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

Kess Evans-Maynor
GSRNE #234
2/5/1998 – 9/30/2010  

Kess, our beautiful white shepherd was put to rest on Thursday, September 30 after her fight with cancer. Kess was diagnosed on Memorial Day with lung cancer after a routine veterinary checkup.

Kess was diagnosed on Memorial Day with lung cancer after a routine veterinary checkup. The vet was not optimistic, but we began chemotherapy immediately with our long time oncologist. Kess gathered her strength and rallied to the point that she seemed cured, but it was clear that she was beginning to tire more easily. We received another blow when her sister, Xena was also diagnosed with cancer after many attempts to uncover the problem at the end of June. After she had fought and won against cancer three years previously we had hoped she would be free of that illness again. We began her treatment and for a month had simultaneous chemotherapy appointments.

When Xena passed away on August 4th, she left Kess without her beloved friend and sister. The loss was terribly painful for all of us, but Kess employed her happy personality every day to
keep all of our spirits up.

We were fortunate to be able to spend 100% of our time with Kess and Xena this summer and even before this neither spent even an hour alone away from Mommy or Daddy. The girls were able to enjoy almost all of this last of their three summers together and went every day to our 100 acre dog park or the beach and then on special trips each weekend. During our time with Kess, she went from being a shy girl unsure of what to do, to one with supreme confidence. She overcame her long time “pee pee” problems after we switched her over to a fully home-cooked and grain-free diet. Her short fur grew longer and she became even more gorgeous than when we first met her.

She was the favorite dog of every neighbor. Every person who met her at dog parks or in her many travels seemed to fall immediately in love and asked us where they too could find such a gentle, beautiful girl. She was absolutely the best ambassador for white shepherds and pet rescue anyone could have wanted.

Kess was the last of our four dogs to join us as well as the last to pass on. From the first day, she integrated into our lives and bonded as completely as if she had been with us since a puppy. “Big Girl” Kess was a devoted sister and protector to Xena, and playmate and companion to her Mommy and Daddy. She stayed upbeat, happy, and loving to the very end and although we are shattered by her loss, we feel privileged to have been her parents for the last two years of her life.

As we reflect on this too brief time with Kess, and recount our years with our four dogs, we find ourselves for the first time in eighteen years, alone, but with all of those years full of beautiful memories.

To see more wonderful pictures of Kess, click here.

Akaysha
GSRNE #155
3/10/2000 – 7/18/2010  

My heart is broken. My beloved Akaysha (GSRNE #155) went to the rainbow bridge on Sunday, 7/18/2010.

Akaysha was a God-send to me. I had lost my precious GSD, Nikki, the year before and things were plain lonesome around here. I found GSRNE and went through the adoption process. I met Akaysha at her foster home with Lynda and Warren at the end of 2003. She loved them and their Clinty. I almost felt guilty driving away with her, because she was so happy in their home. Thanks you guys!

Akaysha had been through quite a bit in her life before she came to me (her third and forever home). While at her first, she was hit by a car and broke both front elbows which didn’t heal properly; her second home did what they could to help; GSRNE had her evaluated for further treatment when it was determined that nothing further should be done. She walked with a splayed gait but that just added to her charm.

Akaysha was a delight, although her soon-introduced kitty sister, Skeeter, strongly disagreed at first. Within the first couple of weeks they were fast friends, running and chasing each other all over the house. Akaysha was not overly fond of the outdoors. She would agree to go for short walks or would fetch a ball in the backyard but always headed to the door after the first throw. She was my snow baby; she loved the snow and would chase snowballs and lie down in the snow piles. It took forever to pluck off all the snow that stuck to her fur she was quite a sight!

Akaysha loved to ride in the car. She was always pleased when shed hear her leash and was asked to go for a ride. It didn’t matter if it was just to the end of the street and back or if we were going to visit my parents or my sister and her husband. She loved it all. She was a well-mannered visitor. just curious enough to amuse, but never to the point where she wouldn’t be invited again.

