Adopt or Relinquish

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Loving Tributes

Adopted Dogs

Honoring Spirits

Animal Communication

Glen Highland is a 501c3, non-profit corporation, established in January 2001 by Lillie Goodrich and John Andersen. Glen Highland operates a Sanctuary and Adoption program for Border Collies age 10 and up. All dogs are evaluated, treated medically and adopted into new lives, or become residents in the Sanctuary, along with some younger ‘special needs’ Border Collies.

At the Rescue & Sanctuary here at Glen Highland, years remain ahead for the Senior Border Collies... time for more ball play, car rides and country walks, for cuddles in bed, for a loving human connection… it would have been tragic for the lives of these seniors to end just because they were older.

Glen Highland is the only rescue focused on these truly fragile Border Collies who would otherwise, perish.

The Sanctuary gives unadoptable Seniors a soft landing where all their needs are met without another emotionally traumatic change. They are residents until their final day. Some younger “special needs” Border Collies also live in the Sanctuary.

The Rescue provides the stronger Seniors another chance to be an adored companion and adopted into a new home.

Either way is a win because deserving dogs get a chance to live on.

Sometimes when you least expect it, life takes a turn
that leads you to exactly what you've been searching all your life to find.

Glen Highland is one of those momentous occurrences that dramatically changed two lives, and many thousands more that touch this place, thanks to the dogs whose spirits led us here and forever changed our path. Founders, John Andersen and Lillie Goodrich, opened their hearts to Border Collies and changed their own lives as well as so many, many others, human and canine.

Originally launched in NY in 2001, over 3,000 dogs found safe haven through this location, covering all ages from puppies through Seniors. Well respected and noted for outstanding results meeting challenging needs, Glen Highland gained a strong following as a leader in rescue.

In 2019, the focus shifted solely to meet the needs of abandoned Seniors, often overlooked as unadoptable. Again, Glen Highland broke new ground, as the ONLY rescue devoted to Senior Border Collies, providing long-term care for truly unadoptable dogs with nowhere to go as well as a chance for adoption for those healthy with so much life left to live! We can provide the time needed to heal abandonment as well as wait for that special person that could come for them. We also provide refuge for various age BCs with behavioral or medical challenges, making them unsuitable for a new home.

Answering the needs of Seniors lead to a move in 2020 to the warmer climate of Virginia, more favorable to the dogs. Sunny days on 15 acres of flat land will the transformation from sadness to joy as the Border Collies renew their energy to play again!

Lillie has worked with over 3,000 dogs in rescue, hundreds and hundreds more in the vacation camp, in teaching seminars and in animal communication sessions. Her sense of “dog” has broadened and deepened to a remarkable level, heightening her innate and intuitive abilities to help many dogs and people. She shares the wisdom of Border Collies in the final years of their lives, sharing their messages, communicating directly with them. This breed redefines the word Senior and through talking with them, they will redefine how humans think of this phase of life for canines and for humans.

Glen Highland is a personal journey and commitment, and one shared with others. These amazing Border Collies are great masters of ‘being’ which is something the world needs to experience again... Stop all the 'doing' and learn how to 'be' who you really are in the world. That’s what Glen Highland is all about.

Lillie Goodrich
Founder, Executive Director & President

Reviewing a career of work usually leads you to write a pretty standard biography of experiences but now that I'm here, committed to Glen Highland, the past is barely relevant. Gone are the schedules and timelines, meeting other people's needs. Gone are the political agendas manufactured to suit someone's ego, gone are the pressure cooker environments where everything is critical yet totally out of proportion. Instead, what I experience with rescue work is far more gentle, yet more demanding in a very different way. I work 24/7, not because of the internet, but because animals need you up by 6am, filling their tummies and back out at 8pm, for a final piece of business. Their bark for attention is so honest, so direct (unlike the business world) and so easily handled...they just want to be with you.

Ever since the age of five, I'd dreamt of helping animals who were hurt, abandoned or uncared for. In fact, I prayed every night for the safe-keeping of those in danger.

My own 'inner-tuning' led to an intuitive relationship with border collies who's sharp focus and instinctive brilliance is well-noted in the dog world. This breed tunes into the people and situations around them in order to understand what's needed. Finally, the dogs led me to my life's work.

