Southeastern Virginia Golden Retriever Rescue, Education and Training

SEVA GRREAT is an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization serving southeastern Virginia celebrating its 35th year in operation. Since 1990, over 3,200 Golden Retrievers and mixes have found loving homes thanks to the generosity of our donors and the efforts of our volunteers. We raise funds so that we never have to turn away a golden in need. SEVA GRREAT is committed to finding our goldens their forever homes but, without you, there would be no SEVA GRREAT.

You may wonder where our goldens come from and why they need rescued. Families surrender their dogs for many reasons, not the least of which is the financial cost of caring for their dog. Others end up as strays in shelters. Almost every golden that enters our care requires some type of medical/surgical care or medications before they are ready for their forever homes. Some of them have behavioral issues that require sessions with trainers who work with their foster families. Occasionally a "problem child" will require a "board and train" intervention. All so that they can become the incredible dogs you know goldens to be. 

We are grateful that Give Local 757 gives us the opportunity to raise funds to support our rescue. Every year, thanks to you, we are able to help our Give Local-featured dogs and many more, but by the next year, there are more that need help. In 2025, we rescued over 100 dogs.  Here are some of the dogs we helped in the last year. 

Pax – This handsome boy was purchased from a breeder around 18 months of age and arrived to his first home very frightened and unsocialized. Not knowing how to make him feel comfortable in their home, they placed him out in their yard and decided to contact SEVA GRREAT. He was so frightened that they needed the help of Animal Control to trap him after spending 4 nights outside in the cold. In addition to his fear, PAX had severe entropion (inward turning of his lower eyelashes) which is painful and can damage the eyes if untreated. Thanks to the help of his foster home and canine foster siblings, he gained confidence and learned how wonderful living with people can be. Pax had surgery by a veterinary ophthalmologist and his eyes healed beautifully. He was adopted by his forever home in February 2025.

Emmy – This beautiful blonde pup was surrendered to SEVA GRREAT at 16 months of age when her owner encountered some health issues and could no longer care for her. As it turns out, Emmy has some health issues of her own and has been diagnosed with a condition called ectopic ureter (where the tube draining urine from the kidney doesn’t connect to her bladder correctly and causes some urinary incontinence). She has been seen by an internal medicine specialist and will soon go to the Veterinary School at NC State University for a procedure that will hopefully correct the issue.  Emmy also has a very sensitive stomach and possible irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and requires a strict diet to manage her symptoms. We are working with her veterinarians to help keep her feeling her best. Thankfully she is a happy and playful girl that doesn’t let any of this slow her down.

Captain Crunch – “Crunch” came from a backyard breeder in Mechanicsville, VA. Unlike most dogs in that situation, he’s much more sociable and less frightened than the others, which is good. He is about a year old, and active and playful like pups his age. However, he will soon have to take a break from the playtime, as Captain Crunch has heartworms which need to be treated. He’ll need a series of injections which are unfortunately painful, and he’ll need to be on restricted activity to prevent complications from the treatment. HW treatment is expensive (over $1000) and the disease could have been easily prevented with monthly medication.

Lily – Lily is a 5-year-old who came to us when she tore her CCL and needed surgery and a safe place to recover, as her family had lots of steps. CCL repair costs approximately $6000 and requires 8-12 weeks of very strict rest to ensure the knee heals well. Lily is doing very well in her recovery (her surgery was done on February 18th) and we hope she can soon be back to normal activity. Your donations help Lily and so many others get the care that they need.

Each year, you help our rescue go on, and we hope you will be willing to do it again. Thank you for being a friend of SEVA GRREAT.

Who We Are

SEVA GRREAT is a volunteer-staffed, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to "finding homes for homeless goldens" since 1990. To date, over 3,200 Golden Retrievers and mixes have been rescued and placed in loving forever homes. Our dogs come from a variety of places such as animal shelters, SPCAs, and homes where owners either no longer want their dog or, due to circumstances, can no longer keep their dog.