About Us
Thirty-five years ago we obtained our first golden retriever. Kaja was of the field variety, but a golden none the less. I had a male, white German Shepherd at the time and was rescuing another when she bolted from the foster home and was killed by a car. Knowing that Max needed a friend, I answered an ad looking for a great home for a six month old golden. It was love at first sight and when she jumped in my car – soaking wet – I knew it was forever and it was a great 15 years.
Kaja delivered my first golden bundle some three years later and Rocky stole my heart. He is how Goldenstar came to be. He had a small buff colored place on his forehead and it was in the shape of a star…Goldenstar Goldens had begun.
A few years later Sunny came along and for three years we had the four of them, Max, Kaja, Rocky and Sunny. Then one day Rocky didn’t want to eat (all goldens love to eat), so off to the vet we went to get devastating news that Rocky had Lymphoma and he was given 6 weeks to live. He lived 13 wonderful weeks until we had to make the decision to let him go. I’ve always felt that you can not replace one you have lost but you can fill the void with another.
About five months later along came Roxie, a wonderful pick bitch from Sue McGavic (Merrigold Goldens), and my first show golden. About a year later Maggie, a pick bitch from Laura Kling (Laurell Goldens), joined the family and it continued to grow with golden love and fur! I had been bitten by the showing in conformation bug and Roxie and Maggie would be my first two in the ring. Wow, did I ever have a lot to learn.
Over the next years Roxie gave me Teddy and then his younger sister, Jody. With a breeding of Teddy to Maggie, along came Katie Bug.
We lost our precious Maggie at 10 years of age to Lymphoma, and even while on ten months of chemo she never quit being that funny, are you talking to me golden. A couple of years later we lost our Sunny, at the grand age of 14 years after a long life of being one heck of a running partner to both Bobby and I. She even helped Bobby wins some races and set some personal records. Boy was she fast!
Jody would give me two wonderful daughters, Allie and Lucy and they would be the ones that carry on the line.
In February, 2008, I lost my velcro dog, my heart dog, Roxie at 14+ years of age. She had raised all of the others and was always the queen of the bunch. You could not go anywhere that she did not follow. With Teddy now 11, it was time to bring in a new male, so Toby from Barb Rollins (Oak Lane Goldens) joined the family. A wonderful addition to the family and hopefully to my showing and breeding future and he has not let me down!!!!
September, 2010, Allie and Toby blessed me with a new little girl named Jessie. Another in the long line decended from her great- grandma Roxie. The line continues.
December, 2010, I lost Jody just shy of her 13th birthday. Then in April, 2011, I lost her older brother Teddy just 15 days shy of his 14th birthday. Both horrible losses.
November, 2011, I flew out to Kanses City. MO, to bring home Ruby. I had long admired the lovely dogs that the Kinghorn’s (Chatham) had produced and now I had the opportunity to bring home a very blonde bundle of gold.
That brings me up to November, 2013, when Emmy (Cassimere) joined our family. My very close friend and fellow breeder had bred her champion Jewell to an awesome champion male named Calvin and the resulting litter of four had a special girl just for me. Faye and I both kept a girl and hope to enjoy many years in the show ring together,
April, 2014, I lost my Katie Bug at close to 14 years of age. She thrived even after being diagnosed with mammary cancer in December, 2012. she is so tough, I just don’t think she read the memo.
January, 2015, Kaylee (Cassimere)joined our family. She is Emmy’s half sister and a real pistol of a girl too. I tell her daily, “It sure is a good thing that you are so cute” ……
May 2015 -Toby is now an GRAND Champion and International Champion solely handled by me. His last two shows he not only finished his GCH, he took Best of Breed over eight other specials to close out his showing career. He has been and continues to be the most awesome dog ever and produces offspring that have earned their therapy titles, along with doing agility and obedience.
August, 2015, in the blink of an eye, our precious Allie was gone. I now understand the shock and devastation one feels when they lose a beloved golden so quickly. Two weeks prior I had felt a growth on her left shoulder blade. After a needle aspiration and then biopsy, it was ruled to be Osteosarcoma. The surgeon felt she had at least 8-10 months as she was not in any pain. They also found she had a heart arrhythmia, but were not really concerned about it as she was almost 12 years old. After being so totally normal, playing with her sister, running in the yard and eating like it was her last meal, she dropped on us two days after we found out what she had. She was so physically strong an in such great shape, yet she did not suffer one minute. Our hearts were broken in a flash.
