Tess was a one-and one-half year old Golden Retriever living outside at the home of a single mother who eventually decided she couldn’t take care of her. She was turned over to the Southern California Golden Retriever Rescue (SCGRR) where she was placed in a foster home until being adopted in 2014. She immediately charmed her new family with her energy and friendly, playful personality and quickly engaged her adopted sister, 11-year-old Zelda.
Tess and Bill
In August, just a few days shy of her third birthday and only 10 months after finding her new home, Tess was killed instantly while playing when she ran into the side of a moving car. Tess’ owners, Bill McIntyre and Patricia Low, were devastated.
Zelda and Cinda
Fast forward a couple weeks and Bill and Pat find themselves on a two-day drive in a rental car from Texas to their Southeastern California home. In the back seat was Cinda. A pure bred English Cream Golden Retriever, Cinda was sold to a breeder at a young age. But when the breeder found out that Cinda had an inverted eyelash condition she was targeted as damaged goods and sent back to the original seller with her $4,000 price tag refunded.
Cinda was literally put out to pasture. With no future in breeding she was never provided with the operation to fix her eyes that would save her from going blind. She was living in a backyard pen. Until Bill and Pat came to rescue her. She has now had her eyelash condition successfully corrected, has been spayed, and has taken her place alongside Zelda in her new home.
But that doesn’t mean Tess has been forgotten. She is the inspiration for the Tess McIntyre Foundation. Bill and Pat consider Cinda to be the first beneficiary of the foundation. Another will be the SCGRR, the agency that rescued Tess and placed her in a stable home.
The foundation is not a rescue organization in itself. Its goal is, instead, to provide funding for other qualified rescue services. Their first priority will be in helping organizations who are working with animals, like Cinda, who need medical attention in order to improve their chances of adoption and finding a home.
The foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which was started in August, recently launched its Web site ( www.tessmcintyrefoundation.org) where you can contact the foundation or make a donation. All of the money donated will go toward helping rescued animals, the only administrative costs being the fee charged for processing credit card donations.
While they will never completely get over the shock of Tess’ accident, her owners are dedicating themselves to remembering her in a meaningful way by helping other needy dogs live a healthy life in a loving home.
(You can follow the Tess McIntyre Foundation on Twitter @TessMcIn)
off the leash 
What a great way to remember a loved dog. I hope the foundation is able to help a lot of rescue dogs.
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I always find it so inspiring when people use such an awful situation to make a real difference in the world. Thanks so much for highlighting this. A real inspiration!
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This is so inspiring – turning something bad into something good. We hear so much of the bad stuff going on that it is a real pleasure to read about people like Bill and Pat – we need to be reminded that this world holds good people too, we just don`t hear about them often enough. Thanks Ken and kudos to Bill and Pat.
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Hope the foundation is a success. When I lived in Marbella, Spain, a stray dog adopted me and I fell in love with him completely. He even did a Lassie on me. When moved he found a rich Saudi family and moved in with them.
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Wonderful story! I love dogs and can’t imagine life without at least one in my home, but my niece is passionate about them. She has dedicated her life to rescuing and fostering abandoned and abused animals and works tirelessly to end dog fighting so I’ll be sure to pass your story on to her.
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What a wonderful story of unconditional loving for our fellow man’s best friend. Thanks for sharing this charity. I will look into int.
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That is a lovely story about great pets and wonderful pet owners.
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It ‘kills’ me to hear about a pet (or any other animal) getting killed by a car – ugh, what a terrible way to go – one more reason to find an alternative to driving if at all possible.
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Lossing a beloved pet regardless of the reason is heartbreaking. Finding and rescuing another can help to heal the loss. I am so glad they could do that for Zelda. :-)))
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I am glad to hear of this organization and its purpose. There are so many good organizations created out there, but many do the same thing. Each one competing for the same money, with the same purpose. It is glad to see a group created, who supports a cause by providing funds to established groups.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
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Whoa, $4,000 for a dog. I’ve always adopted rescue dogs. In any case, it’s great to hear of the Tess McIntyre Foundation. My cousin in Tennessee is heavily involved in Chesapeake dog rescue.
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I’ve always had rescued mutts as well.
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