We have sad news today…  We found out that our 2015 alumna, Maggie, has passed away in 2022. She had a neglected existence the first 7 years of her life, then she was dropped off at a Georgia shelter by her owner.  She appears to have lived her entire existence in an outdoor kennel or whelping box.  Thanks to her foster mom, Megan, Maggie thrived in rescue and found her forever home with the Hight family.
Her mom said, “I held on to her at the end as long as I could, I made several adjustments to my home to help her stay comfortable. It was so hard to make the call because she would have some okay days and then bad days. She was losing control of her bowels/bladder. She seemed to just be uncomfortable all the time. I had a vet come to my house and she got comfortable on my couch, and just drifted away. No more pain, no more anxiety. I think her sight and hearing were not 100% by then either. She really just got old. It was sad, but it was time. I was on the fence for close to a year about when to let her go. I loved that sweet baby.”

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends leave footprints in your heart. —ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

We recently discovered that our 2017 Alumnus Levi, from Florida, passed away in December of 2022.  When he came to rescue after being abandoned, he was extremely underweight and terrified.  He blossomed into a very handsome boy.  The name Levi means “joined in harmony” and that was so true when he met his forever family. He loved to take his toys out of the toy box for display, play fetch and enjoyed being a goofy GSP.  But most of all, he loved his family more than anything.  

His mom Heather said, “Sean worked so hard to help Levi overcome his fear of men. At 6'3" he must have seemed terrifying to Levi at first. Eventually, Sean made him feel safe and our little Eeyore came to life. We had him for 5 great years before the seizures took over, which I hope made up for the first 5 years and the 2 previous owners who didn't want him back. We hated to lose him.”

Farewell Levi – you will be in our hearts forever.
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“With their love so pure, dogs must go to heaven.  They run free and wait patiently for your hearts to merge once more.”  Unknown    

Sweet Shanti (aka Libby/Bella in SC) crossed the rainbow bridge over Christmas weekend. She came into rescue in mid-November battered, starved, broken and riddled with cancer but that didn’t stop her sweet spirit from shining. From the day our NC/SC State Coordinator Erin picked her up until her final moments with our longtime volunteer Marcy, she wagged that tail and wanted nothing more than to be beside you. She loved her sweaters, blankets and to curl up on her soft bed. Her foster mom Marcy knows she’s still with her when she hears the song Independence Day - Libby got her Independence Day and knew she was so loved. 
 
From Marcy, “She left this world with a full belly, wrapped in a warm blanket with her head resting on my heart. She was a very sweet little fighter of a girl and I’m sorry our time together was so short, but we did the best to enjoy the days we were given. My Lady Liberty, it is now time to let freedom ring.”
 
A special thank you to Erin, our NC/SC State Coordinator and Lisa for fostering Libby during her rescue journey, and to Marcy for giving her love until her last moment on this earth.  Although we wish she had entered rescue sooner, there is no doubt she left this world knowing the beauty of being loved and cherished.
 
“If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.” Unknown

It’s been a rough month in rescue. We’ve just received word that we’ve lost another alumnus, sweet Blue.  We don’t know anything about Blue’s life prior to rescue, however he was fostered by our late founder, Beth Cochran and was heartworm positive. Beth helped him through his treatment then found an amazing home for Blue with the Parks family.

From Blue’s family, “It is with deepest sadness that we wish to let you know, we lost our beloved Blue three weeks ago. We adopted him from the SEGSP Rescue in September of 2011 and he truly became our faithful and best buddy ever. Blue was such an amazing dog, loving, trustworthy, well mannered, and (for a GSP!) calm and we regularly marveled to one another at how blessed we were with him in our lives. Needless to say, we are still quite devastated by the loss. To honor him, we will be planting a Blue Atlas Cedar tree on our property and will mix in some of his ashes. Blue loved trying to catch fish at the lake, he would wade in the shallows and point, then suddenly, swiftly dive his head under water (no he never did catch one!). He was so into this "sport" that we liked to say he was our fish dog (and a bird dog too). So, some of his ashes will also go around his favorite "fishing hole".  He lived a full life, to 14 years old, but the past two years saw him suffering from a number of overall declining health issues including kidney disease, and finally, painful and debilitating arthritis issues. When we adopted Blue he was being fostered by Beth Cochran so we had the pleasure and privilege of meeting and working with her during the process. We will always remain grateful to the Rescue for all of your hard work and devotion to this amazing breed. Thank you all.”
 
