Our Story
Owned and operated by Dana and Whitney Spinks, Carolina Gilded Retrievers breeds American Kennel Club (AKC)-registered golden retrievers. Dana and Whitney met while attending college in Denver, CO. In 2008, they relocated to Whitney’s hometown of Greenville, SC.
Dana and Whitney share a love of all dogs, but golden retrievers are a passion they have shared for nearly 20 years together. Whitney grew up with a golden named Chase, while Dana grew up admiring her neighbor's golden, Sally (always longing for one of her own).
Dana's love for dogs began as early as she can remember, with her beloved first dog, Elliot, that she was fortunate to have for 17 years. At the age of 6 she befriended a neighbor that bred, raised, and showed miniature longhaired dachshunds. This led to Dana learning how to care for newborn puppies, train, and show dachshunds.
While still in college Dana and Whitney adopted their first two goldens together, Lila and Duke. Their next golden, Princess Madeline of Hiawatha a.k.a. Momma Maddie was responsible for the inception and tremendous growth of CGR. Her amazing demeanor, loving attention to children, and kind mannerisms spurred Dana and Whitney to breed her. They were hoping to share some of her best qualities with other people and families. Next came, Lady Scarlett Begiona (Scarlett), the second matriarch, whom is equally incredible, but in different ways. Scarlett’s athleticism, kind soul, and love for adventures is contagious and can be seen in her incredible offspring. Twelve years into the business, Dana and Whitney’s puppies have found their way to forever homes across 16 states.
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Elizabeth McNamara
Elizabeth is a lifelong dog lover and after graduating from Clemson University and spending 7 years in New York City going to fashion design school and pursuing her fashion career, she decided to return to beautiful South Carolina to continue her fashion career, but also serve as CGR's self proclaimed, Puppy Nanny since January 2023.
Elizabeth has had many dogs in her lifetime (12 to be exact) varying from a 7lb Pomeranian to a 110lb Black Lab. Her family’s 12th dog, Bianca Rose, is a CGR pup and first Golden. She is hooked! In addition to general daily activities of feeding and cleaning, Elizabeth assists with newborn care/exercises, puppy enrichment and confidence building, training, giving out lots of lovies, and of course teaching all the Goldens all about the finer things of life like Taylor Swift music.
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Emmie Wood
Emmie has been a lifelong lover of dogs. After graduating from The University of South Carolina, she worked as the operations manager for two companies in Columbia, SC. Emmie decided to pursue a career that would incorporate her love and passion for dogs, which led her to join our team in 2018.
Emmie's beloved Goldendoodle, Tucker, loved to join Emmie at work at Golden Hill and eventually lead to Emmie becoming a poodle mom. With Emmie's love of Goldendoodles and the requests from families for a companion and/or Goldendoodle service animal, Carolina Gilded Retrievers made the commitment to add an AKC Standard Poodle female, Ophelia, to their breeding program. Ophelia lives with Emmie and they are a dynamic duo. Emmie also has one of Ophelia and Rider's puppies, named Cooper. Emmie has transitioned into human motherhood and another full time career, but she still assists us with our puppy aptitude testing, research and marketing.
