On February 6, 2023, Bayli crossed the rainbow bridge.  She has been missed truly every minute of every day since then. She will always be missed because we lost a part of us when she left. Bayli was our best friend, baby, and dog soulmate, and losing her has been so painful because of all the joy that she brought into this world. 

Bayli came home with us on September 12, 2015 from MAGSR.  When we first took her home, she was fearful and anxious, especially of men. In just a few short months she grew into a confident girl. In her early years she loved going for long walks and as she got older and her mobility decreased, she was completely content to lounge around and snuggle. Above all, Bayli loved being with her family, cookies, and laying in her bed (not necessarily in that order).  She knew what life was all about.

While there is heartbreak, we are so hopeful when we see adoption stories on MAGSR because we know someone is just beginning their happy journey.  We are forever grateful to MAGSR for giving us the chance to know and love her and be loved by her. 

Our dog Jedi, whom we adopted from MAGSR in 2016, ran free over the Rainbow Bridge on December 16, 2022 after not enough years as a beloved member of our family.

Jedi is loved in continuum by Valerie, Graeme, Ryleigh, and Todd who were blessed to have found a furry companion so loyal, loving, and playful until the last calling. We surrounded him as he passed over and never imagined being so in love with a beast both ferocious and cuddly.

Jedi loved his ball playing more than anything and had to be outside to supervise all grass mowing activities involving the riding mower.  His daily treat regime evolved from showing off his paw control to racing Ryleigh to the couch and barking/yipping while sliding through the twisting route from kitchen to living room. Jedi often overpowered Graeme in frequent games of rope pull but I think both let the other win an equal amount of time without admitting to any purposeful losses.

Jedi loved the creek and hated baths, he was a weirdo from start to finish.  Use the garden hose fill up his water bowl, or just say water in general and he would disappear. Mention the creek or start hiking through the woods and he would be in the water, over his head, trying to drag logs off the bottom before you could call him back. I'm not sure Jedi understood the creek is made of water, the same water he was so careful to avoid in any other circumstance, he didn't always utilize his rational brain.  He did learn how to unlock, and open, the sliding basement door so we are not entirely sure if he was a savant or simply a screwball. We are leaning savant as he learned how to spell the words we couldn't say without an excited reaction.

We still can't believe he's not lying in wait for us to get out of bed, come back from an errand, or monitoring the four of us from a central position. We miss the clack of his nails on the floor, the pilling of GSD fur in all corners, under every piece of furniture, and winding up in every drink or dish prepared.

None of us were ready for him to go but with two torn/bad knees and a late-stage cancer diagnosis we did everything we could to keep him at home with us from hand feeding to carrying him up the stairs when he couldn't get enough momentum to hop all the way up. 

Jedi was the heart of our house and the void without him is longingly painful. Jedi was our everything, we love him endlessly and are thankful for the circumstances that brought him to us and angry for the circumstances that took him away.

We are forever richer for having loved Jedi, and we know he is still with us, watching over us, forever our companion.

Todd & Valerie Harshman

Our sweet boy Jasper who we adopted from MAGSR in 2017.

 I wanted to share our story of adopting our dog Lucy from MAGSR over 15 years ago.  She was one of 13 puppies and mom that were found in the side of the road. Lucy was being fostered at a home in Dundalk, she was 3 months old when we met and adopted her. MAGSR named her Flyer. We knew immediately that we wanted her to be a part of our family. Lucy was born the same year, 2006, as our 16 year old grandson.  Our younger grandchildren have not known life without Lucy being a part of it. Lucy just passed away on November 12 just short of her 16th birthday.  She was the sweetest girl who was a cherished member of our family and her passing had left a hole in our hearts.

We are heartbroken, but happy that Lucy lived such a long, good life full of love. 

Thank you,
Robin Evers

Max Isaac crossed over on October 18,2022. The vet said he had a spinal cord issue. He became paralyzed and there was nothing more I could do for him. I am sorry to have waited to inform you but my mom passed 3 weeks before Max on September 28th and my grief has been tremendous. My comfort has been knowing they are in heaven together.

Max will be interred at the Baltimore Humane Society Memorial Park in Reisterstown MD. with the rest of his family there to welcome him. He has left me with so much love to share with another dog who needs me too. I am waiting for Max to place one in my path. That is his legacy which I will do my best to honor. I love and miss you so much Max. Godspeed.

Our sweet Sandy passed away on 10/1/22.   She was diagnosed with cancer just the week prior. 

We adopted her in April 2014 when she was just 4 months old.   She was an amazing dog - truly part of our family.   We are heartbroken, but we know that she was loved so much.   We will miss her always. 

Thank you guys for letting us adopt her and bring her into our family.  

