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Reno, GSRNE #230
Reno was found wandering with a female dog
in a state forest and was picked up by the animal control officer. Both appeared to
be purebred GSDs, approximately 2 years old. He was kept by the ACO for
a few months during which time they were unable to locate his owner. It
was felt that they may have come from a breeding facility where they had
escaped or just "let go" as dogs they didn't want to breed further. The
ACO named the male, Colonel and the female, Sergeant. A private home was
found for the female and GSRNE took the male.
We first met Reno in March of
2008. Reno is our second adopted GSD after Tess who was with us for over
12 years before passing on. Just before Good Friday we got a call from
GSRNE asking us if we would like to meet Reno. That weekend, Lisa and I
drove up from CT to his foster home in Massachusetts. With his tail
wagging, Reno met us at the gate, and we fell in love with him. In his
yard, we played fetch and watched him play with another dog, after which
we went inside to learn more about Reno. During the meeting Reno came in
and fell asleep with his head on my lap. That was when we knew for sure
that Reno was the one for us.
Over the next couple weeks, Reno got used to the routine at his new home.
We introduced him to all of our friends and family and found him to be
more sociable than our past shepherd. We have found that Reno is not
afraid of thunderstorms, fireworks, lawnmowers or the vacuum cleaner, in
fact he is a confident shepherd without many fears. He is well-mannered
and is not food aggressive. Nail clippers though, are not his favorite
thing, but he's fine with a nail grinder and some treats. We no longer
have to use the crate if we are going out, though it's still available for
him whenever he wants to go lie down. Reno is pretty quiet, he does not
bark at the neighborhood kids who pass by daily going to school. However,
Reno will do his big boy bark to alert if someone is at the door or in the
driveway, or signals with a short bark if he needs to go out. We found out
how bright he is when we came home one day to find he figured out how to
undo the latch of the dry kibble bin and served himself. One thing Reno
loves, are car rides; it doesn't matter where or even if the car ever
leaves the driveway. For walks, he really loves to go to the park.
During the summer after a long hike he loves to run into the lake and go
for a swim or to play with the hose in his pool. I've also noticed that he really likes to follow scents so I
may have to look into tracking. At the parks he has met dogs, people, and
wildlife. The first time he met a horse and rider he sat quietly and was
complimented on how calm he was.
Soon after we got Reno we enrolled him in doggie day camp. We were
worried if he would pass his initial evaluation and half-day stay. But he
did fine and now we take him there to every so often. Talk about a tired
dog when he comes home! We also enrolled him in basic obedience training
at which he did well and will continue on with his training. Most days,
Reno keeps his mom company, and keeps the backyard free of cats and
squirrels. In the afternoon he goes for a ride to the high school to pick
up our son. In the evenings after a walk and play, he's comfortable with
a bone and some belly rubbing. Reno has bonded with his dad and everyday
lets his mom know when it's time for him to go out on the deck with his Cuz,
to patiently wait for his dad to return home from work.
Thank you GSRNE for bringing us together; Reno gives us great joy, many
smiles and lots of laughs each and every day!
Fila – GSRNE #240
We have been members of German Shepherd
Rescue for some years now in spite of the fact that we did not own a dog.
We had a cat named Max who suffered from Diabetes and didn’t like dogs so
we had to wait.
 In September of 2007 the time was right
and we submitted our application to adopt a senior GSD from GSRNE. We
hoped that they would have a dog that we were right for, and who would be
a good match for our family. We needed a dog with a low prey drive since
we have a hamster, gerbils, degus and chinchillas.
We were told at the time that they did
not have a dog that would be the right match for our home. So we thought
that we would have to wait. That night we received an email asking us if
we would be willing to foster a female German Shepherd dog that was now
being boarded at a Vet office in CT and needed a foster home. It didn’t
take us long to say yes we would. She needed a foster home, and we would
have the opportunity to help her find her forever home. So we had to hit
the ground running.
I went from thinking that I had time to
prepare for our new adopted dog to having to run around preparing for our
foster home visit and getting everything ready for Fila’s arrival. On
September 12th, Milou and Karen arrived with Fila.
It didn’t take Fila long to make herself
at home. Within a half an hour she was sound asleep on the family room
floor. During our visit with Karen and Milou, we would learn about the
life that Fila was living before GSRNE came to her rescue. Her family did
not provide her with the medical care that she needed, resulting in the
fact that her ears are no longer erect. They did not always have food for
her and actually were heard hitting her. I learned later that there was
even domestic violence in the home.
With all the things that she had
obviously been through, she is sweet and always looking to please. She is
happy just to be with her people and to go for walks, which we do three,
four or even five times a day. Fila just loves all the people that she
meets and all the smells that are there to be sniffed.
