Ireland’s Family

From the euthanize list at the shelter to my wonderful home

Hi there! I’m Ireland, the dog who was saved from the shelter the day I was to be euthanized. My soon-to-be foster dad, Tom, was visiting the shelter when he was approached by the shelter’s director and told that they were completely full and had three German Shepherds scheduled to be euthanized that night! I knew that my time was limited and if I did not go home with Tom my chances of ever going home were awfully slim. Luckily all three of us passed the GSSH temperament test and our foster dad took us home that day. I was so happy to be out of that awful place, Tom says I was like the energizer bunny! Energizer German Shepherd is more like it! I just love to jump, and play and am totally full of energy, especially when I was first rescued. But, who can blame me??

After Tom took us all home I was placed in a foster home with a dog named Wrangler and his family. I think that I was a bit too much and had too much energy for everyone there, so I was only with them for a few short days before Tom took me to be fostered in his own home. To my pleasant surprise there were several other dogs in Tom’s home so I had plenty of buddies to play with and if one of them was exhausted I had my, shall we say, pick of the litter to play with next. Being in my foster dad’s home was so much better than the shelter and I was having the time of my life playing with my new friends. Tom told me that I needed to get ready for adoption, so I started getting some training and was scheduled to be spayed.

Now it was time for me to start going to GSSH Showcase Events and find my forever home! I went to so many events, and at first it was a lot of fun to meet all these new people and families, but then I started to worry I was not being adopted and maybe there was something wrong with me? My foster dad Tom said I shouldn’t worry though, because GSSH makes adoptions all about the dog and that I deserved the best possible forever home and sometimes that can take a little longer than expected. But let me tell you, the wait is worth it when you find your forever family! I should probably mention that I am a very good looking German Shepherd, so there were a lot of people that liked to look at me and said they wanted to adopt me. Unfortunately, not all of them understood that I am a very active dog and need a lot of playtime and exercise so I don’t get bored. Lucky for me GSSH had the patience to help me find the perfect fit. I had been with the rescue for about 8 months when Tom decided I should try going into another foster home with just one other dog. After a little while we became good friends and I stayed in my new foster home and continued going to Showcase Events. Just when I was beginning to think I would never get adopted I learned I was going to have a meet and greet at the local park soon.

After a few days my foster dad brought me to the park where we met up with Tom; I was so excited to see him! The three of us waited at the park for a little while until a young lady approached us. As soon as I met her I knew that she would be the one for me! She gave me belly rubs and we went for a walk, and I behaved my very best. We spent over 2 hours together at the park and I learned that she is a horse trainer and I would get to go to work with her every day! What a blast! Of course Tom still needed to check her references and do a home check, and she said that she would like to do that as soon as possible. Before I knew it Tom and I were heading to San Diego where we met my new mom, Katie, and saw my new forever home. I don’t think anyone knew just how happy I was to be there. Never did I think that I would make it from death row to a loving forever home. That day my adoption was finalized and we took our first family picture. My new mom’s boyfriend showed up and we all went for a walk while Tom got some more great pictures of us! Then Tom gave me a hug, told me to behave, and said it was time for him to go because I was home. My new family and I continued our walk after saying goodbye to Tom, and I knew he was right, I was finally home. I am as lucky as can be to have found my forever home, like I said, the wait was worth it!