Our Tanner came into our lives in November 2017.
He died of bloat while we were away which makes it that much harder to process.
We weren’t with him.
 
He was the most loyal, obedient dog we have ever loved.
He melted our hearts everyday he was with us!

“Dogs are not our whole life but they make our lives whole!"

We wanted to let you know that today, our angel puppy grew his wings. Bear (aka, little Bear, Baby Bear, Pacifier, Frosty Paws, Wiggles, Fluff Butt) was special from the beginning. He had a magic about him that brought everyone human or fluffy joy and comfort. Over the past 10 years in our home, Bear welcomed countless foster dogs, he provided comfort and joy to 6 foster children, he joined us in celebrations, he stayed close when we struggled, and he brought endless smiles to family, friends, and people in the community. His wiggles, patience, and presence are already beyond missed in our home. Bear, we know that Kenya, Maggie, Izzy Bee, and Hyde are looking after you on the bridge. Know that you took a piece of our hearts with you.  You are loved. Fly high baby boy, until we meet again.
-Kate, Will, Ally, Nugget, & Hiccup

Five days ago my otherwise healthy K9 partner Kylie developed a limp and was diagnosed with an aggressive bone cancer in her front leg that had spread to her lungs and abdomen.

Kylie died suddenly yesterday afternoon at Tridelphia Animal Hospital in Dayton, MD

Within a week I lost my best friend. My family and I are devastated. Kylie was the 7th Ryan and that is exactly how this feels…… like a member of our family is gone forever.

When Kylie joined our family; life suddenly got better for all of us.

As a team, Kylie and I went on some of the most epic adventures. Her incredible intelligence and world class sniffer helped speak for those who could no longer speak for themselves. No matter where we went……local, state, and federal law enforcement all knew of Kylie and her abilities. She got more gifts from strangers than my kids get at Christmas. She was so loved.

During Kylie’s short life….. she forever changed our shared world for the better.

My girl is gone and everything is not okay, but hopefully one day soon it will be again.

Gene Ryan

(Here's a story about Kylie's career -Ed)

Russia came to me as a very sick senior pup. He was underweight, had massive raw areas on his skin due to allergies, had a very bad case of heartworms, and was scared of every movement I made.

However, within just a few days he showed me that he was, at heart, a young puppy who wanted to trust even when scared, was always ready with kisses, would go miles no matter what the vets said, and really wanted to be an integral part of someone's life.

He sang along with the firetrucks and ambulances (not police cars for a reason only he understood), hid his treats under the shed, told all the neighborhood dogs what was going on, and would tuck himself into any available space if it meant he could snuggle just a little closer. He absolutely loved to get brushed and would circle his body to be sure I got every spot just right. He was always in motion if anyone else was moving around, checking out the latest happenings to be sure he didn't miss a moment of life.

He never slowed down, not even on his last days. He might have been very sick, but that wouldn't stop him. In the end, we said goodbye after a last brushing (he made sure I got all the good spots), with his head in my lap tucked up nice and close for one last snuggle.

We recently lost Snowy who was a huge part of our family and pack. Now there is this immense void that Snowball once occupied. Words don't seem fitting enough to convey the depth of loss we feel. So we thought it was only fitting pay homage to her life and legacy.

This is the life of Snowy.

Back in the spring of 2010, we were alerted of the need to rescue a dog, a white German Shepherd. Some people who saw this dog even wondered if it could possibly be a coyote. The dog had been hanging around a horse stable. When we first arrived on the scene, it was obvious to us that it was a white female German Shepherd. But because she was dirty and thin, we could see why some people might think she was a coyote when they caught a quick glimpse of her. She wasn't scared of making herself seen and the riders at the stable frequently saw her. But she was smart. She knew not to get close to the horses and riders or put herself in a position of being captured. Many locals in the area were feeding her which helped to keep her there. They would drive by in all hours of the day or night and drop off cheeseburgers and the like. It was apparent that she was very young and in need of rescuing. You could see her ribs. But how did she get there? How long was she out there? Was she dumped? Did she escape from somewhere? We always wondered this. But more importantly, we needed to devise a game plan to capture her and bring her to safety. Monty and Sheri and a few other very special people (you know who you are) started working on right away. As we frequented the area to begin conditioning her to our presence, we would put food out for her nearby to us. We tried befriending her by trying to hand feed her. While she was food motivated, she would come ever-so close but not close enough to allow us to touch her. She would even walk behind Sheri within a few inches in an attempt to get the food that Sheri had in her hand. Seeing that physically capturing her this way wouldn't work, we moved to the next phase. We set up a humane trap. We are experienced in tracking and trapping and have captured dogs with humane traps in the past. However, this girl was having none of it. She would walk to the entrance to the trap and not enter. This went on for a while. Knowing this wasn't going to work anytime soon, we had to change our strategy. We set up a kennel run in the field. We tied the door open and began putting food in there for her to eat when she got the nerve to enter. Since the the kennel run was much larger than the standard humane trap, she felt more at ease with entering. Once she routinely entered the kennel run, it was only a matter of time before we were able to shut the door with her inside. After she was captured and authorities were notified, we were given the go ahead to transport her a local veterinary hospital so that her health care could begin. We had been working on her capture for weeks at this point. Once the dirt and grime was washed off of her, we could begin to see her beautiful white coat. This diamond in the rough became known as  "Snowy". 