Thank you!
The Schwaner’s
(Jack, Sheri, Katie and Johnny)

To the MAGSR team -

It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Georgia Jenkins.  GA was a 7/ 2011 adoption from MAGSR  GA was an important part of our family and enjoyed a good furever home with us.  She especially liked lounging by the pool, playing with her balls and toys.  She also enjoyed traveling and exploring new places in her RV.  GA had some significant weight loss and began having some mobility issues, but we had been able to work around those ( she loved her steak and tuna!).  However, over the labor day weekend she stopped eating and you could just tell she wasn't feeling well.  The doctor  believed that she had cancer based on passing black stool and the drastic weight loss.  I want to thank you for blessing our home with Georgia - she was a very good girl!

Donna Jenkins 

We adopted Miles from you 11 years ago as a puppy. He has been an absolutely gorgeous member of our family and we have loved him as much as possible.

This morning Miles awoke me with his crying and we eventually took him to an Emergency care facility it was determined his abdomen was full of blood from bleeding tumors.

Our primary vet agreed after looking at all the test results so this afternoon we will let myself rest forever.

He was a beautiful dog and we will miss him very much.

Max was adopted from MAGSR a little under 5 years ago.  This boy was such an athlete.  He could catch freebies and loved playing ball all day, every day.  Frequently he would go running at least once a week.  He loved life and was so happy. We are so glad to have been part of his happiness. We miss him terribly.  

After 12 wonderful years Liam was euthanized on July 18 2022 at the emergency vet clinic in Annapolis.  We had a great life together.  He hadn’t appeared to be sick but in the 17th he couldn’t get up.   We took him in hoping he just needed his thyroid meds adjusted but the vet said she couldn’t stabilize him and he was full of tumors and said we should euthanize him now.  He was surrounded by people he loved, all of us saying goodbye.  Thank you for giving me this wonderful boy. 

Thanks,
Sue

So sad to say that my precious Salena went to rest on June 8th, 2022 at the age of 17 due to DM which she had for 2 years.  I adopted her when she was 7 years old and had her for 9 1/2 years.  I loved her so much and will always miss her.  My only comfort is that she spent her last 9 1/2 years without constant scratching as she had food allergies, but I had her tested and put her on a special diet.

She was such a loyal companion, always by my side.

I am grateful to MAGSR for rescuing her and to her foster mom for taking care of her for me.

It is with a broken heart that I am writing my last post about Trudi. 3 years ago to the day of her adoption (5/26) she crossed over the rainbow bridge.

She didn't show any signs of sickness until Sunday when she suddenly stopped eating and over the course of the next few days her poor little body just gave out.  She had quite a few internal things going on and was a sick little girl. It was so shocking because as of Saturday she was out running around the yard barking and chasing the guys cutting the grass like nothing was wrong.
Over the last 24 hours we have gotten over the anger of wondering if any of this had anything to do with her prior life to knowing that this is how she came into our life for 3 years.

Trudi you had 3 great years with us and us with you. You made so much progress from being that scared little girl. It was not always easy but you learned to love, be loved and enjoy the life you deserved.
Rest in peace beautiful, run pain free. Mommy, Daddy and Ryder love you and miss you so much. 

#GA38strong

Thanks

Mary Ann and Jay

We adopted Tara (fka Savannah) from MAGSR in September of 2009 and lost her this January 2022. She was the most amazing dog and I miss her every day.
We learned so many things together. She must have known over 100 different tricks, from basic manners, to agility, to nose work, and all the stupid pet tricks in between. She passed all three Odor Recognition Tests for nose work showing she knew to search for birch, anise, and clove scents. She absolutely loved to search. And when she earned her NW1 title in 2013, the judge gave her the special “Harry Award” to “the most outstanding rescue dog that demonstrates extraordinary ability and spirit in nose work.” She was absolutely the most outstanding rescue dog.
She was my constant companion for over 12 years. We hiked, ran, and walked 1000s of miles together. And that’s not an exaggeration. On average, she ran 30 miles a week through her prime. Her longest training run was 20 miles and her longest race was the toughest 10 mile trail run I’ve ever done. She was the best trail dog; no matter how far we went or how lost I was, she always knew her way back to where we started. There was nothing she loved more than running along the trails with me. She made me feel safe and rarely let me out of her sight.
She took every change in our lives in stride. She moved with us across the country to Kansas for vet school, then back to Virginia again. She traveled all over the country with us. She hiked the mountains of Colorado, the plains of Kansas, and the New Mexican desert. She swam in the Atlantic Ocean, explored the Virginia forests, and romped in the snow in the West Virginia mountains.
She stuck to me like glue when each of our boys were born. She refused to leave my side for anything. And she was amazing with the boys as babies, then as they grew into toddlers and big kids. I could not have asked for her to be more patient and tolerant of them.
She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in September 2021, twelve years after coming home to us. She was already suffering from early changes of degenerative myelopathy as well. Radiation bought us four more wonderful pain-free months with her before bloat took her suddenly in January. She was loved so very much and is missed so very greatly.
Thank you for bringing her into our lives.