That 'calling' led me to co-found Glen Highland with life partner, John Andersen. We worked side by side for 25 years in upstate NY until his death 4/20. Over the years as Executive Director, I have been channeling my intuition into matching border collies with new guardians, as well as utilizing my professional experience to oversee the day-to-day rescue operation and affiliated programs. Over 3000 dogs found new lives since the inception of Glen Highland. We also created The Getaway, a wildly successful dog lover’s vacation experience where funds supported the rescue. And, also created Camp Border Collie for Kids, pairing inner city children with rescue dogs were over 400 children transformed their hearts.

Now, the work has moved to Virginia with a Senior Sanctuary and Rescue devoted to Border Collies age 10 and over. Twenty dogs find safe haven living as Residents til the end of their lives, if adoption is not possible. This more focused approach allows us to target dogs who truly have no one to help them. Part of the joy of working with dogs is also being an Animal Communicator. Being able to ‘hear’ dogs allows me to know their desires and ways to help them on their journey. Many people ask for private sessions to help them benefit from understanding their dogs better just as the rescue dogs benefit from me understanding them more clearly.

My background has been full of creation - original ideas becoming a reality with twenty years experience in highly competitive industries - television, advertising, and marketing, acting as a catalyst for innovative projects, leading multi-million dollar projects for Fortune 500 companies (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lexus, Maybelline Cosmetics) as well as producing for television broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Time-Warner).

My life’s work is the Border Collie breed, assisting these highly intuitive and sensitive dogs. My awareness of their capacity to heal and transform people is profoundly humbling and I remain forever grateful for the support of others who love them as much as I do.

Gina is President and CEO of National Public Media, where she is committed to ensuring the continued growth of NPR and the public media system through the funding from corporate sponsors. Garrubbo has spent more than 20 years in traditional and digital media growing marketing and sales teams, launching brands and building companies. She was one of the builders of Women.com, one of the first websites for women, and BlogHer, which brought independent voices to millions of readers. Garrubbo built advertising sales teams for Oxygen Media, Discovery Communications and in syndicated television.

Gina jumped into the Camp Border Collie for Kids summer program running from 2001 to 2012, sponsoring funds to help make it possible for over 400 inner city children to spend time at GHF learning about the special nature of Border Collies. Many children healed their fear of dogs as well as their hurting hearts from the difficult home settings they experienced.

Garrubbo holds a BA from Wells College and sits on the boards of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Tappp and the Eat REAL Philanthropic Board.

For nearly a decade, Ashley has helped leaders discover, believe in, and operate from their truest selves. Ashley specializes in leadership development, human behavior and psychology, organizational development, program development, executive coaching, facilitation, mediation, interpersonal communication, public speaking, adult learning & development.

Ashley is the daughter of Glen Highland Farm founder, John Andersen, and has been involved with the rescue in a variety of ways throughout the years. She has held administrative support, direct care, and operational oversight positions with Glen Highland Farm as well as with the former camp program ran through the rescue, Camp Border Collie for Kids. Always in awe of the spirit of the dog, Ashley’s role as a board member is fueled by the tenacity, love, and wisdom that each dog brings with them upon arrival to Glen Highland’s sanctuary.

Ashley lives in Colorado with her husband, stepchildren and two dogs, one a border collie mix she adores.

Nancy considers herself to be quite a serious Border Collie lover. While both of the Border Collies in her life were adopted, her second Border Collie, whose name is Lupa, was adopted from GHF. That is when Nancy’s love affair with GHF began. She is enthralled by all the work we do and supports us in any way she can.

Nancy has been a Food Scientist for 30+ years and specializes in startup beverage companies. In fact she is well known in the beverage industry as the “Beverage Queen!” She develops the beverages and is responsible for everything inside the bottle. Some brands you know that she has developed and manages the ingredients for are Vitamin Water, Smart Water, SoBe, Capri Sun, FUZE, CORE Water, Newman’s Own Iced Teas, Body Armor….and many other energy drinks.

Nancy lives in Florida, but also travels to New Jersey, New York City and Park City, Utah with her husband Greg. Nancy has two sons. Bryan is an Aquatic Veterinarian and is extremely focused on creating policy for ocean fisheries. Ian is an Astro Scientist and works on the finance side of start-up space companies. Nancy and Greg love to travel and are very active. Nancy loves the Pilates Reformer and bike riding. She is the Board President for over 20 years of School Aged Child Care of Leonia, a non for profit before and after school program that also runs a summer camp in Leonia, New Jersey.

She is a board member of her Synagogue, Gesher Shalom in Ft. Lee, NJ, has been a board member of her condominium.

