Love,

Just wanted to take a quick minute to let you know that Kayla (formerly Blair) and I completed the Dog Obedience I class yesterday and she got her diploma! We're going to take Dog Obedience II in the spring taught by the same instructor. She is great. Also, I have had Kayla on the Blue Buffalo dog food since you mentioned it to me and she loves it. I take her back to the vet tomorrow for her follow-up visit. He wanted to see her after she'd been off of her medication for a month. Hopefully, it will be all good news.

Take care,

Pamela Albert Chambers

I just want to give you another follow up... King is an incredible, well-adjusted, behaved dog. Carmen and I cannot believe anyone could turn their backs on such a dog. He is so loveable, I never had a lap German Shepherd dog. He enjoys to be petted, stroked, and if you let him he would allow you to do it 7 by 24. He is adjusted to his food and has a good appetite. He enjoys his daily long walks, and is learning stay, both for down and sit. Also working on his recall and heel. Picks it up very quick. Playful, enjoys playing with his toys in the family room, interacting with us. At nite he sleeps in his doggie bed on the floor next to our bed. Does not mind his crate...goes in on command.....Carmen calls him a "Ham" as he loves being massaged by her. We and King have been blessed. We noticed that he is even starting to look healthier from when we first got him....His coat is starting to shine real nice, and he is begining to regain the weight he lost. He also is feeling more secure in the house in another words he at times will go down to the basement where his crate is and hang out on his own not having to wonder where we are every minute of the day. What a good dog!

Robert & Carmen Iannotta

I thought I'd give guys a Kobe update.  We are not going to attend the reunion on the 18th... I suspect we

would do it, but Kobe still does not like other dogs and I think Nora and the boys would be a nervous wreck

 learned to only leave the windows slightly open.  He's jumped on the screens after hearing/seeing another

 dog.  One of the more annoying aspects of this behavior is that it has happened early (4:30) in the morning.
Allergies - The past few weeks have been wonderful.  We've kept Kobe on the Nutro and we keep him on a

 strict diet.  You wouldn't even know he has skin allergies now.
Neurosis - We've pretty much decided that Kobe's tendency to gnaw on his paws is psychological.  I was

 out of town for a week due to work and he really went after himself.  I'm at home 99% of the time, so when

 I leave he gets anxious.  What is even worse is that he knows he isn't supposed to chew on his paws and

 now he will hide in a separate room to go after them!!  Kobe is a smart dog.  We've been using gauze and

 self-adhesive bandages to protect his chewed spots, and we've also bought a "Comfy Cone" to prevent him

 from biting himself in our absence.
Training - We've had a lot of success with Kobe's training.  The trainer was recommended by another

 VGSR volunteer in my area and I can't say enough good things about her.  If somebody needs training

 assistance in this area, Gayle Dale is the person to talk to.
Accomplishments:
Sit
Down (he will do this when I am at a distance too)
Stay (I can walk around, go out of sight, and Kobe stays put)
Walking on leash, always stays to left side even if I make an abrupt turn or spin around.  If there are no

 distractions Kobe is textbook-perfect when on a leash.
Side - returns to my side on command
Stop - I can call him and he will stop.... sometimes.  We're still working on this one.
Pulling/Barking at other dogs - Kobe has finally rounded the corner here.  He still wants to eat the little dog

 who provokes him through the fence, but I can now get past the fence (with constant reminders to "Leave

 it").  This is HUGE as it's the reason we paid for training.
Kobe is attentive and well behaved.  The above are commands he knows, but I can call him or tell him to do

 lots of things and he gets it.  I wish we had done this with Summer.... I think you guys would be shocked to

 see how well Kobe is doing.  He's doing better about barking and jumping over the seat in the car now too...

 in fact, the past few trips we've made, there is nothing to prevent him from jumping over except the

 knowledge that he isn't supposed to do it!
The trainer regularly brings her dogs or other dogs she is training.  Kobe doesn't care for them at all, but he

 can co-exist with them after a while.
Kobe is a great dog and he's a member of the family.  I really wish you guys could see how well he's doing

 with his training.... I may take a few pictures or a short movie and post it on the Internet.
See ya,
Mitch

Gaylan (now Kodiak) is doing so well! He loves playing with all of the other dogs in our area and going on long walks in the woods looking for deer to chase! He plays very well with little kids and smaller dogs! He is almost 40 pounds now, but does not know what do do with those huge paws! He has had all of his shots and did extremely well at the vet, mabey because of the treats they gave him! I am sure he can't wait to see his brothers and sisters!

David and Missy George

    It has been almost 6 years since we adopted Lady. We feel so blessed every day to have her in our family.