While in the hospital, all of us involved in her capture would routinely visit with her to help condition her to being around humans. She was very feral. She put up with us but she never once acted aggressive in any manner. You could say she was very passive. She missed out on socialization with humans early in her life and therefore, had no reason to trust us. 

The next step was to transfer her into a foster home. So we decided to bring her to our house as our next foster. We knew this would be a long process as she was an extreme flight risk. She was not bonded to us and had no reason to be. Every precaution was taken to prevent her escape while we were bonding. As she began bonding to us, we were able to let down our guard little by little, but not too quickly. Because we already had other Shepherds of our own, this helped Snowy transition into living in a home. She was awesome with other dogs and she learned to trust humans though them. She never acted aggressive with our dogs. True to her nature, she was very passive with them, too. 

After fostering her for about a year and not finding the right adoptive home, we made the decision to adopt her ourselves. We knew her better than anyone, became very attached to her and she became very attached to us. She liked Monty... but she loved Sheri. Her world revolved around Sheri. Snowy was attached to our dogs as well. But now, this once practically feral dog had blossomed into a beautiful, majestic family member who adored her humans, particularly Sheri. Snowy wasn't too crazy about visitors though. She wasn't aggressive with them but she was most comfortable keeping her distance from them. As the years went by, that too changed and she would inquisitively wander up to a visitor to say hi. Fast forward, though the years we brought many new fosters into our home. Some stayed, some did not and were adopted into loving homes of their own. But when we brought a new foster home, Snowy was our first test dog. She never let us down and was always willing to allow a new packmate into the fold. She was bombproof in this manner.

After arriving to our house as a new foster, she never spent a night alone. There was an occasional stay at the vet's office for something health related which was out of our control. But we never ever willingly left her alone. Her days and nights of living near the stable in the woods, chasing off the occasional fox which was trying to steal food that was intended for her, were long gone. Snowy was home.

Through the years, Snowy learned to like all sorts of things. Some are very normal like fetch, swimming in the pool, roughhousing with her humans, going on walks. But she also had some comical behaviors (all scent driven) such as rolling on fresh sheets on the bed, nuzzling into Sheri's long hair, getting a new toy and rolling on it. She loved peanut butter, ice cream, milk, sliced cheese, chicken... and again, her human mom. When Monty would come home from being at work, she was happy to see him. But when Sheri came home from work, Snowy's expression of joy jubilation was on a whole other level. You could practically see her beaming and smiling with love.

Snowy didn't travel well and never learned to like the vehicle. As a result, she didn't travel far from her home. But she had a home where she felt safe, loved and never had to worry about anything ever again. She was safe from harm, starvation and learned what it was like to have a family of her own.

On the day she left this world, she was wrapped in our arms and our love. Yes, she was very lucky that some people cared enough to help her when she needed it most. But we like to think of ourselves as the lucky ones to have had the opportunity to capture her, show her love and receive that love in return.

Snowball, you taught us a lot and we helped you learn many things in return. But we lived a great life together. We couldn't have asked for a better addition to our family and our home is not the same without you.

We love you. Until we meet again...

Monty and Sheri

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.  

We adopted him from MAGSR August 10, 2010 as (MAGSR told us) a 3 yr old, though he’d been a stray so who knows how old, and was known then as Duke.  He’d recently been ailing with Degenerative Myelopathy, and Friday started to exhibit a vestibular disorder:  he would swing his head around, and couldn’t seem to focus his eyes. When it didn’t resolve overnight, we took him to an animal hospital where the disorder was diagnosed and where he spent the next night.  He could not stand up without assistance, and tumbled over when he could get himself up into a crouch. He could only take a few steps even with help on front and read ends, lost interest in eating, stopped urinating on his own.  We observed him at home for 2 more days hoping to see improvement, but really there was none.  I can’t imagine feeling so dizzy all the time that I can’t stand up.  :…(. 

I wrote you on the 11th anniversary of his adoption just last month, noting that he chose my husband;  It was on a horrifically rainy visit to the kennel to see other possible matches, where his foster mom had brought him for some reason.   Love at first sight.  No regrets. In his life, he had surgery to remove a discal cyst at University of Pennsylvania, part of his tail amputated, bladder stones removed, some various subcutaneous tumors as well as some porcupine needles removed.  He defended our backyard in Delaware from numerous groundhogs (we think he mistook the porcupine here in NH for a groundhog) also treed a bear twice, and generally always took very good care of us, including offering his aid and comfort after my husband’s knee surgeries.  In addition to his own surgeries, he got acupuncture, and something called Bi-com treatments, all to his benefit, I guess.  He had fans far and wide, including visitors from England and Hungary who asked about him afterwards.  Our petsitter kept painting him; we invited her over yesterday just to see him.

We determined to do our best by him, give him every chance and I believe we gave him the best life, and dignity at the end.  But the house is so lonely now.  

Thank you so much for matching us up! 

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. 

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

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.

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. 

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.

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 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.