Tracy joined Glen Highland in October 2013, after meeting with Lillie and John during a Getaway vacation stay that summer. The Office Manager at the time was looking to leave and Tracy’s prior work experience in Executive Administration for an International financial company in the UK, an Office Manager for an Architect firm in CT, the HR Manager for her husband’s international trading company in CT and volunteer Treasurer for an elite Girls Hockey Program in CT, were pre-requisites to tackle the next challenge.

Born in England, Tracy moved to the US in 1995 and rescued her first border collie, with her husband, from a shelter in Armonk, NY, followed in quick succession by bringing a border collie puppy over from England and then an aussie shepherd from a local CT shelter. Rescue was always the way to go, giving a dog in need, a home to call their own.

In 2007 Tracy saw an expose about Glen Highland Farm on TV; in that moment there was no other place to be considered for rescuing the next border collie. In 2010 they adopted their first GHF alum, Jack, with subsequent GHF adoptions Sadie (2012), Lizzie (2014) and 2 visits as campers to the Canine Getaway in 2011 and 2013.

Even though Glen Highland is now located in Virginia, Tracy continues to work remotely in CT and NY.

Joycelene (Jos) first experienced Glen Highland in 2006 as a Getaway vacation guest with her beloved dogs, Ben and Molly. She loved the rescue and began volunteering to help with dogs on many return visits. It was through those interactions that she got to know the Founders, Lillie and John. Moved by their commitment and dedication to rescue Border Collies, Jos was eager to do more to help. Over a meal one evening, Lillie had said to her, “If you ever want to completely change up your life and move to NY, give us a call!”

In 2012, Jos moved from Maryland to upstate New York with GHF rescue alum Jane to begin a new endeavor - the Senior Sanctuary for Border Collies. Jos always had an affinity for senior dogs, with a patience and demeanor making her just the right match to be the primary caretaker for the Senior BCs. Over the years she adopted several spectacular seniors who were 12+ years old at the time of adoption: Norm, Argos, Nathan, Lotti and Parker.

Being the primary caretaker for senior dogs proves both challenging and rewarding, but Jos would not have it any other way… As a rescue colleague put it, “The hardest job you will ever have, but also the one you will love the most.”

Jos also managed the Getaway vacation for 8 years, helping to grow the business and becoming a familiar face to several hundreds of dog lovers and their dogs that vacationed at the Farm every summer. With the sale of the vacation business and the move of Glen Highland to Virginia in 2020, Jos looks forward to a continued focus on rescue work with senior dogs, dusting off the art supplies and enjoying time with GH alum Livy age 10.

Shelley found Glen Highland through the rescue of Della, a 9 year old Border Collie. Della was part of a group of ten purebreds in need of help once a Virginia ‘backyard breeder’ died in 2022. As a young dog living nearby, Della used to regularly visit Shelley’s house each day with tail wagging and come inside, get treats and love, but then run home to continue life as a ‘breeding female’. A fence eventually prevented Della’s visits but the two were reunited at Glen Highland when Shelley began volunteering. This ironic twist of fate brought this pair happily together again after so many years apart. Sadly, Della unexpectedly passed of cancer before any adoption could be considered.

Shelley brought great skills to Glen Highland so officially joined the team 2 days a week. She brings invaluable vet-tech expertise having previously worked in a nearby vet emergency hospital. She also volunteers at the local Humane Society grooming dozens of dogs and cats each month to help their adoptability.

A devoted fan of Border Collies, Shelley grew up with her grandmother’s BC who worked their farm in Indiana and then at age 16, she rescued her own Border Collie. Years later after that BC passed, married and living in Germany, she adopted a BC from a rescue in England. A super intense working dog, Shelley did agility, flyball, rally, tricks and anything she could find to keep her BC's mind stimulated. Back in the states many years later, she adopted another BC from a Virginia rescue and also fostered another BC who needed serious rehab. Neglected and abused, he became a ‘failed foster’ and is still with her today, along with her husband, Mike, beagle Dandi, five cats and GH alum Prim.

In 2023, Aiyana sent an introductory email to Glen Highland offering to help excited to see that the reputable Rescue she knew so well was now literally down the street from her. She had a big love for Border Collies and soon began sitting with rescue dogs, helping them feel more stable. By early 2025, she had become the go-to for training support mentally keeping the dog’s minds sharp and engaged with fun challenges as well as helping adoptable Seniors with necessary basics.

Aiyana also does life-saving transport work for Glen Highland making sure dogs in need can easily make it to Virginia without multiple car rides. She’s driven very long distances and overnighted in order to head back the next day with a happier Senior!

