We are very sad to tell you that our dear sweet boy Dega who we rescued in 2011 has passed away. We are heartbroken. We had lost our previous german shepherd of 14 years in 2011,  and we made the decision to rescue a dog in her honor. 

We met Dega in April of 2011 after my husband saw him on your website. He was stunning, all black with golden eyes. I cannot tell you how many compliments he received over the 8 years we had him.

 Dega was ball driven from day one that we met him. My husband would throw him the ball sometimes 30 times a day in every weather condition you can imagine. Dega never got tired of fetching and bringing the ball back. We also realized we couldn’t take him to my son’s baseball games because the urge to run out on the field and chase the baseball was just too great for him. 

Another thing Dega was famous for was his howling at the sirens. He would stop whatever he was doing and stand tall and howl. He almost looked like a wolf. Living near a firehouse you can imagine how many times a day this would happen and even in the middle of the night. We were woken many times by his “ singing” but we didn’t mind at all. 

Dega loved going to the beach too. Every year we would take him to the Outer Banks. We would walk him for miles on that beach and he loved it. Again, everyone who saw him there would say how beautiful he was. People were just drawn to his beauty and strength. 

Dega was our beach dog, snow dog, and a best friend to my husband. He would follow him around the yard whenever they were outside. He did not need a leash to be outside. He would sit and watch my husband wash his car or walk around while he was mowing the grass. They were inseparable. 

Dega was a good protector for my children as well. They were older when we got him, 16 and 12 but he bonded with them from the beginning. It was like he was meant for our family. When they say “ who rescued who” that is completely true. Dega came into our lives when we needed him and we will forever be grateful for him. He will be missed more than you will ever know. Thank you MAGSR for this incredible boy who has appeared on your Holiday card and calendar and changed our lives forever.

After 6 great years with Maxine, she unfortunately had to be put down. Degenerative Myelopathy had completely incapacitated her back legs and incontinence was setting in. It was a very tough call to make, but we could tell Maxi was not only suffering, but losing her mental capacity as well.

She was the first of three dogs we adopted from MAGSR.

She had a beautiful coat right up until the end!

We miss you Maxi, and know you're back running on all fours in Canine Heaven.

Love,

Allan & Belinda Young

I wish I could express how grateful I am for Riddick being in my life.  Thank you so much for matching us with Riddick. The joy and love that he has brought to me has been unimaginable.  He was the perfect fit for my small family.  I am so glad I could rescue him and provide him with a loving and active environment.  He was so gentle, yet full of energy.  We enjoyed teaching him how to swim and our family vacation adventures with him.  I loved how liked to show off his tricks – catching the ball, hiking, having no accidents in the house, winning at tug-a-war.  It was fun to watch him go insane trying to put our oversized ball in his mouth.  There was no toy that he couldn’t figure out how to take apart and destroy, yet he never chewed on anything in the house. He was so smart.  He was such a faithful companion and loved our hiking time.

Although he was almost 10, we had gone for our normal weekly 5 mile hike late September.  A month later, he succumbed to cancer.  Joe and I took him to his favorite place – Great Falls and spent some time with him before we had to say goodbye forever.  It was a perfect Fall day for all of us to reminisce over the last 7 years. It has been three weeks now and I am still bawling my eyes out.  I miss him so much. 

Again, thank you for introducing Riddick in our lives.  Joe knew right away he was the dog for us.  I wasn’t so sure, but glad I took the risk.

Rebecca DePrez

I am very sad to inform you that my beloved dog Sammy left my side on August 18, 2019. I adopted him from MAGSR in October of 2010. He had just arrived at the kennel that very day. You named him Samson because he was so incredibly strong. Sammy was the light of my life and he brought me so much joy. He died from hemangiosarcoma. Know that I did everything medically to assist him. Today rather than speak of his illness I prefer to tell you the first of many of his stories. I came to your kennel that day in October 2019 thinking I might find a friend or maybe a dog that needs to be fostered. Anyway I went through every dog you had in the kennel and none seemed to be “the one”. The person showing us the dogs stated there was one more dog that just arrived and did I want to see him. I said no but my niece said yes so the person helping us ran off to get the new dog the last one to see.

Out comes a large beautiful black and red German Shepherd just like my last two dogs. I walked him around the grass area through the trees checking him out. I tested him to see if he would follow my lead and he did. The woman came back and asked me if I wanted to adopt him and I said no but my niece said yes. Then the woman asked if I would like her to put him in the kennel down the hill to see again later. I said no but my niece said yes. So she put him down the hill in the outside kennel for us. As the end of the day approached, the woman came back and asked if we wanted to see Sammy again I said no but my niece said yes and off she went to get the dog. My niece is an animal person and knew me and my past dogs very well. She knew something I didn’t that day but Sammy made the decision on his own. I walked him around again with all the other people watching. They were ready to make a run for him as soon as I gave him back. He would not have lasted the rest of the day at the kennel.

