Well, it has been 6 months since Edge came to live with us. To say the least, he has been a complete joy. My husband and I are constantly thinking back and wondering what was life like before he came along. It is as if he has always been with us. He just fits into our everyday routine with no effort at all. He has so much character, and we don't care what anyone else says, he has a sense of humor. I guess you could say that he is the "Scooby Doo" of German Shepherds. He makes us laugh constantly. He received his diploma in obedience a few months ago. His trainer wanted to keep him for himself. He does so well for us. We have had no problems with him being in the house. He stays there during the day and at night. He has decided where his place is during the day and at night. During the day, he stay in the downstairs part of the house, while our Chow stays upstairs. He makes himself comfortable on the couch, the love seat, or he stays in front of the French doors guarding the yard. At night he sleeps on his bed beside my husband. He gets up occasionally during the night to make sure there are no deer on the back deck. If they are there, he barks until they leave. Our Chow can't stand to be away from him. She likes being in the same room with him. She will whine until we open the gate to her to go downstairs to be with him. His house manners are outstanding. He has not offered to tear up anything or leave his mark in the house. When he first arrived, he did not care for play toys, but now he has a whole bunch of them and he has own place to keep them. The first thing he does with his little stuffed animals is to tear off the eyes. Then he proceeds to take the stuffing out to the head only. Then after he has finished doing that, he looks up at my husband waiting for him to clean up the stuffing. He won't play with it until the stuffing is cleaned up off of the floor. (This is one of the times that all we can do is sit and laugh. I told my husband that he learned that behavior from him. When he first started playing with these things my husband would rush and clean up the stuffing. So, I see it as a learned behavior.) He has yet to take any of the stuffing from the body of the animals. So, he has about 6 animals with no stuffing in their heads. These are the ones that he likes to play fetch with. He usually pulls out 3 at a time and likes to have us alternate which one we throw to him. He has a sixth sense about him. He knows how to be different around different people. He knows that I am the one that makes him go through all of his commands, and I am the one that he gets his food and his treats from. He likes to snuggle and sleep on the couch with me. When my husband comes home, it is playtime. He takes it to the next level with him. They play a little rougher. When the four year old is around, he is very gentle. He does play football with him, and knock him down with his hind- quarters. They have so much fun together. Trey was a little intimidated by his size at first, but none of us pay any attention to that anymore. He is around 120lbs. now. Our extended families have fallen in love with him too. They are our dog sitters when we have to go out of town. I think about how his life may have been before he came to live with us, and I know that he is happy now. He is so relaxed and comfortable in his surroundings. He no longer follows me everywhere I go. I believe that he used to think that I wasn't coming back when I would leave the room. Now he just stays where he is at (usually on the couch or loveseat), and waits for me to come back into the room. He will give me a wag of his tail acknowledging that he knows that I am back. He is definitely a special dog. Most everyone that we have told about the adoption has said that he is lucky to have us, but we look at it differently. We are so lucky to have ended up this particular dog. There could have been no better match for our family. We are so thankful to have him at a part of our family. Thank you so much for allowing us to adopt him. We will always take very good care of him.

Kelly, Jeff and Trey Lewis

My name is Emma (aka Gabi) and I wanted to tell you a little about myself.  My mom Princess was rescued by

VGSR last December from South Carolina and then immediately had 12 puppies.  I suddenly found myself with

11 brothers and sisters all of whom needed new homes.  Luckily we all were placed in loving homes.  You can

see pictures of two of my brothers Cochise and Kodiak also in Happy Tales. See any resemblance?

As for myself, I was adopted into a home that already had quite a few residents. There were 5 cats, 4 birds,

2 humans and now me, the only puppy.  My new mom sent me to puppy obedience school and puppy playtime

to help me socialize with other dogs and people. You see I am very shy.  I graduated and received a puppy Star

award from the AKC.  My new mom knew I would need some more companionship and playmates since we

live in the country, so she  brought home a new  sister.  A white GSD named Willow B.  Willow B. is my BFF.

