Sad News

It is with tremendous sadness that I report Tyson is no longer with us. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and was euthanized this past Labor Day. The rest of the family and I are terribly upset over the loss of our family friend. He truly was an integral part of out family and left us way to early.

Sammie was adopted on March 14, 2021, as half of the “bonded pair” Kota and Birch (renamed Sammie and Bosco).  She was an older dog, possibly as old as 10 years.  She had some physical problems and had recently had surgeries prior to adoption.  She was doing very well though and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the 6 months that she was living here.  As the pictures show, she and her buddy Bosco loved their naps and they enjoyed monitoring the back yard for deer. She also enjoyed the two walks per day in the woods, up and down the hills, and along the lane.   She was a beautiful and very affectionate shepherd who quickly learned commands.  My hope is that in her early years, she was owned by someone who cared for her.  We miss her very much. 

Beloved Dak (aka Nero) that we rescued in July of 2017 passed on September 1 from a battle with lymphoma.  He was surrounded with love by my husband and myself until the very end.

I have sad news to share. We adopted Willie from your wonderful rescue almost five years ago. Willie was diagnosed with a very aggressive lymphoma and we said goodbye three weeks ago.

He was my amazing companion and my heart is broken. I wanted you all to know he was totally spoiled and adored, even by his cat brother.

Sincerely,

Elena Schlossberg
Haymarket VA

We write to you today to inform you of the death of MAGSR alum Lilly. We adopted Lilly on Nov 14, 2009, and she died peacefully at age 13 on July 27, 2021. She was the canine sister of MAGSR alum Silver (https://magsr.org/sad/silver).  Our son, Jaxon -- now entering his senior year of high school and looking forward to college -- grew up with these two amazing creatures that MAGSR brought into our lives. Smart, sweet, loyal, brave, gentle doesn't even begin to describe how great Lilly was. God bless all creatures, great and small, but especially Silver, Lilly, and the kind people at MAGSR who helped lead them to us. 

Smokey came to us on June 2, 2012. We had to put Smokey down on July 21 of this year. He was 14 years and 2 ½ months, the longest living Shepherd that Chuck has ever had. He was the greatest dog we’ve ever had.  Everyone loved him: he was the Mayor of the neighborhood. Small dogs who were afraid of most dogs just approached Smokey and he was so gentle that they adored him. Friends with small children and grandchildren who were terrified of dogs used to bring them to meet Smokey and they left here loving him and becoming  more able to be around other dogs. If Smokey wasn’t perfect, then he was the closest thing to perfect I’ll ever see.   We’ve been spoiled by him. Of course, we did our share of spoiling. We used to kid Smokey that he was a very wealthy dog; he lived in a big house and had two servants, one of whom was his personal chef. We just wanted to let you know that he had a wonderful life, was beloved by everyone who met him, and I suspect we’ll be grieving him forever. We are grateful to have gotten him from you for these 9 years.

About 11 years ago we adopted a wonderful dog named Phineas. He got sick one day and he was not able to make it home. He was a wonderful dog who provided us so much joy.   Evan Kremer

It is with an absolutely demolished heart and tears streaming down my face that I write to inform you that our beloved Thomas (formerly known as Phelps) passed away suddenly yesterday. Yesterday around midday he started vomiting a lot of saliva and white foam and I called the emergency animal hospital and they told us to bring him in, which we did immediately. They took a look and informed us they believed it was bloat and that he would need immediate surgery. A couple hours later the doctor called and absolutely shattered our hearts by letting us know that the damage to his stomach and spleen was too extensive and that they did not think he would survive the surgery and it would be best to not wake him up. We immediately drove to the hospital to say our goodbyes and will be getting him privately cremated so that we can forever have his remains. My husband and I are beside ourselves. I still have not even begun to process the loss that we have experienced and the 95 lb hole in our bed and our home. He was only 6 years old and hadn’t even begun to slow down in the least. Our sweet girl Josie (formerly known as KitKat) is also devastated and is having trouble coping as they were inseparable. 

