo at the time and she would lay there in bed with him while he was going through the worst of it. Sometimes I would go in there and he would just be holding her in a death grip ….. he might not even be awake, LuLu was though and she’d just lay there and comfort him, for hours if he needed her to. LuLu loves my daughters and my dogs and me. She is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest soul I have ever met. When we lost our lab Cyrus on 8/1 (he went in his sleep) she assumed the alpha role in our pack gracefully. She’s our pride and joy. In her success story photo, she is relaxing in my reading chair in all her glory. Dale & family

Lucy (8/11)

How we found Lucy We have a mini Australian Shepard and had taken him to Animal Kind to get a tooth pulled. Since we were there I asked to see the boarding facilities for future use when we travel. When I go into the kennel I see Lucy there lying on a blanket. I started talking with Michelle and found out she was a rescue which was a huge surprise. Michelle let her out and she jumped right into my chest and bowled me over. (In more ways more than one) I knew she was the dog for us and immediately said “we’ll take her” At that point I called my wife (details, details) and she came down to meet Lucy and the result was the same. We took her home for a test weekend and she has been with us ever since. She is the perfect dog and gets along with Aussie so well. She fits right in and after a few training sessions she is just awesome. It’s amazing to think someone let this little girl go…what a mistake that was! Robert

Louie 2011

Our adorable Basset named Louie came to us just last month. We can see why they named him King Louie because of his regal like cloak around his neck. To us, he is the most gorgeous boy ever! We had prayed for the right dog for us and us for him and our prayers have come true, more then we could have dreamed. Louie fits in our family like he has always been ours. We are a close family and if anyone leaves the house, Louie misses them and gives them lots of love when they return. He loves his bone and likes to hide it in various places in the house. He is adorable when we watch him use blankets and pillows to make himself a "bed." Louie loves walks at least four times a day and he is really good for baths too. He has the deepest hound bark we ever heard and it's music to our ears. Louie loves to "wrestle" and chew on stuffed animals too. It is cute seeing all of the stuffed animals on the floor, like there is a baby in the house. Everyone in our famiily loves Louie and Louie loves all of us. We are most grateful to the Golden Gate Bassett Rescue and the volunteers and foster parents that bring Bassets home! Thank you!