Lady is a calm and gentle spirit, until you knock on our door or ring the bell. She will then morph into a very

large and in charge protection machine. It is not until we open the door and tell her its okay that she is then

ready to make friends.

     Lady will turn 11 on October 21st. I shared with a friend just this week that had I stuck to my "age frame" for

adoption we would have missed out on one of the greatest loves of our lives. I had wanted a 2-3 yr old when we

started looking. Lea and John were the foster parents of Lady, and Lea met with my husband and I to have an in

home inspection. Lea told us that she had a dog that she thought would be the "ONE" for us. I looked at Lady's

picture and I was not so sure. Lady looked old and a little scary. Lea said she would bring Lady over for us to

meet her. (Lea knows how to get her fury children into their forever homes)

    Lady is the best and sweetest old girl you would ever want. She plays well with other dogs. she has a lot of

dog friends. She LOVES children, she thinks they give the best hugs and kisses. They also ALWAYS want to

give her treats. We moved last year to Georgia, I am happy to say that we all have adjusted well. I have two

very good friends that will come and stay with Lady when we travel, sometimes Lady can be very stubborn

when she does not want to go out. My friend will call one of my little neighbors to come get Lady out. It always

works. She loves kids and trust that they will love and care for her. Thanks to Lea and John for bringing Lady

to our family.

PS...Lady still has her "jingle bell" and it sounds like Christmas every day :)

Warmest Regards to all of you who care so very much!

We came to VGSR in order to find a friend for our 1 year old GSD, Nika.  Her puppy antics were stressing

our two older Yorkies.  Nika desperately needed a playmate and friend her size.  That was over a year and a

half ago.  In April 2008, Lady came into our lives.  She has enriched our home, become a companion to our

first shepherd and become the Alpha of our pack.

We can’t imagine life without our Lady!  We are grateful to VGSR and in particular to Pam and Jeff Wilson

as well as Barb for the work you do!  We also want to thank her original owner who for whatever reasons had

to give her up.  It is clear that she had been well loved, trained and cared for.  It had to be heart wrenching to

give her up!!!

We are such big fans of VGSR who helped bring Lady into our lives!  We tell anyone who stops to admire

our girls of the benefits of rescue.  Having bought our first shepherd from a breeder and comparing our

experiences to that of saving a life in Rescue, we will always go Rescue!  We are forever grateful to you,

VGSR, for the work you do!!!

Walter and Barbara Deyhle

Montgomery Village, MD

Here I am on my dad's leather couch in his den in Virginia Beach. He's nicer than Ma; she won't let me on the yellow couches. I just had my neutering - it was a breeze - and am busy learning all about my new family. I'm a looker and everyone is impressed with me. I haven't been allowed alone in the yard, but that'll come. I go on walks and will go to "Dog School" (humans call it Obedience Class) once the Vet clears me from my "operation". I wish all of you good luck in your adopted homes.

Duke Leto, Dog of Dune

Hi Lea, I've been meaning to write this for a long time and thought I'd combine both Liberty's and Dutch's Happy tails, otherwise it's it could be another 9 years before I do Dutch's.  Before 2001, I was a firm believer in only getting a dog from a reputable breeder and was convinced that adopting dogs was adopting someone else's problem- I was completely WRONG.  After we lost our last German Shepherd, we were looking for a breeder in Virginia and came across your website- and after we saw the picture and story of Liberty (formerly Beauty), we knew that we had to go to the adoption event even though it was 2 1/2 hrs away.  Once we met her both my wife and children said we want her and she has been with us ever since.  All rescues have a history that form who they are and how they react but these challenges are not insurmountable and most times can be overcome with patience, love and training.  While Liberty needed to gain some weight, freaked out with kitchen smoke and emergency sirens (we call her our little fire victim) and was not (still isn't) crazy about other most other dogs, she is so loveable that she immediately became an inseparable part of our family.  Being a military family, she had to adjust to two different moves which she handled with ease as long as she had her family. Unfortunately, she lost her K9 playmate (our 14 yo Cocker Spaniel) and was as devastated as the rest of her human family was.  In 2007 when we started looking to adopt another dog it was not even a question that we would adopt from Virginia German Shepherd Rescue.  It took a little longer to find a compatible dog because of Liberty's Alpha Female personality but when we saw Dutch (formerly Koa) at the door, it was deja vu. As soon as we saw him we knew he was the one.  After our trial weekend, we asked to adopt him immediately and he has been a part of our family ever since.  Dutch had to overcome a fear of step s, flat footed paws due to spending too much time in too small of a crate and some abandonment issues from his days at the shelter but he is an absolutely sweet and well behaved dog and our family wouldn't be complete without him.  Both dogs are the stereotypical "Velcro shepherd" and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Thank you and the entire VAGSR for all you do.