Now pursuing a science degree in Animal Behavior, Aiyana combines practical, hands-on training with an academic foundation in how dogs think and learn. She has 2 dogs, Aurora and Dashi, both of whom have shaped her approach in different ways. Aiyana is drawn to dogs who don’t come easy—the ones who need time, structure, and someone who won’t give up on them. She loves helping dogs settle in and start to feel safe being themselves.

Jess signed on to be a dog sitter at Glen Highland in Spring 2023 and made it possible for the founder, Lillie and Senior Caretaker, Joycelene, to take vacations. Finding someone to handle 13-15 dogs at Lillie’s house or 6-7 at Joycelene’s took someone very, very special.

Little did Jess know when she signed on for her first dog sitting visit that she would be smitten! The crazy pack of Border Collies fell in love with her celebrating someone there to play, play, play! And, she fell in love, too! It was wonderful to watch unfold and a perfect fit all around.

Jess blossoms when caring for dogs and handles many breeds as well as cats but she had never managed a dozen Border Collies! Turns out that her other career being a professional volleyball referee was a total fit! She knew all about fast action and movement when it worked well and when it was chaos so she applied those referee skills! She ‘called it as she saw it’ and the dogs listened…the perfect pack leader…she was a natural for these mischievous but sweet herding dogs!

Jess has lovely cats, Luna & Tatum, patiently waiting at home for her after work, a quiet reprieve from her dog world! She lives in Virginia Beach and skillfully watches the herds when we need a break!

Honey B's Pet Care
Vacation & relief coverage

Vanessa Gori and Brendan Simmons own their own petsitting business and now support the Glen Highland team when we need time away. Both are highly skilled with over 15 years of combined vet experience and over a decade of pet sitting. They are used to multiple dog situations and have solid medical care expertise, too, both of which we need in our rescue setting.

The first dog sitting with us meant caring for our two diabetic girls, Patches & Rosey, when they were at their most vulnerable stages requiring hourly monitoring and a keen eye on any problematic events - we knew the dogs were in very capable hands.

We are so thrilled to have Brendan and Vanessa on the team! Based in Newport News, they are excited to help the Border Collies and truly enjoy the dynamics of packs of dogs…smart, energetic and fun even if a bit slower in their Senior years!

Margie had known of Glen Highland Farm in NY for over 9 years and once she heard about the move to Virginia, she quickly wrote to offer her help volunteering. She began in March 2021 coming weekly to sit with dogs, keeping them company to play or cuddle, either way just loving them.

She enjoys the different personalities of the seniors and especially getting to know ‘the old soul’ wisdom they impart. Always down on the floor for a scratch or belly rub, the dogs are excited to see her, including 8 year old Jill shown to the right! They all know Margie comes rain or shine every week!

A Border Collie lover, Margie had her Macy for 15 years and Chloe for 7 and now has Lily, a beautiful tricolor BC mix from the nearby shelter.

Renate & Pete Goodloe
Volunteers since 2022

In 2015, Renate & Pete Goodloe vacationed at Glen Highland Farm in NY with their first adoptee, Doc (on right) and ended up taking Rosie to have two! Roll ahead to 2022, they decided to visit the new Virginia location to say hello and fell in love with the locale, moving nearby. Of course they ended up adopting a new friend, an almost senior GYPSY, age 7 surrendered to rescue when her canine buddy, 12 year old alum Dublin came back.

Gypsy adores her life as the center of attention and the Senior rescues love seeing Renate & Pete because they split up twice each week, to sit, play and walk with two sets of dogs. They vowed to help at the rescue and that’s exactly what they have done. Eight hours each week they give their hearts to be with the Sanctuary Residents and Adoptable Border Collies. They also transport dogs in jeopardy in from various locations in Virginia.

Lucky for the Glen Highland Border Collies, they have a wonderful couple to visit year-round.

Linda is a dedicated dog lover, having volunteered at the local shelter for 20 years, sitting with dogs, walking dogs, helping in any way to make them happier in a confusing situation.

Soon as Linda heard from Shelley Kinser about Glen Highland, she was intrigued to visit. She loved the focus on Seniors and the fact they were in a home with the founder right there. New to Border Collies, she was amazed by their intelligence and eagerness to connect deeply with people. Their joy and desire drew her to come weekly.

Linda has been volunteering since March 2023 and is always thrilled to meet the new arrivals and lovingly send off those that pass back to spirit.

She and her husband live with a wonderful sweet friend, 8 year old Maisie, who ‘rules’ the house!