Wanted to let you know that Alexandria who we adopted from you almost 14 years ago passed today.  She had been having issues with her back legs and other age issues.  She became unable to get onto her legs without help and it was her time.  We loved her very much.  

I wanted to let you know yesterday we lost our beautiful Volker. He was absolutely amazing and the most gentle loving soul. It happened very quickly.
Sunday we noticed his breathing was a little off.
Monday I walked him, he walked fine, seemed ok. Monday night he couldn’t get comfortable, I was sure he ate something and it was lodged in his digestive tract somewhere. Tuesday we tried to get him into our regular vet and could not. We took him to PVSEC. they found he had a hermangio sarcoma in his stomach and lung cancer. He was there for 2 days while they stabilized him and gave him a dose of chemo. He came home Thursday. Friday morning we went for a very short walk, but he was having progressively worse issues with mobility. His type of cancer was causing little bleeds everywhere. By Saturday morning he could not stand. I held my beautiful boy in my arms as he crossed over the rainbow bridge.

Thank you for rescuing this beautiful boy, and allowing us to bring him into our family. 5 years, and 6 months was not nearly enough time with him.

I regret to inform you that Boomer, adopted in February 2016, has left us. He was about 12 and a half. He was a lovable, gentle giant and we're so grateful we had him in our lives.

Letting the rescue know that after 13 years of a wonderful life rescued by your organization and adopted by my family. We had to put our beloved German shepherd down today. Bella was a wonderful dog and we are thankful for all the work you do and saving German Shepherds.  She lived out the rest of her forever home as the queen of her home/ castle here in Millersville Pennsylvania.

We adopted Rusty on November 13, 2020 from MAGSR.  He was a 7 ½ year old German Shepherd mix with the most beautiful big brown eyes.  He was diagnosed with Lymphoma the week of March 15, 2021. He shut down on March 23, 2021 and we had to say good by to our “angel boy”.  We all fell in love, Tom, Rusty and I, and had such a short time with him.  At least he was with us for the last months of his life.  We loved him and gave him his special life of happiness back. He is with God and waiting for us at Rainbow Bridge along with our other two Shepherds, Jake and Dux.  Tom and I miss him so very much, his sweetness, all his beauty and he was a “kisser”.  Our boy is gone and in God’s hands.  Only heaven for him from now on.  We love you Rusty, Mom & Dad.

We adopted George on New Year's Day in 2013. It took some time for our current dog to get used to him, but shortly after adoption, they became best friends and inseparable. Over the next several years, he ate our banister, broke a leg off of our kitchen table, destroyed a chair, and barked at everyone that walked past our house, but he was also the most loyal dog we've ever had. He protected us and loved us, especially after our daughter was born. As soon as she came into the house, he watched over her with extra care. He let her do whatever she wanted to him and gave her a best friend from birth. Unfortunately, last summer, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and was given 3-5 months to live. We were heartbroken. We recently had to make the difficult decision to end his suffering and say goodbye to the best dog we've ever had. We will miss him terribly for the rest of our lives, but we are so thankful to have such wonderful memories. And a special thank you to MAGSR for bringing such a wonderful being into our lives and into our hearts forever. 

After almost 10 years with our beautiful Breezy, we bid her a very sad farewell in the early morning hours yesterday. We went on many adventures together. She loved going hiking, camping, and chasing the sea-birds on the beach. She watched over our growing family over the years - she loved helping me tuck the kids in to bed. My heart is completely broken - she was my very best friend. I’ve loved and lost several dogs in my lifetime but she was just special. Breezy was an extraordinary soul and we were so fortunate to have her for the time we did. She left a GSD sized hole in our home and in our hearts. We are so grateful to MAGSR for matching our family with her. She was perfect. I miss her so much. With gratitude, 

Jasmine Hollingsworth