As I was walking him, he abruptly came to a stop and stared hard into my eyes then turned his head and stared into my niece’s eyes. After staring at us for quite a while he pulled me across the grass area toward the kennel so I let him lead me curious about why. He then made a sharp right turn and went into the parking lot. He went car to car up to the top of the lot until he found my car and he jumped up on it. He refused to leave my car-- he wanted to get inside. Finally, I got him back to the grassy area and he would no longer walk or do anything he just kept pulling me toward the fence separating the parking lot and the grass area. He had positioned himself in direct line with my car on the other side of the fence. So, I told the lady if she could get him a bath I would take him home. After his bath we saw him at the bottom of the hill just staring up at us. He was happy and absolutely knew he was going with us. I was given his leash and Sampson became Sammy as he moved to my side where he remained for the rest of his life. I loved him dearly and miss him horribly. I was so lucky he picked me that day. Thank you for such a wonderful dog.

It is with broken heart that I write to you today to advise of the passing of our beloved Ginger.  We adopted her by her MAGSR name of Canela on April 3, 2009 when she was about 9 months old.  She was a loving part of our family.  We named her Ginger because of her coloring and we kept Canela as her middle name.  She was always glad to see her family when they would arrive home from work or school.  She loved running and playing but when it was time to go to bed a simple “are you ready to go night night” and she would grab a toy and go straight to our room.  She was a constant companion and was always at someone’s side.  Her passing will leave a great void in all of our hearts.

Ginger, unfortunately was not with us as long as we were hoping, but her health declined sharply over the last month.  She lost function in her back legs and her spleen was very swollen.  The vet had her on Prednisone, a pain killer and two different antibiotics over the past month.  Unfortunately she continued to lose weight and the vet advised that putting her down was probably best. 

Thank You MAGSR for bringing us together.

Sincerely,

Russell Lee

   It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Hartley went to the Rainbow Bridge last Friday after battling with Neuropathy for the last year. Hartley was a kind and gentle soul who gave us so much love and his life was cut far to short.  We only had him for about six short years but those years were packed full of love and joy and we will never forget him.  It was with his special and kind nature and love that he filled our hearts which great memories that will live with us forever.  I have a few pictures of our special boy that I'd like to share and want to thank MAGSR for the opportunity to adopt such a wonderful dog. 

In memory of MAGSR alum, Silver, adopted in May 2009. Silver died April 27, 2019 at the ripe old age of 14. A magnificent and majestic friend and guardian. We are grateful to MAGSR for helping us find each other.

We had to put our sweet boy Nash down today. He was 15 and gave us 13 wonderful years. Not sure that we will ever get to the point where we will want to replace him but thank all of you who helped us make him a part of our lives.

Rene Stein

Sadly we had to put our wonderful MAGSR dog to sleep tonight due to serious complications from a fall. Jillian - same name from adoption - was a wonderful blessing to our family for nearly 5 years. She lived a difficult life before being rescued by MAGSR, but finally found her forever home with our family, where she enjoy long walks, car rides, and playing in the snow. While her time with us was shorter than we desired, we will always remember her for being the best friend anyone could ever ask for.

She was here when we brought our daughter home from the hospital and their bond was grew stronger from the moment they met.

We will miss Jillian!

Hello,

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that we had to say goodbye to our beloved Samira that we adopted from you in August 2005. She was 14 and very much loved and spoiled for the 13+ years we were fortunate to have her. Sadly though her mind and spirit were willing her body was breaking down miserably and despite medication, and physical therapy and intensive love and care, her body was failing. It was a very hard decision to let her go but she was surrounded by her family and much love and dignity to the end.

Sincerely, 

Natalie Gaines

My father, Rand Lambert has asked me to email you regarding his dog Axel, previously named Shadow who was adopted in October of 2017. He has been treated by the vet for several days for what they believed to be gastroenteritis. He went to have him checked again and Axel developed a cardiac issue and passed at the Vet. Obviously my father is heartbroken as this is the second young rescue they have suddenly lost at such a young age although he did live a wonderful life with my parents and was very loved by my entire family. Axe was the third rescue we have adopted from MAGSR. Our first was my pup Bogart in 2003. My father will be contacting you very soon to adopt another.

Thank you so very much,
Rand Lambert and
The Lambert Family

In July 2010, we adopted a very shy mild mannered girl from you. turns out, with a little love and confidence building, she was a HIGH DRIVE GSD! she was my heart. unfortunately, age cannot be defeated and we had to let her be at peace a few weeks ago. as you can see in the attached pics, she was spoiled and had a great life!

I wanted to let you all know that Scout crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday.  The Vet said that it was most likely an unknown tumor that ruptured.  He went down hard and fast and there was nothing we could do.  He was the most incredilbe dog I have ever had.  People wouold walk up and start petting him before they even asked permission which was amazing because he was such a big dog but he loved it.  He could have been a therapy dog he was so gentle and loving.  He was my constant companion and my heart is so broken right now.  I know eventually there will be another one but right now I really just want him back.  Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know.  Thank you for bringing us together. 

It is with deep sadness that I tell you we lost our beautiful MAGSR dog, Katie, to lymphoma. Katie was a sweet and gentle soul who represented MAGSR at many events and meet and greets over the past five years. She brought us so much joy and she will be missed beyond words. We are truly heartbroken. Thank you to all of our fellow volunteers who help so many dogs like Katie to find their forever homes. Although we lost her way too soon, we know her last years were happy ones.

Julie & Pete Switzer

Our sweet Katie Von Der Misty Ridge