“We adopted our Maddie from you when she was 17 months old. She had been rehomed a couple of times before she came home with us. At that time as my husband said, we didn’t rescue her, she rescued us. We both had such a hole in our hearts since our Shannon passed. She was our 14 year old shepherd that we adopted when she was a puppy. Then, our Maddie came into our lives and filled that hole with her sweet and loving self and her special personality.
When we first met her at her foster’s home, we saw what a sweet and affectionate girl she was. When we brought her home, we could tell she felt comfortable and safe with us. I say that because the first afternoon she was snuggled up on the couch with me and fell asleep. She slept so deeply she was lightly snoring. It was great know that she felt secure.
She is your typical shepherd. She has to be by your side and part of everything. It is wonderful. She was very quiet when she first came home. She quickly blossomed into quite the talkative gal. She also loves, loves to play with balls, run and stretch.
In the first 8 weeks she was with us, I brought her to training. The others in the class all noted that she grew a bit over the weeks (a little longer and taller). She is now a healthy 77 lbs and our veterinarian has commented on how great her physical structure is. People often comment on how pretty she is.
We introduced her to a lot of outdoor experiences which helped her gain confidence. We also introduced her to the water at our home in Maine. We let her gain a comfort level and confidence around the water at her own pace. She came to ask, make that beg, us to throw her ball so she could swim out and fetch it. She loves the water.
She has her best friend Watson, our neighbor’s black lab rescue. The two of them are about the same age, size and loved to wrestle. She loves people and is very friendly.
Fast forward to now when she is going to be 12 on December 30, and she has had a wonderful, happy life. As dogs age, illness and conditions can and usually do appear. Last year she was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, think Lou Gherig disease in dogs. It is progressing, she is losing mobility and we are adapting to accommodate her needs. The GSRNE was kind to loan us a wheel chair we could use as she lost use of her rear legs. Now she needs to go for outings in a cart as her front legs are weakening.
She is our girl and we love her. She is our Maddie, Madster, baby girl. We will take the best care of her until her condition gets to0 harsh for her. Right now she is still a happy girl.”
Doting Mom and Dad to GSRNE 369, ♥️
Janet and Dave B
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