Sugar
GSRNE #156
8/2/2001 – 4/17/2015 

We’ve all heard of a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but what do you call a Labrador retriever in German shepherd’s clothing? We call her Sugar! That’s the name she came with and it fits her so very well. She is as sweet as sugar and has never met anyone that she didn’t like.

Sugar came to live with us when she was 15 months old, a few days before Thanksgiving in 2003, which was very appropriate. With Sugar at our house, we had much to be thankful for. She was totally accepting of us from the start, embracing our home and extended family as well as all the grandchildren. She also came with a few infirmities.

At 8 months of age, while running loose in her neighborhood, she was hit by a car and suffered a broken left hip and cracked pelvis. The only saving grace was that she was turned over to the Animal Control Officer by her owners as an alternative to euthanasia. She received much-needed surgery and was left to recuperate in a local kennel. After spending several months in different kennels, she eventually came to the attention of GSRNE who evaluated her and found her to be a happy-go-lucky, eager to please adolescent who loved life and everything in it! She went to live in Penny & Stephen Cooper’s wonderful foster home and thrived on their devoted attention and care. At 15 months of age, it was now our turn to welcome her into her forever home.

Sugar has lived up to her name in many ways. Even though a year later, she had to endure another surgery and long months of physical therapy and chiropractic care, the ordeal has never quenched her sweet nature or her indomitable and loving spirit.

At home Sugar is crazy about her large plastic ball that she maneuvers with the dexterity of a soccer player. One of our sons enjoys coming over with his son to have a brisk game of soccer with her, much to her everlasting delight! In the morning, if she is outside by herself, she will scratch at the door, but not to come in. She will stand and wait, with a quizzical look on her face, asking for her big red ball. Unfortunately we have lost a few wooden picket fences and lattice work to her eager play drive. If the ball rolls up against them, and we’re not there to stop her, she dismantles the lattice into pieces or takes off the pickets one by one in her excitement.

She also enjoys trying to launch a surprise attack on squirrels. Every morning, as she is let out onto the deck and yard, she sprints out the door just in time to see a wily squirrel disappearing up a tree. Sometimes I will find her sitting on the deck in the rain, patiently waiting for that squirrel to reappear.

Sugar has brought so much to our lives; she is our fourth shepherd out of six dogs. Each one has been a love affair and has stolen our hearts. We would like to thank GSRNE so very much for taking the time and expertise to find us our forever match.

Gail & Ken Van Hoesen

UPDATE

It is with a broken heart that I let you know that our beloved Sugar, GSRNE #156, went to Heaven last Friday. I had to make the awful decision not to prolong her life any longer as she could hardly get up off her bed many times and her quality of life was not acceptable, even though she remained stoic with her injury, had a good appetite and hopped around a little when I went out with her to play “soccer” with her favorite large, hard plastic ball. It had been 16 months since she injured the discs in her back in an accident during a car ride. She held her own for a little while but then began the long dark slide to infirmity. Once a week, all during that time, I took her to laser therapy, chiropractic and acupuncture (alternating), and they were able to provide some level of comfort but not enough to stay the inevitable. She remained a loving, happy and all-round sweetheart of a dog until and through the end. Even the vet said she was the sweetest shepherd she had the privilege of treating. We were honored to share our lives with her and thank GSRNE so much for trusting us with her. She would have been 14 years old on August 2.

gail & ken

Sterling
GSRNE #157
? – 8/29/2015

Rest in peace, dear Sterling. You attended so many GSRNE events with your mom, dad, and faithful GSD sister Luna, who was waiting for you at the Bridge. You will be missed by all who had the pleasure of meeting you.

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Sterling, pictured on the right, is just a wonderful puppy and we love having him and his big sister Luna. 
They get along great and are always together.
Sterling is now almost done with basic obedience with just one day left and then he will graduate and we will go on to Intermediate classes. We have been working with him along with working with Luna, who is all done with the obedience classes. Because of this, Sterling is ahead of his class and the instructor sometimes has Sterling and I demonstrate a command. He is very smart and catches on to things very quickly! He is very good when company comes, he will greet them then lay down beside his Daddy or me for the remainder of their visit. He loves to go for rides, and he and Luna will get into the back seat and lay down or sit. We would like to thank his foster parents, Joe and Deb for the great job they did with him during time that they had Sterling. He is just a great little boy 62 lbs now. We can’t wait to show him off at one of the GSRNE upcoming events!

