Stella has settled in great here. She & Star still have the “I’m the big dog” gruffs once in awhile and she’s thinking that the new kitten is a wind-up chew toy. LOL, no worries, he holds his own w/ her and they’ve come to an understanding.
She is such a lap dog!! If she can find a way to worm some part of her body into your lap, she will. It’s her favorite thing. She also likes waking Nathan, my 10 yr old, up for school w/ kisses. She has a hard time picking a favorite toy, but seems to really love the plush red bone that Nathan picked out for her as a snuggle toy when she first came. She’s too funny picking it up and carrying it around. She won’t let Star touch it, and she’s very careful how she carries it and where she puts it. She’s still in the crate at night, simply because she figured out how to open the gate going upstairs w/in the first 24 hours and she hasn’t completely learned that the carpet is really not the place to go potty. Still working on that, but she’s doing good and it won’t be long before she’s good to sleep up stairs by the bed, of course she’s already made it clear that she prefers on the bed, but we’ve gotta have some rules, don’t we? J
So, to make a long note even longer, she is amazing, loving and so very smart. She’s funny and so careful when she’s playing w/ us or taking treats. We adore her. Thanks for taking such good care of her and sending her our way.
Becky & family.
Lady came to us very traumatized and scared. Her ribs were showing along with her backbone. Her progress was three steps forward and two back as I would say. Here is her progress in one years time.
When she came she wouldn't eat her breakfast inside she was afraid, I had to put it out on the deck just outside the door. She now eats her breakfast inside, but every morning I need to "tell her" to sit and then tap the bowl and say it's okay to eat. At night no problem she eats normally and knows to sit when I hold the bowl up high, it's just for breakfast, go figure.
She was a REAL velcro dog. She still is, but now she will go downstairs while I'm up on the computer and even go outside without me. She stopped biting my husband Gerard on the ankles when he came upstairs in the computer room. She is wary of him still when he comes in, and will lay by me but has stopped the biting.
She used to come inside whenever he went out in the backyard this has stopped, she will come in check on me and then goes back outside. When he would pick up the skimmer for the pool or have anything in his hands she would back away, this has stopped. She would never go out when HE opened the back door but now she does. She will always come in about every 10 minutes to be sure I'm still here and haven't evaporated then go back out again.
She is EXTREMEly obedient. So much so, when I'm calling Rudy and of course, Rudy needs more than one call, Lady comes. She doesn't like raised voices. Lady would not take treats from Gerard, she will now, but has to run around the table nervously and then stretches her neck out to take the end of the milk bone. He is very patient with her. She will go over to him for scratching BUT only if he is sitting on the couch. If he is standing she backs away. If he tells Lady to come it makes her VERY nervous and she will run, I tell him to use other words like, here Lady or such.
The fights between Rudy and Lady have all but disappeared. I am very aware of the energy level and try and keep it down as Lisa told me. Lady still thinks all the toys are hers and doesn't want anyone in her bed.
Lady it seems requires a quiet household. She doesn't like loud speaking or shouting. We had a new roof installed a short time ago and with the men in the backyard and climbing ladders she was stressed. She didn't eat for a day and a half. As I told you before she is an excellent watch dog and didn't like all these strangers climbing on her house, in her backyard and hammering on her roof.
She still has a way to go but all the stress lines in her face are gone and she does smile. We are very patient with her. She will "come along" in her own good time. I am so happy we have her and can give her the care and love she needs and deserves.
Well if I haven't put everyone to sleep yet, I hope you enjoyed this update.
Hugs, warm wags and slurpy kisses,
Lady and Rudy
She has adjusted very well and has been a great addition to the
family. Not to mention, is mom's new best friend.
The Lassiter Family
Stevie's Before and After Photos
Stevie's original story...
A wise man named Howard Salzman once said:
"Retirement is not a time to sleep, but a time to awaken to the beauty of the world around you and the joy that comes when you cast out all the negative elements that cause confusion and turmoil in your mind and allow serenity to prevail."