We are different as night and day…get it?   Since we live in the country, we take long walks every day and have

a large field where we can run and play.  I learned how to heel on and off leash, come when called, and the other

usual dog kind of stuff.  Training has really paid off.

I want to thank VGSR for finding me and my siblings’ wonderful homes.  Bye for now there’s a bone with my

name on it that needs my attention.

Emma

Hi Barb!

Sorry it's taken us so long to write, but we wanted to give you an update on Tina (who now goes by the name

Finley!!).  She's doing great!  We took her to the vet for a follow-up on the UTI, and she got a clean bill of

health.  We're taking her back in January to get another check up, but all's great on the health front.  

We also enrolled her in obedience school in September, and we are proud to say she passed with flying colors!!

One of the pictures attached below is her and Mark posing with her diploma.  She's great with basic obedience

commands (sit, down, stay, etc.) and is doing really well with heeling on a leash too.  We've gotten into a routine

where Mark walks her for an hour in the morning, and I walk her for an hour at night during the week.  She

always gets so many compliments when we walk her from people telling her she's very well behaved and

telling her how pretty she is.  But she hasn't gotten big-headed from all the attention.  :)  

We take her on longer walks on the weekend, and we also took her trekking around the Mt. Vernon trail and

Manassas battlefield, which she loved because it was full of deer and squirrels (her favorite)!!  We also took her

to my mom's house on a lake in NC so she could splash around in the water.  Most of the pictures below are from

that weekend.  She loved riding in the boat, but wanted to chase anyone that jumped off the boat into the lake!

Anyway, we hope you enjoy the pictures below, and you should definitely stop by to see her if you are ever in the

Alexandria area.  I know we've only had her a couple of months, but I honestly couldn't imagine life without her.  

She's quickly become one of my best buds.  :)

Take care,

Kathryn Holloman

Emily Hawkens

Lara and I looked for a while and eventually adopted a 10 week old puppy named Gracie. Gracie has developed into a great dog, but she was very active. We left Virginia and moved to Connecticut for work. The snow really suited our Husky/Shepherd as did the big yard. Unfortunately, she seemed a little lonely. When we saw that her sister (litter-mate) Roo was back up for adoption, we considered going down to Virginia to get her. We were too late and someone snatched her up. Then a month later, Roo was back on the web site and Lara was in the car. Roo and Gracie have been inseparable since then. They love to chase squirrels and play in our woods (we have over 2 acres, mostly woods). Watching them play must be what doggie heaven is like. They are super happy and healthy and so is the family.

On St. Valentine's Day ('03), Jennifer and Jonathan shared a unique gift with the family- the addition of a new girl: Gretta. Gretta, formerly known as "Annabelle", is a 3-year-old female German Shepherd Dog of German lines. She stands vertical and proud, and weighs about 70 pounds. Gretta's past is a mystery both to VGSR and ourselves, but she is now a very happy girl. Gretta arrived at our household just before the big blizzard in February. At first she showed signs of a troublesome past- an unwillingness to go into the basement, for example. Worse, it appeared as though a previous owner had filed down or cut off her canines, and the teeth were rotten to the bone. Over time, she had become more confident and easily wanders throughout the house and neighborhood on her walks. As for the teeth, in June she went to the vet dentist and had six rotted teeth removed. After a couple weeks, she was back to her usual diet- including treats. Still, Gretta loves all people - including visits to the vet. She spends her time keeping an eye on the family "pack." One of her favorite family activities is watching HBO's "Sex and the City" with Jennifer. She also enjoys her weekend 4-mile walks around Lake Accotink (in Northern Virginia), and playing with her toys. Gretta gets along with most dogs, and has made numerous friends- especially "boyfriends"- both in the neighborhood and in her obedience class. We have enrolled Gretta in dog obedience classes, and she is one of the better students in the courses. To date, she has successfully graduated from level two, and next will begin off-leash training. However, cats are another story.... Her prey drive definitely kicks into gear upon seeing felines. She has not yet met a cat that she doesn't want to chase. Much is the same case with squirrels, and so far we are having to walk her around Lake Accotink on a leash. These days, Gretta is really a part of the "pack," and Jennifer and Jonathan are very happy with her joining the family.