Tess (was Angel)
GSRNE #154
Adopted in November 2003

Just a quick note about Angel (GSRNE #154), who we adopted in mid-November. She’s great! She’s growing into those enormous ears — 70 pounds already, and she’s so long & leggy that she’ll be a big girl when she fills out. We renamed her Tess — she’s a sweetheart, but angel is pushing it a bit. She’s getting along fine with Toby, her older Lab brother, who’s starting to enjoy her despite her ignorance of a proper nap schedule 🙂 . They have a fine time gnawing on each other’s heads and debating the ownership of the sticks they find on their walks. She’s been hiking, snowshoeing and skiing, has started obedience classes, and was a gracious hostess and a polite guest during the holidays. We are still working on a few issues, but overall she’s just being a big, curious, affectionate, goofy adolescent, and we’re enjoying her immensely.

Big thanks go to her foster family, the Snyders, who did a magnificent job with her, and Janice, who’s answered more emails than any sane person would. And thanks to all of you who helped bring her into our lives.

UPDATE: Tess graduated from puppy class and is headed for intermediate obedience classes, to learn focus, and catch so she can learn to play fly ball. She is also learning how to skijor.

Tara
GSRNE #139
Adopted on 3-22-03 

On January 23rd, 2003 our hearts were broken when we said our good-byes to our GSD Heidi as she crossed over the bridge. On March 22nd our family was complete once more when we adopted our Tara, GSRNE #139. One only has to look into Tara’s eyes and see her smile to feel her gift of love.

One of Tara’s favorite things to do is to play with her toys. Her favorite toy is her large bone/pillow that her FPIC gave her while she was in foster care. After a hard bout of playing toys she loves to use it as a pillow. She loves to grab one of the many toys she has and will toss them up in the air over and over again. Its not unusual to see her prance in from the back yard, grab a toy in the living room, and return back outside to play or just to lie down on the back porch with it.

Tara is always ready to go for a ride in the car. She loves to sit on the back seat and intently watch everything and everyone that passes by. Its almost like she’s thinking that her days of roaming the streets are over and that she’s found her forever home.

Tara greets everyone at the front door with a smile, a wag of the tail and kisses if allowed. Her favorite person to greet is her Dad, Greg, when he returns home from work. He adores his little “TaTa”, as he calls her. She’ll run back and forth through the house until he sits down and she can give him kisses. Tara’s special trick is to sneak up on Greg while he’s lying on the bed and smother him with kisses and hugs. This is their special time together.

One of the best parts of adopting Tara is also gaining an extended GSRNE family. Her foster Moms and Dads, Chris & Tomas and Karen & Ted; her Foster Partner in Care, Kathy; people involved in her transport; Victoria and Karen for helping us find each other; her many aunts, uncles and Godmothers, including Donna, who always happens to have her camera with her. Greg and I can’t thank everyone enough for our perfect dog, with the perfect name, purple collar, and her gift of love.

Makwa
GSRNE #123
Adopted in March 2002 

Makwa (Mack), GSRNE #123, is the latest addition to our GSRNE family. He turned 6 in October. He joins his 4 year old sister Olivia, GSRNE #84.

Makwa’s story is simple, he was not friendly to cats and had to find a new home. He was brought to a Maine area shelter when GSRNE stepped in to help. We had been thinking of adopting a male GSD and were waiting for the right companion for Olivia.

Her happiness meant everything to us, she is a very low activity dog and could not keep up with a high energy dog. When we read Mack’s description and saw his picture we had to go see him. The adoption coordinator thought we would be a good match, so we brought Olivia to the foster home in Vermont to meet Makwa.

His size was overwhelming to say the least. A gentle giant, he greeted us with kisses. The first meeting between Mack & Olivia did not go as well as we hoped. Olivia did not feel comfortable and it was difficult. We left and went home feeling quite discouraged. Would Olivia learn to get along with any other dog or would she be an only dog? We both loved Makwa so much, it was hard to say no. If it was going to work with any dog, Makwa would make it that much easier. It was tough the first few weeks after we brought him home but now one year later they are best buddies going everywhere together. Makwa is happy to be wherever you are. His favorite pastimes are having his ears scratched, going for walks in the woods and howling at sirens on TV.

Olivia has been with us almost 3 years now and she is still the princess. Olivia was found in a Boston area shelter. She was picked up wandering the streets a couple times and her owner surrendered her for fines owed. She was terribly sick with heartworm and extremely underweight when GSRNE found her. They got her the proper treatment and got her back on her feet. Thanks to everyone’s help she made a miraculous recovery. When I saw her face on the web page I knew she was the dog for me. Her story of neglect was almost too much for me. How could anyone not take care of this beautiful dog? My husband also agreed that we should go meet Olivia. It was definitely love at first sight, she was well behaved, low activity just what we were looking for. She has always been number one in the house and it was difficult for her to accept another dog. I am proud of her for the way she adjusted to Mack living with us. Olivia’s favorite things are belly rubs, keep away with toys and staying just a few feet ahead of Mack on her walks !!! Don’t you agree that they make a striking couple??