September 2016, I lost my husband and partner of 30 years. It was with Bobby that the Goldenstar name came about on a napkin at a Wendy’s all those years ago. He fought two stage four cancers for two years and his loss has been hard on me and all of our goldens.
June, 2017, seventeen days after finding a tumor on my sweet Lucy, she was gone too. She was 10.5 and the most awesome mother and companion. The hole that she left is huge.
August, 2017, Toby is diagnosed with a bleeding tumor in his heart. Tapped twice in five days and with no western medicine options, we start him on what turns into 19 holistic supplements. Five months later his ultrasound showed the tumor was gone! It was a miracle!!! He also blesses me with two litters of which I kept a daughter, Jules and son, Deacon.
March, 16, 2018, Toby and I ran around the veteran ring one last time. He won the 10-12 year veteran class and he absolutely had the best time. It was the culmination of a fabulous show career and I was over the moon to be on the other end of my precious boys lead one last time!
May, 16, 2018, Toby goes to the Rainbow Bridge, eight days after being diagnosed with a gastric wall tumor. He couldn’t eat and nothing helped. My heart dog was gone and I was devastated. The last couple years have been rough in so many ways, and I totally credit my goldens for keeping me grounded and feeling so loved.
October, 2017 – Jules, a Toby x Ruby daughter joined my golden family.
December, 2017 – Deacon, a Toby x Emmy son joined the family…….. it will forever continue to be the Lucky Seven!
December, 2019 – Bella, a Stanley x Emmy daughter joined the pack and the number climbs to eight. Always said that if my mom could raise eight children ( yes, I’m one of eight) I could have eight Goldens. ☺️
In late October, 2020, a friend/breeder in Wisconsin had a litter of 11. I had the opportunity to bring in another show girl. Skye was born on October, 3, which was Bobby’s birthday so I knew it was meant to be. A close friend flew me to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and after a little drive and visit with breeder, Theresa Ziese, Skye was on her way home with me. Let the next
In late October, 2020, a friend/breeder in Wisconsin had a litter of 11. I had the opportunity to bring in another show girl. Skye was born on October, 3, which was Bobby’s birthday so I knew it was meant to be. A close friend flew me to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and after a little drive and visit with breeder, Theresa Ziese, Skye was on her way home with me. Let the next
chapter begin!!!
June 2022- Deacon and Skye are now both CHAMPIONS! Not able to get out to show them myself, they were shown to their title by Carrie a handler. She loves them and them her!
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All of our goldens live in our house and are a huge part of our everyday lives. We use to walk them every day up to six miles, but in April, 2013, we moved after 30 years to 5.33 acres and we have now found a little piece of heaven. I have never seen my dogs so happy as they are when they are chasing through the yard. We do obedience, agility and conformation training and showing. I believe dogs need to run and play, yet stuck in a yard all day and night is not the life for a golden. They are social animals that crave attention and to be with you, even if just laying at your feet. Goldens do wonderful as one of multiple pets, especially when either raised with others or with proper introduction.
Goldens are my passion and producing quality, healthy pups and placing them with their forever family is my main goal. Breeding healthy dogs that meet the breed standard with structure and soundness and promoting responsible ownership is paramount.
I am blessed to have some wonderful golden friends, and there are two that I would never be able to thank for all that they do. Not only do our pups have Bobby and I loving on them, they have Tricia and Pat (and John) watching over them too. How blessed we are!
Now that we are both retired and have recently completed my dream of a groooming room, between grooming goldens I hope to one day do therapy work at hospitals and children homes with my dogs. There is nothing like a golden’s head in your lap to make you smile.
For the past 25 years we have had an annual reunion of past litters and have had as many as 45 come. We call that golden heaven. Because of the love we all share, my Goldenstar Family is huge and I consider every one of them family!
Ruby and Gabi
Deacon and Jessie
Jules, Bella, Emmy and Skye