Akaysha’s favorite place to hang out was in my home offices doorway, and she always insisted that I be sitting in my chair in that office. I think she figured that there was no other way out except over or around her she kept track of me that way. She was content to lie there chewing on her tennis ball…something that had to be closely monitored, because she was always so pleased when she popped one and could start to tear the cover off. Of course, that wasn’t allowed, so I would have to perform a slight-of-hand and convince her that the new one was as good as the old. She didn’t mind she’d throw it to me; Id toss it back; this volley would continue for a little bit and then she would get to work chewing the new one! She loved that ball. When she heard my sister, Robin, on the phone, her ears would perk up and you could see her thinking. She would scurry off to retrieve the ball so Robin could throw it for her: it was one of Akaysha’s favorite games that became a nightly ritual.

Akaysha had another endearing fetish. She loved to collect my shoes and place them in the very back of her crate (I sometimes wondered if she ever had puppies). I never could convince her to go in and bring them back out though. Not so good for her mom’s knees, but you just couldn’t be irritated with this behavior that sweet face would get to you every time!

Akaysha had surgery a little over two years ago she had bloat. Thank God I recognized it and rushed her to the emergency vet who operated on her within that critical first hour. It was scary but my strong girl made it through and did very well. She was one tough customer!

During last year’s annual check-up, the vet thought that Akaysha’s spleen felt enlarged. The x-ray didn’t show anything conclusive, so we had an ultrasound done. Again nothing was evident. We were monitoring her. During this year’s exam, nothing readily presented. However, this past Sunday night, Akaysha appeared to be in distress and couldn’t stand. I rushed her to the emergency vet where the bad news was delivered. They could readily see a tumor on the new x-ray and that there was a rupture. The vet didn’t feel that Akaysha would make it through this surgery, so I had to make a very difficult decision¦ I opted to do the kindest of kind things, I elected to let her go peacefully into the night, so that she could run free and unencumbered with her sister kitty, Skeeter, and Nikki and the others who had gone on before.

Its very quiet here now; empty.

Thank you GSRNE for entrusting Akaysha’s care to me. It has been my distinct honor, pleasure and joy!

With a very heavy heart,

Kristen J. Bradbury
East Hartford, CT

Ginger
GSRNE #014
1996? – 2/25/2009  

Ginger is having her last night tonight (Feb 25, 2009). We adopted her in May of 1997 from the German Shepherd Rescue of New England. She was 9 months old. From the moment she entered our home, she was part of the family. From a skinny, pointed-nosed puppy, she grew to be a beautiful, loving, sweet “pretty girl.”

A lovely disposition, friendly to all but cats, skunks and squirrels, and she loved to chase her tail with the command “Tail!”

Ginny took it upon herself to guard our home from these suspicious and “dangerous” critters. She would sit in the room that overlooked the backyard, alert, and ready to attack. Much to our amusement, Ginny never caught anything. She would run with all her might, slam herself up against the fence, and miss the squirrel…of course. This came as no surprise to anyone…but Ginger. The father of the family, Mitch, insists that Ginny did, in fact, catch two squirrels in her life; gutted them both and left the skins in the small yard we have in the back of the house.

The children, Genna and Matt, disagree. They’d like to know how a dog that could not catch a ball could catch a squirrel. The daughter, Genna, often would say to Ginger, “ready, don’t catch this.” She was amazingly talented in this regard. A few times, the ball found her mouth, but never the other way around.

Affectionate without slobbering, she was always thrilled to see us, whether it had been five minutes or two weeks. Coming into the house late at night, it was a soft thumping of her tail in the dark, the sound of her warm, dry nose sniffing in the dark. We will miss her every day, especially curling up with her on the floor.

Thank you for operating this fine service. We’ve had a decade of enjoyment and love with a wonderful dog, a real sweetheart.

Be right back, Ginny.

Mitch, Joanne, Genna and Matt Lyons
Newton, MA