The Gordon Setter Club of America, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting and preserving the “Beauty, Brains & Bird Sense”
in Gordon Setters. The club was organized in 1924 and currently has over 1,000 members. Most of our
membership is concentrated in the United States, but we also have members from 15
to 20 countries worldwide.
Fortunately, the relative rarity of Gordon Setters has not made an organized
Rescue program a pressing need until recent years. Gordon Setter lovers rescued the
occasional Gordon from a shelter on a private basis for many years, but, by the late
1980’s, it was clear that, like many other things, Gordons had become a
“disposable commodity.” Thus, GSCA established a
National Rescue program in
1991.
The Gordon Setter Club of America’s Rescue program is a network of regional Gordon Setter rescue programs from across
the United States. These nonprofit programs are run independently by volunteers from each
regional Gordon Setter club. Availability of dogs varies from region to region. The
ages of the dogs tend to range from 8 months to 10 years, and dogs are spayed or neutered
as a condition of placement.
The dogs available for adoption through rescue come
from several different sources. Some we find in animal shelters. Some are turned over to
our programs because of a change in family circumstances such as a divorce or job
transfer, or because the owners were not prepared for the energy level of a young Gordon.
Occasionally, when a true rescue dog is not available, we also assist GSCA breeders in
placing adult dogs whose homes did not work out, because most offer a lifetime return
policy. The rescue dogs and potential owners are carefully evaluated to insure the
best possible placement for each dog.