Jennifer & Jonathan Gibson

Dear Foster Mommy,

I wanted to let you know how well I am doing and how much fun I am having with my Mommy and Daddy. I have so many wonderful toys and lots of play time every day. My favorite toy might just be my football squeaky toy that mom and dad throw for me in the back yard. I also love my naps! Curling up in their laps and taking a nap is my favorite thing to do. I know when mom and dad put me in my crate it is quiet time, and I go to sleep. I am doing great with my potty training. I go to the door to let mom and dad know when I need to go out, although I have had a few accidents - but heck, I'm still a puppy! I even let them know when I need to go potty in the middle of the night, I give a few short yelps, Dad or Mom comes and takes me out back and I go right away - then I am very good about going back to sleep.

Jasmine and Nevada are two of my friends that come over to play with me often. We run all around the back yard and I am always very excited to see them. Soon I will be just as big as them! I think I must weigh around 22 lbs. or so - at my first visit to the vet. I weighed 14.5 lbs., but I know I've grown SO MUCH in the last couple weeks.

I'm happy to tell you that one of my ears is finally at full attention! The other one is almost there. I think by the end of this week they will both be standing straight and pretty. Thanks so much for telling people to be careful with my ears!

Mom and dad took 3 rolls of pictures of me the first week I went home with them. There are a few pictures attached, but I have grown so much since these pictures were taken, I'll need to send you some more soon so you can see my pretty ears and how big I've gotten!

Can't wait to see you and my brother, sister and mother at the reunion next fall!

Love, Hailey

Hello everyone, my name is Hailey (formerly Mercedes), and I wanted to
submit an update on the latest chapter of my life.

I am a lovable two year old female shepherd mix that has found a new home
with a caring and fun family that LOVES me sooo much!

I would like to take a moment and thank my VGSR foster parents for their
support and care, without such volunteers, I and many other dogs would not
have had this opportunity.

I now live with my new mom, dad and their ten year old son.  My new family
has helped me to settle into my new surroundings and routine. I run, play,
take car rides and have even made a new friend, Shadow the Sheltie.  We
have play dates and have a great time.

I keep a close eye on my family and love meeting new people.

All is good and I look forward to many years with my new family.

Bark at ya later:)
Hailey

We are completely besotted with our Henry. He is tender and playful and smart! He has adapted quickly to walks with Charles in his power chair and gets walked more and longer than any dog I've ever met :) He socializes with other dogs on the Sligo Creek Park trail every day, and absolutely loves going in the creek. He also looooves big long stretches of field where he runs like a wild horse low and fast right at you and then dashes around at the very last second. He loves his squeaky toys and rough and tumble with Charles. His favorite toy is his squeaky moose and we often play hide-the-moose with one of us hiding his eyes and the other hiding the moose, and then we ask him to go find it. He does, even in another room. I still call him Stinky, which has borne itself out given the fact that he's had a continuing problem with one stubbornly infected anal sac. I grew up with dogs all my life and somehow remained blissfully ignorant of that particular condtion--now I guess we are catching up for lost time. YUCK. We've been taking him to the Takoma Park Animal Clinic which has worked out fine so far--they are monitoring his infection and we truly hope we will not be referred for surgery. Otherwise, he's picked up some weight and muscle tone and is loving life! His confidence has increased both with us and in meeting other people and most recently playing with other dogs. We'd love to meet others in the area down on the creek trail if you know of folks around. Also, do you happen to know what happened to any of his siblings? We wondered about getting our contact info out there in case anyone was interested in a play reunion. Hope all is well with you and yours?

Gwyneth & Charles Woolwine

Sorry that I haven't sent this sooner. Hope is amazing! She is incredibly smart and doesn't know that she has a handicap. Here she is practicing for the 2008 Olympic diving and swim teams.