It is with extreme sadness that I tell you our beautiful girl, Sandy, passed over the Rainbow Bridge today. We adopted Sandy (aka Vanna per MAGSR) in December 2013. Sandy developed lymphoma and was diagnosed in October 2021. The doctor only gave her a few months to live. Luckily for us, she exceeded that estimate. We started chemo for our beautiful dog. The lymphoma went into remission. We were told the cancer was not curable. The cancer stayed in remission until the end of March 2022. We did absolutely everything to try to save Sandy. She was loved so so much and I and my husband are devastated by her passing. The house seems empty without her. We got Sandy special prescribed medication, chemo, learned how to infuse her with saline with electrolytes to help her physically, took her to the hospital when things weren't good, made scrambled eggs, and broiled chicken for her because she would not eat dog food any more. We stayed up nights with her to comfort her when she wasn't feeling well and let her out numerous times during the sleepless nights so she could go to the bathroom. All of that was done out of real love for our girl Sandy. We miss her so much already.

During her life with us, we took her and our other two dogs, Truffles and Duchess, on vacations to the beach. We walked in the park near our house. She had a nice fenced in backyard to run around in. She got the best dog food, and best medical care that we could get. She got nylon bones to chew on, soft dog beds to sleep on, a warm house to stay in. We gave her the best we could afford. She would sleep in our bed if she felt like it and she was welcome to do so. But most of all she got our loving attention.

Sandy came to us with a broken heart. She had been passed around from house to house and was sure we would get rid of her too for the longest time. We used to look at her and tell her that she was stuck with us. Lol. But, she didn't believe us. She had a wonderful personality. We had another German Shepherd who had DM. Sandy was the most compassionate dog I have ever seen. The dog with DM was lying on a dog pillow. Sandy went up and lied down beside her and put her paw on the other dogs arm and she did this numerous times. It was like, I'm here to support and comfort you. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. A real heart of gold. She liked to comfort other sick or injured dogs. She had her quirks. Don't we all. She liked absolutely clean sheets with no creases in them. Would not sleep on anything else. She liked absolutely clean water with no other dog drinking in the same water. Kind of hard to do with 3 dogs. But, we changed the water many times a day. She didn't like going out in the rain. She would give me a look like why are you making it rain? She didn't like stepping in puddles or mud. She would try to walk around both. We found some of these things very amusing and made us love her more. It was Sandy. She would stand at the bottom of the stairs and howl a welcome while wagging her tail. It made you feel very welcomed and loved. We would take her for a walk. She was slow leaving the house and walking away from it. But, on the back home, she was like a horse racing back to it's barn. Sandy would start really pulling on the leash to get us to move faster so she could get back to comfort of her home. Home was a word she loved. And she loved her home and she loved us. We were greeted very enthusiastically whenever we came home.

One more story about Sandy to show what an amazing dog she was. I have so many wonderful stories and times with Sandy.  The day before she passed away, it was early in the morning. My husband was getting ready for work. I was still asleep. This was after Sandy had not eaten for a week because the cancer medication she was given destroyed her stomach and she would not eat at all no matter how much we begged her to eat. Therefore, she had gotten very physically weak. We live in a colonial house where you have to climb a lot of stairs to get to our bedrooms. We had helped Sandy up and down those stairs because she wanted to be near us at night. All our dogs have full run of the house and they decide where they want to sleep at night. So, suddenly that morning I was awaken by Sandy in my room trying to wake me up to take her downstairs so she could go to the bathroom outside. The reason this was so amazing is because she had been downstairs and in her weaken condition she climbed each stair by herself. She literally put herself in jeopardy by climbing the stairs by herself. It probably took every ounce of strength she had left in her body. My husband was in the shower and I was still asleep. It was so important to her to get me and ask me to take her outside so she could go to the bathroom. She was so amazing that even in her weaken state she was not going to go to the bathroom in the house. That tells you just how amazing Sandy was. Incredible dog. I miss her so much. My husband and I have been crying since yesterday when we had to let her go and free her from her pain. We truly miss the warmth of her love.

So, Sandy passing away today is a big loss for us. I can't say it enough, we already miss her so much. Sandy was very loved. All she wanted was to be loved and to find a permanent home. She got her dream because she had both with us. There is definitely a feeling like I'm missing a part of myself. We will remember our beautiful compassionate fun loving Sandy for the rest of our lives. She made our life so much better. 

Leo and Mary Maksymchock