Sincerely,

Brandon Lechthaler  

Hi Lea, I've been meaning to write this for a long time and thought I'd combine both Liberty's and Dutch's Happy tails, otherwise it's it could be another 9 years before I do Dutch's.  Before 2001, I was a firm believer in only getting a dog from a reputable breeder and was convinced that adopting dogs was adopting someone else's problem- I was completely WRONG.  After we lost our last German Shepherd, we were looking for a breeder in Virginia and came across your website- and after we saw the picture and story of Liberty (formerly Beauty), we knew that we had to go to the adoption event even though it was 2 1/2 hrs away.  Once we met her both my wife and children said we want her and she has been with us ever since.  All rescues have a history that form who they are and how they react but these challenges are not insurmountable and most times can be overcome with patience, love and training.  While Liberty needed to gain some weight, freaked out with kitchen smoke and emergency sirens (we call her our little fire victim) and was not (still isn't) crazy about other most other dogs, she is so loveable that she immediately became an inseparable part of our family.  Being a military family, she had to adjust to two different moves which she handled with ease as long as she had her family. Unfortunately, she lost her K9 playmate (our 14 yo Cocker Spaniel) and was as devastated as the rest of her human family was.  In 2007 when we started looking to adopt another dog it was not even a question that we would adopt from Virginia German Shepherd Rescue.  It took a little longer to find a compatible dog because of Liberty's Alpha Female personality but when we saw Dutch (formerly Koa) at the door, it was deja vu. As soon as we saw him we knew he was the one.  After our trial weekend, we asked to adopt him immediately and he has been a part of our family ever since.  Dutch had to overcome a fear of step s, flat footed paws due to spending too much time in too small of a crate and some abandonment issues from his days at the shelter but he is an absolutely sweet and well behaved dog and our family wouldn't be complete without him.  Both dogs are the stereotypical "Velcro shepherd" and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Thank you and the entire VAGSR for all you do.

Sincerely,

Brandon Lechthaler  

I thought I'd take the opportunity to update you on our Lily (formerly Nadia). Lily is doing great. She is now 4 and is a certified therapy dog. We go every two weeks to a local nursing home. She actually is a terrible therapy dog, but the residents don't notice that. They are just happy to see her and scratch her ears. Attached is the picture from her ID card (yes, her ear is still crooked!) and wearing her therapy dog vest. She has 3 beds in our room - the one she lets us share, a nice one with a lambswool cover and a bolster that she can lean against, and a third one with a plain cover that is cooler for her. All dogs have 3 beds, right? As usual, she went on vacation with us this year to Vermont. She got to go wading in a lake (she's not a swimmer) and play with her dog cousins. She played Frisbee, although she doesn't get the concept of dropping it. She thinks it should be a tugger toy. We went with her on a trip to upstate New York in the spring - our daughter needed a dog fix, so Lily brought us along to drive the car. Thanks again for taking care of Lily until we could find her and adopt her!

Lucy and Steve Swartz

Kensington, MD

Six months after our adopted German Shepherd Wendy passed away, my wife Marilyn and I felt a real need to fill the

void.  So, we began looking at both the Mid-Atlantic GSR and VGSR web sites.  We found a couple of shepherds on

the VGSR site that interested us enough to put in an adoption application and meet a few Shepherds at the Sterling

Petsmart.  Then we received a phone call about Lobo from his foster parents, Jim and Karen Bruns.  That phone call

and subsequent conversation with Jim Bruns piqued our interest to the point where we decided to learn more about

Lobo before making a final decision about a shepherd we had previously expressed an interest in adopting.  When we

saw Lobo's write-up and pictures on the VGSR web site, we knew that we had to meet  this handsome boy.  We also

felt he was probably the shepherd we really wanted.  Almost immediately we called Jim Bruns back and set up a time

to meet the boy.

When we met Lobo, it was love at first sight.  He certainly met any criteria we had, for Lobo was obviously all

German Shepherd, all boy, very smart and very affectionate.  We were overjoyed when we passed muster with Jim

and Karen and were able to take Lobo home that very day.

Adopting a shepherd is a two-way street.  We adopted Lobo, but realized that he also had to adopt us. From the very

first, Lobo's progress in adopting us as his family has gone really better than we expected.  After all, in a span of not

much more than year, we were the third family he had been with - plus two additional stays in a foster home.  So, we

have been pleasantly surprised by how well he has adjusted and the trust he has developed in us during the last 10

months.  

When either Marilyn or I leave the house for shopping or other reasons, he'll wait right by the front door until our

return.  A couple of times I went to the MD house for the weekend and left Lobo and Marilyn in Virginia.  The

welcome I received when I returned was overwhelming.  For these reasons, we are hesitant to leave Lobo alone in

the house and probably won't try it for a while.  If we both need to go somewhere, Lobo comes with us.

