Accomplish MN: Abandoned Golden Retrievers In Turkey Find Homes In Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- In Turkey, there are an overwhelming amount of Golden Retrievers without homes. But some of those Golden Retrievers now have homes here thanks to Retrieve A Golden of Minnesota (RAGOM).

Golden Retrievers were popular in Turkey about 10 years ago, now they're out on the streets and overloading shelters.

"Turkey has a law, they're not allowed to euthanize," Patty Larson, a volunteer with RAGOM, said. "What they'll do then is bring them in they'll spay or neuter them, give them a rabies shot. Then they let them out to live on the streets. The lucky ones are kept in a shelter, but that's about as good as it gets. Otherwise they're sent to live on the streets or in the forests."

Here in the U.S., however, they're still in high demand and RAGOM can't fill applications fast enough.

"We don't have the Goldens for all the families that want them," Larson said. "Turkey had a ton of Goldens that need homes, so it was just a perfect match."

So, Gus and 14 of his buddies were loaded onto a cargo plane for a 10 and a half hour flight to Chicago, where Minnesotans were waiting.

"We all jumped into action and got them out of their crates," Larson said. "They had about an hour of playing, exercising. Then we had to load them all back up in their crates to make the transport back here."

They're now happily settling in with their foster families before making Minnesota their forever home.

RAGOM said it cost about $1,700 per dog to fly them from Turkey. RAGOM raised the money through donations and are hoping to do another rescue in the spring.

If you'd like to help out, click here.