I met a very special boy named King(aka Stevie now) at the shelter this week and his eyes told me that HE was ready for retirement. Earlier this week when his people packed him in the car and took him for a ride, he wondered where he was headed and why they were telling him Bye. But, he guessed that he had worked hard these past 8 or 10 years to make his people happy, to always be there when they needed him, to protect them from the bad things in this world and it was just time for him to retire. I could see that he didn't quite understand why his retirement meant a bunch of barking dogs and a cold floor at the local shelter. He wondered if he had let someone down or not been the best dog he could be. THIS couldn't be his retirement home...could it?? As I kneeled down beside him and stroked his head, I told him that this was not the retirement home for him. He deserved better. I told him that GSRA was here for him and we would make sure that this would not be his last memory of this world.
So, guys, I'm writing to you tonight to see who out there might be willing to open up your home for a bit and give King a chance at a happy retirement. We are guessing that he is between 8 and 10 years old and needs some TLC. Right now he is thin as a whisper and has pretty stiff hips and back. We are thinking that some slow steady exercise and good food should do wonders for him though! On the bright side, he is already neutered and only by an act of God...is heartworm negative!! The folks that surrendered him noted that he is good with kids, cats, and dogs and we think its a good possiblity that all of that is true! He's just a pretty cool dude who just wants a safe place to rest his head.
Alrighty...Don't make a liar out of me...let's get King out of there!! I'll be sitting here waiting for those fingers to hit the keyboard..... Just look at that sweet face, now how can you resist? :-)
NOW...
Fast forward a little over 3 months... Stevie has now been in his loving home for about a month now and he is just doing absolutely fantastic. :-) He no longer resembles a dog in "recovery" but exudes the appearance and aura of a well loved GSD!!! I just had to share after seeing his picture today with his bestest new buddy, "his boy".
What a fabulous "before and after" that this guy had.... Thank you GSRA for your love and support. You really do great works to bring great dogs together with great families! :-) :-) :-)
Stevie & Family
Honey (formerly Known as Hazel) became a part of our family in July 2009. Honey joined our family after the tragic loss of our 3 year old lab pit mix to a seizure disorder. Our other dog grieved terribly and our vet told us we needed to adopt another dog ASAP. We wanted to go with a rescue as we believe strongly in adoption and came upon your organization. We drove to an adoption fair and met Honey and her Foster Mom Erika and we picked Honey up the following week. She has been a wonderful addition to our family and our other dog Willie just loves his sister. Honey is doing our deceased dog Miles proud by tormenting her feline sister which was one of his favorite past-times. You have a wonderful organozation and volunteers. The attached picture is Honey and her brother Willie at Halloween last year.
Thank you
Todd and Erica Soderberg
It's hard to believe that in a couple of months Lucy will celebrate two years in her forever home! What a delight she is. Thank you GSRA for saving her life. She is my treasure. "Lucygoosey" has gone from a very timid, scarred shepherd to loving everyone who comes her way. She loves to play, run free at the farm, swim in the lake, chase her best friend "Sunshine" and sleep on her sofa. And that is HER sofa! She may be closing in on 9 years old (according to the vet), but she has found those puppy years she lost to such bad abuse. She cracks me up with her goofball ways and fascination with squeaky toys and cats. She is just the sweetest girl and is my greeter at work as she goes to the office with me just about every day. Even if she does have a loppy ear and no front teeth, she is beautiful to me!
Lucy and Michelle
It has been almost a year since Caleb joined our family and what a wonderful year it has been. Within days we realized that he has the most wonderful way of talking, especially when the alarm clock sounds in the morning:) Caleb and our older dog, Jake, spent several weeks trying to establish their place with each other but finally they settled their differences and now can be found playing/wrestling all over the house. Even though Caleb was five when we adopted him he doesn't seem to have outgrown his puppyness, both in looks and playfullness. He loves his time with the water hose which has become almost a daily routine. He has taken to traveling and camping with us without any problems at all and knows exactly when we are packing up to head out for the weekend. Caleb has been such a welcome addition to our family and always brings a smile to our faces just by being his "goofy" self.
I wanted to let everyone know what a wonderful experience we have had with GSRA from the moment we submitted our application a year ago to today! Without all of you we wouldn't have found our "forever" dog in Caleb. Thank you!
The Values
(Jason, Sarah, Jake, and Caleb)