When Fila arrived at our home, she was a
nine-year old female German Shepherd Dog, but deep down inside she had the
heart of a puppy. She absolutely loves tennis balls; she will play with
them in the house, and for some reason, it always has to be the right one.
She will go from ball to ball and bite them a couple of times until she
finds the right one. It may be the one that she bit at the beginning, but
that is the ball that she has to have. If it goes under the sofa or
TV, she will pace around until she can
figure out how to reach it. If she cannot get it, she will bark until we
come and retrieve it for her.
She even loves to play ball in the snow
and will dig and dig until she finds it.
Everything was going well, but then the
licking began. First the feet and then it moved on to chewing hot spots on
her hip. GSRNE took her to a dermatologist to determine what was going on.
Through testing we would learn that she is allergic to dust mites, trees,
weeds and even my grass. It would not be easy. It took a really long
time to get to a point where we had it somewhat under control, and I have
to admit that through a lot of hard work, she is fully furred again. We
still have to deal with periods when her allergies get really bad; but
with medication, weekly baths and staying on top of the situation, we get
through those times.
In August of 2008, we had been fostering Fila for almost a year and had dealt with all of her allergy issues. It
was decided that with everything that Fila had been through, all the
experiences that we had shared as a family and knowing just how
comfortable Fila was in our home that we were the match for her, and so we
happily adopted her.
Fila
has settled into her forever home quite nicely and loves to spend time
with Emily. Every morning she is happy to ride in the car that takes Emily
to school and then back again to pick her up in the afternoon.
Janice Ritter has been helping us with
training and Fila looks forward to each of her training sessions. Janice
has been helping Fila with her basic commands and is now working with us
on her separation anxiety. Fila just loves it when Aunty Janice comes to
see her. It means fun, attention and treats, all the things that Fila
loves.
Fila is not an easy dog; given the
chance, she would be the boss. She keeps me on my toes, and Janice helps
me to be the leader in our family. Fila deserves all the happiness that I
can give her, and I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She just loves us to
pieces.
She is such a special dog, and with the
help of GSRNE and all its volunteers, Fila was rescued from being put to
sleep. For this I thank you all.
Judi and Emily Poirier
Raven, GSRNE #233 -
Background by GSRNE: Back in
March 2008, we got a call asking for help for Raven, a 5-year-old black
female GSD. The current owner had her for only two weeks, but never meant
to keep her. Raven had been given to another woman, who changed her mind
and didn’t want the dog.
 Raven
originally came from a breeder that had 12 GSDs and Raven was at the
bottom of the pack. We were told the dogs were
all thin and the previous household was a noisy one with the owners
arguing around the dogs all the time. In spite of her background, Raven
was a pretty calm girl, though she did need some socialization. She
was shy with men but was good with kids and had allowed a young boy to
come right up to her and jump around her with no problem. When Raven came in, she
was very skinny and had not been spayed. GSRNE took care of both of
these, and her foster home worked to help her be more confident.
Raven's Happy Tail!
In June 2007, we lost
our beloved GSD Katie to the terrible degenerative myelopathy at 11 yrs of
age. We were mourning heavily for our loss, so in October we adopted Zeus,
now known as Bronte (Shepherd/Pitbull mix) at 9-weeks-old from Ahisma
Haven who also fosters animals.
After a few months, we wanted to have
another GSD, so we applied for an adoption. When we went to meet Raven at
her foster home, Bronte came along, of course, to see if they got along.
He was so excited and wanted to play, but he was too much for Raven, and
she put him in his place, which was a good thing. We knew it was going to
work out because Bronte seemed to say, "Ok, I'll leave you alone." Even
Jill was happy about that, so on June 20, 2008, we picked up our beautiful
Raven.
We didn't realize what a teacher she would be for Bronte. Ever since he
was a puppy, he would never let us clean or touch his paws, even though we
constantly tried from the very beginning. Then there was one day that it
was raining, both came in, but Bronte knew what was coming. We decided to
do Raven first, and being the good dog that she is, she let us wipe her
paws. Of course we were saying, "What a good girl you are." Bronte was
watching this from under the table. It was so amazing because for the
first time he let us wipe his paws and has been doing so ever since!
Raven has become such a part of our family; we feel that we've had her
since she was a puppy. She is such a good companion and a very happy girl.
She greets you with tail wagging and a nice nuzzle. When she is ready to
play, she does a turning motion that makes us laugh. She constantly makes
us smile. She and Bronte run throughout the house taking turns chasing
each other. She loves chasing the squirrels in the yard, taking her walks
with us and playing with all of the many balls she has. She is very
attached to Bronte and will sleep by his crate (he is still crated at
night and when we go out. Raven has her crate but doesn't like the door
closed). No matter what room we are in, she is there. She is great to
groom and with her beautiful black coat, she shines
Thank you so much GSRNE
for putting her into our life. She is the best!
George & Laurie
Wormwood
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