Lobo has pretty much learned the rules of the house although he has slipped a couple of times.  Once he snagged a

leftover piece of pork chop off the kitchen counter and has been caught a couple of times snoozing on the living room

sofa.  He gets scolded for his rare transgressions and knows he goofed up.  He doesn't stay in the "doghouse" long,

however, and will come to each of us looking for some lovin' and reassurance, which he always gets.  He still has a

tendency to be mouthy, but he gets corrected with a "No bite" every time and so he knows it's not permitted.

However when he gets excited (for example, when greeting us) he has more of a tendency to mouth.  Training him

not to mouth is still a work in progress.  Leash training is another area that we need to work on, but I haven't spent

the time working with him that that I need to.  During this coming spring and summer I'm going to spend a lot more

time working with him and the leash.
 
Lobo has turned out to be quite good at communicating with us.  If he needs or wants something, he finds a way to

tell us.  A great deal of his communication is vocal, which is one thing I have always loved by German Shepherds.

He will whine, grunt, grumble, snort or sigh loudly to help get his message across.  He is an extremely intelligent,

trusting and affectionate boy and will actively seek a friendly pat and assurance several times a day.  His actively

seeking periodic assurance tells us that his adjustment to us is still on-going and probably will be for some time to

come.  This was expected on our part, for we know that Lobo's loyalty makes it very tough to leave one family and

go to another.  In short, Lobo is our new best friend and we love him dearly and I believe that he returns that love and

We adopted Lobo about 6 months ago and now it's hard to imagine life without him. He fits into our lives perfectly and has developed a different way with each member of the family. With my teenage son he is rough and ready to play at any moment, with Grandma he is gentle and lets her spoil him with treats, and with me he is a well-behaved walking companion. Lobo is a happy guy, and he makes us smile and laugh with his antics and love of stuffed animals. He watches over the cats and lets us know if they have jumped up on the counter or done anything else wrong. He's still a bit skittish around small children and certain adult men, but has settled down a lot. Thank you VGSR and his foster mom Diane for all that you do and for helping us find the perfect dog for our family.

Linda Sauer

    Finally through Virginia German shepherd Rescue we have found him Lucky for my son Dennis who

was paralyzed in a motorcycle wreck two years ago.  She was rescued by VGSR just a few days before

Dennis adopted her in May..  She and her brother were scheduled to be put down due to lack of room at

the shelter when VGSR stepped in and saved them, so she truly is Lucky!

      It is a win/win situation for both Dennis and Lucky is truly lucky.  Lucky is a very mellow 3-4 years

old German Shepherd mix.  She sits to have her leash put on when he asks her too, doesn’t bark and loves

to go on long walks through the bike paths of Reston with Dennis.   When EMS came to help him out the

other day, when he was stuck in his wheelchair in the kitchen doorway, she even growled and came between

him and them till he told her it was ok and he had only had her for a few days then.  Right after her adoption,

Lucky  was laying right at Dennis’s side when he worked on his wound , just to be sure all was ok with him.

      All in all, they are both very happy to have found each other and for the first time since his accident almost

two years ago now, he has a big smile on his face every day.   Lucky is a bit camera-shy and was hiding her face

behind Dennis’s hand as you can see in the picture.  Lucky has brought a lot of joy to Dennis’s  life and he to

hers, they are inseparable companions.

This is just a update on Lucky. My dad, Tommy Wood, and I went to the Pet Smart in Crystal City a short time ago. Lucky was the last dog that we looked at and thank goodness we did! We were very fortunate to have our home visit the very next day and you could tell that a bond had already formed. Within one week of spending everyday and night together it appeared that they were velcro-ed to each other!!! My mom is extremely shocked at how inseperable the two of them are and at how GREAT Lucky really is. He is very hyper and full of energy all day long while with dad on landscape jobs and around the farm but when he steps foot into the office or house, he completely calms and starts to wind down! My dad even bought a new pickup truck with a extended cab for Lucky to have his own personal door and riding space in the A/C and heated cab!!! Lucky has even charmed his way into Yippie's and Blackie's hearts! They are the other pets on the farm. They all get along like brothers and sister! Thank you for giving our family the extra family member that we have longed for since the death of my dad's last Shepherd (of 13 years) in 2001, and especially since the death of my grandmom, (dads mom) in Sept. 2002. I have attached a photo. It shows Lucky and Dad beside their truck and the office on the farm where Lucky spends most days sniffing out treats from all of the secretarys' desks!!! Lots of sunshine, hugs and slopy kisses from Lucky,

Tammie Wood-Hess