Hope
GSRNE #132
Adopted in August, 2001 

We adopted Fritz (the one with the orange toy) in August of 2001 and felt that he would benefit from having a sister, specially to work on his socialization skills and “doggie language”. That is how we started the search for another GSD. As many people had said before seeing Hope was love at first sight. Her look was one of a very sweet, gentle soul, which is exactly how her foster moms described her on the website. She appeared a bit timid at first but in her first encounter with Fritz she showed not fear, but indifference, which is exactly what we were looking for. Fritz was in the middle of his adolescent period and needed some guidance in doggy behavior (socialization) and we felt that Hope could provide him with that. She proved us right. Hope was picked up as a pregnant stray and the vet determined that she have had several litters before she was rescued. Her maternal training was put right to work as soon as she entered our lives. She asserted her dominance over Fritz in their first monitored encounter at home and that has been the end to Fritz’s awkwardly assertive juvenile male dominance. It only took one look and a growl for her to make it clear what was acceptable and what wasn’t. Today we have two wonderful dogs that play together every chance they have, that lick each other affectingly and will lie down together to share toys.

Hope graduates from obedience school

In addition to Hope’s impact in Fritz’s life, she has brought to our lives a great amount of warmth and affection. Fritz is known for his goofy actions and reactions that provoke a good belly laugh. Hope is gentle and loyal at all times. She likes to be wherever I am and always makes sure that she keeps an eye on me outside and inside the house. When she came to us she was extremely food driven but did not care for toys. Today she knows how to fetch and she is able to make decisions about which toys she likes better, although her brother always manages to steal them from her. Obedience school has also helped in our bonding process and her confidence. She understands now that there is a way to learn and for us to communicate so she gets lots of kisses, belly scratches and petting every time she gets a knew command down. I don’t think that you can ever scratch her belly enough!

Hope is a GSD/Lab mix, which manifest itself in her tail wagging being much more effusive than what you would expect from a GSD. Every morning when she hears me getting up I can hear the thumping of the tail against the floor and I know that I will find her smiling on the other side of the door ready for another day full of affection. It is a sound that I wouldn’t change for anything in the world.

Thank you to all the volunteers that made our adoption of Hope possible. Special thanks to her two foster moms. She is doing great!

Questa
GSRNE #133
Adopted in 2002 

Questa continues to worm her way into our hearts. She is enjoying living at “Doggie Heaven on Earth.” She enjoys our daily walk, ski or snowshoe in our woods, along with Tara, her best Buddy.

Questa has finished her first session of obedience training, and we plan to continue it in the spring and to do agility training this summer. She loves the training sessions, seeing all of the other dogs and people. She met our grandchildren (6 & 8) as house guests at Christmas, and loves children. They are so lively and so much fun to play with! Enjoy the New Year. Ann

Update:

We adopted Questa in 2002. The new photo was taken in Nov 2004. She is in her “hunting season walking clothing” although she also wears an orange blanket during deer season.

Questa (was Sadie) has developed into a 73 pound bundle of muscle. She has two speeds, full and asleep. But she is well trained, very obedient, and thus very manageable. She is a loving girl, very intelligent and has great fun in life.

We did have a scare when we found a tumor on her withers that the vet felt should be removed. Fortunately, it was benign, and she recovered from the surgery quickly.

She exudes good health, with a glossy coat and bright eyes. She is best friends with our Tara and the two have a wonderful life with daily walks in the woods, the run of our large yard and regular self imposed chores such as helping us feed our horses, and keeping the bird feeders and yard free of squirrels. We have been doing both obedience training and agility with them; they love it.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Ann & Tony B.

Becky
GSRNE #001
? – ?  

We adopted Becky almost seven years ago (8/4/96). I’ve enclosed a photo taken this past winter while we were enjoying the snow. I cross country skied and Becky romped in the snow.

I want to say thank you for letting us adopt Becky. She is truly the best German Shepherd we’ve ever had, and the first rescue dog we’ve had. Becky has such personality. She is very vocal, excitable and truly enjoys life. She plays catch and swims with Bryan our son, now 18. She hikes all season and is never out of sight. She is always by my side. She doesn’t even chase the deer when off lead. She is very attentive and listens beautiful. She is a real joy!!

Thank you so much Janice Ritter and Lisa Antonucci who fostered Becky. You have our gratitude for the seven years and many more we have with Becky. She enjoys her friends the Dalmatians (her hiking buddies) and Resa our Yorkshire Terrier. (My husband adopted Resa from a shelter last year.)
Your group does wonderful work!
Fondly, Rita and Bryan