Blue’s memorial tribute will remain on our website's memorial page forever.  Like all of our alumni that have passed to the Rainbow Bridge, we honor Blue’s memory and thank his family for giving him a loving home.

Another SEGSP alum has left this world for the Rainbow Bridge.  Pete (formerly Longstreet Pistol) came to rescue originally in 2015 with his sister Annie and moved around a bit before he finally found his forever home with the Black family in 2018.
 
From Pete’s dad Wesley, “On the 19th of December, we had to take Longstreet (Pete - our nickname and Pistol - his name at the rescue) to be put to rest.  He suffered from epilepsy and since September of this year, lymphoma.  His epilepsy was under control but the lymphoma proved to be too much for him, even with the cancer treatment he was receiving.  We adopted him from the rescue in SEPTEMBER 2018 when he was about seven or eight.  He was a beloved member of our family and his loss was hard for all of us at Christmas but it was especially hard for our daughter.  They were best friends and Longstreet was the best with her.  She would not even let us take his stocking down.  Thank you for all of your hard work with GSP’s and for helping us find Pete.  The work you do is incredible.    We miss him but he will be remembered by the Christmas tree star our daughter picked out for him the day I returned from the vet.”

Pete will be forever loved in our hearts. Run pain-free sweet boy...

Another sad announcement... Our beautiful 2020 alumna Bella has completed her journey on earth.  From her parents Tiffany and Daryl, “It’s with a heavy heart I let you know that sweet Bella crossed the rainbow bridge. She had a very fast-growing tumor which made it difficult to walk, get up and to go to the bathroom. She was such a sweet dog and she enjoyed playing with her brother and sister, her time at the lake and going on boat rides.”
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Bella came to rescue in 2020 at age 10 after the only family she knew surrendered her.  What Bella didn’t realize at the time was that her foster family would fall in love with her, adopt her and give her the love, attention and adventure that she craved and deserved.  It was a blessing in disguise and her last two years were heaven on earth.
 
“Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you.  I loved you so… Twas heaven here with you.”  Isla Paschal Richardson

Our 2017 alum Minnow (formerly Pam, aka Pippa) traveled to the Rainbow Bridge.  She came to rescue as an emaciated stray at 36 lbs., was extremely dehydrated and in need of tender love and care.  When she gained her weight and strength back she was adopted by the Eslinger family and her world changed forever where she only knew love.
 
“Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you.  I loved you so - “twas heaven here with you.”  Isla Paschal Richardson

Our 2012 Alumna Katie, formerly Sahara, has left our world for the Rainbow Bridge after a couple long years with failing hearing, eyes, hips and more. Katie came to rescue as a stray and was heartworm positive.  Her body was healed and then her heart was healed when she was adopted by her loving parents Deb and Bill.
Katie was fostered by our longtime volunteers Cindy and Jim in Florida.  They recalled that when they first saw Katie, she was weak and had seen so much sun exposure and elements that the brown portion of her coloring was very light.  They gradually brought her back to health and were surprised to see her new coloring of a rich dark brown.  They said Katie was probably the sweetest dog they ever worked with and they smiled when recalling their warning to her new family to beware of her wagging tail (which was her natural long tail). She would walk around the room wagging it in her usual happy fashion and things would fall off tables.  They considered foster failing but are thankful they found Deb and Bill who gave her extraordinary kindness and love.

From her parents Deb and Bill, “Today we said goodbye to our sweet Katie.  In her 10 years with us, she never again knew hunger, only love and ice cream every day. Today was hard, but not nearly as hard as what she must have experienced in the five years before she found us. We hope we made her forget. She was the best girl, and no words can convey all she means to us or the gap she leaves behind. She was a remarkable and loving companion. Our friends who got to know her agreed that she really did ‘win the doggy lottery’. Run free, Sahara Kate. Thanks to @Southeast GSP Rescue for bringing her into our life.  We will always be supporters of SE GSP rescue and forever grateful for the work that brought her to us.  8-8-Kate-Always ”

2010 Alumnus Hank said farewell to his family over the weekend.  He was adopted in early 2010 and was 13 years old.  Tragically, he was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, and diagnosis to goodbye happened painfully fast. 

Hank was found with his litter mate, Jasper, at an abandoned house in NC.  Hank was an amazing dog and through his mom, SEGSP was able to apply to the Wake Forest Law School community clinic to guide us through obtaining our 501c3 and we are lucky to have an attorney from her law firm that helps us when needed.

Hank’s family is understandably heartbroken, but were able to have a vet come to them and have a peaceful farewell in Hank’s home with his family by his side.