Sad News

Our beautiful, loyal, intelligent and loving girl Gretel went to wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge on Sept 7th 2021. She was our friend and companion for almost
thirteen years spending the last eleven in the state of Maine, where she loved the snows of winter. She also loved playing with a tennis ball becoming a champion
fielder in the half dozen dog parks and school yards we visited throughout her life. Gretel was also extremely intelligent. She knew all of the basic tricks and would even retrieve a specific stuffed animal when asked. She knew how to weave through obstacles and receive a lateral pass. Unlike some shepherds, Gretel extremely friendly toward other dogs, even smaller ones, and especially tolerant of young annoying puppies. I have a memory of a pug lying on its back between Gretel’s huge front paws on a hot summer afternoon, batting at Gretel’s tongue as she patiently panted away. She was also loved to travel by car with us, especially once EZ pass eliminated the need to visit manned toll booths. While we owned a conversion van, she would sit in the front passenger captain’s chair, watching out the windows to the delight of other drivers and their young passengers.Thank you MAGSR for matching her with us. She was the perfect dog for us and I think she would agree
we were the perfect family for her. We miss our sweet girl ever so much. We will look for her at the
bridge. Wait for us Gretel!
Ken, Nancy, Jennifer, James, Elizabeth and Henry

Three years ago my husband and I lost our girl of 11 years.  Our hearts were broken and the house was so quiet we couldn’t stand it.  So we learned of the Georgia-38 pups and decided to honor our girl by saving another sweet ones life.  That is when we found ourselves at MAGSR.  And there she was, Gracie (fka Amika) sitting across the field with a little boy knelt in front of her.  Gracie was so gentle with him she caught my eye immediately.  We walked over to meet her and spent time walking her around.  It didn’t take long to know we had found our girl.  The ride home she was so calm and quiet, from that point we knew we found our travel companion.  Gracie loved going for car rides so much it became a Friday night routine, along with a bite or two of burger we would stop and get for her.  Boy did she love her car rides!  Gracie also loved her walks with her Daddy and did very well in her obedience’s classes.  She mastered sit, stay, come, down and shake very quickly, we know we had a smart girl.  Gracie was a quiet girl her first year with us.  I mean she didn’t make a sound, but one day the door bell rang and there it was; a strong Shepherd bark, the kind that means business.  From that point Gracie always alerted us of strange sounds and we knew she finally felt she was home.  During that first year we had noticed that Gracie had pain in her hips and legs and the vet confirmed it was hip dysplasia. She was placed on pain meds that helped.  For the first time after that we saw Gracie run!  Gracie took to both of us, but her person was my husband.  She followed him everywhere.  They both enjoyed the yard no matter what they were doing, gardening, cleaning up or just enjoying the sun and breeze.  Over the next two years we spoiled Gracie and also felt we had to protect her because of the life she previously had.  As the time passed we noticed it was becoming more difficult for her to sit down without having pain and she began to stumble when walking so she laid more.  The vet said it was degenerative myelopathy.  We changed her meds and did all we could to keep her comfortable; but then sadness happen.  Gracie’s back legs just gave out and you could see she was in pain.  The vet said we could try steroids but other then that there wasn’t much he could do.  So with a very heavy heart September 7th, 2021  the decision was made to end her pain so she could run free and pain free.  

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.