An update on Jada - She is definitely the best thing to happen to our family! She has the ability to make everyone she meets fall in love with her. She was the unofficial mascot of my son's marching band. We would go to the practices and she would charm everyone. She really likes to play ball and Frisbee, although she will only play for 3 or 4 throws and then wants to take her toys back inside. At first, she had this thing about sleeping with one of my shoes, I would only find one shoe where I had left them and the other one would be on her blanket in the living room. She never chewed my shoes, she just wanted my stinky shoe near her. My in-laws, who are not really dog people, love to have Jada come to their house. The only problem is that sometimes she will jump in the car when we are not going anywhere and she will not get out unless we drive her somewhere. So, we drive down the driveway and then she will get out. I don't think that is much of a problem if that's the worst thing I can say about her. We took her down to the beach near our house and she really loved the water, and she didn't even think about eating the dead stinky things that sometimes wash up on the beach from the bay. That was a problem with all of our other dogs. She sleeps with us in bed and is very soft and quiet getting up and down. She sleeps on our bed when she is home alone because we can hear her jump down when we get home. Our dog sitters next door also did something very unusual. They have been watching our pets for about 15 years, and after getting to know Jada, they asked if she could just stay at their house while we were gone. They never wanted to take any of our other pups home. They have horses and they said that Jada likes to jump over the horse jumps. She is always showing us more and more things that she can do. When we got home I had to go and bring her home. They were very happy to have her as their guest. Right now she is lying at my feet under the computer desk. Our son, Ricky, is always on the floor snuggling with Jada. At about 9:00 PM every night is Jada play time. She will just start throwing her toys around to let us know that it's play time. She still will whine and cry sometimes, and I can't tell if she misses one of us or what. She was crying a lot more when we first got her and now it's only occasionally. She is so pitiful because we don't know what the crying is about. It took a month or two to start getting tail wags and kisses, but now she is full of them! Thanks again for letting us have Jada. Everyone agrees that she is the Best!

Lorelle Duelley

Sammy is just wonderful! Jim and I wanted you to know how much we love him and also send recent photos of the little guy (all 85 lbs. of him!). He is quite the star pupil in his Monday training classes. The teacher works with him showing the other owners how to train their dogs. Sammy is in his second set of classes. He will go on to advanced. We would like to train him well enough so that he can visit nursing home residents and pediatric wards in the local hospitals. Thank you so much for fostering him for Virginia German Shepherd Rescue. I know how hard it was for you to let him go! He is totally adorable!

Sincerely,

Urlee O'Donnell

Jola is our little angel. She is doing great. She sleeps in the "big bed" now and is very good about proper bed dog etiquette, at least most of the time, when she isn't sprawled out across the middle. Jola starts basic obedience training with a new trainer tonight. We did a class the begining of the summer but it wasn't very organized. I think Jola will do very well. She's very smart and learns quickly. We get so many compliments about her. No one can believe she came from a rescue. Thanks again. God bless VGSR,

Ray & Joy Neubauer

Hello,

I wanted to give you an update on Juno, formerly Emily #4.  We adopted Juno from VGSR in November 2008 and brought her home to live with us in Virginia Beach.  After a harrowing few months of heartworm treatments and having her spayed, Juno settled right into beach life. We think she is about 20 months old now and still has a lot of puppy in her, but she has the sweetest disposition and is wonderful with both people and dogs.  Her nickname is naughty and for the first six months she needed to be crated when we left her alone, but in July she showed us that she could be a wonderful girl and not destroy the house when we were out.   Now she spends her days playing on the beach and in the water with her best friend Quigley (golden doodle) in the early morning and has wonderful daily visits to her walker’s house to play with her other buds.  She has put on about 15 lbs and looks great.  She is all we could hope for in a companion dog.  Thank you so much for rescuing her from the shelter and thanks to the rescue volunteers who helped us find her!  We will be forever grateful.

Tom and Christine

Dear Dari and Sean,

I wanted to let you know that I really like my new family. We go for lots of walks every day and on Sunday I got to go to the dog park. It was really fun, but I got all muddy. A clip of me getting clean is attached. They have lots of toys for me here. I found a whole box of them in the basement. I still don’t fetch.

Hope to see you at one of the reunions.

Love,

Kacy