Our Founder

My name is Tom Williamson and I am the Founder and President of German Shepherd Safe Haven. As a kid, I was raised with German Shepherd dogs so the breed was naturally my favorite and I love them. Being on my own, I have stayed true to the breed and adopted German Shepherds. Daisy was the first dog I adopted on my own many years ago though she has since passed away in December 2009. After she was gone, I realized what a big impact she made in my life and I wanted to start this rescue in her memory. I still have Bobby and he is an old boy but still loves life. I adopted Sophia over a year ago and then I adopted Rudolph early last year and that is how I got involved in the rescue world. I started volunteering with the local rescue group I had adopted Sophia from. I worked adoption events, transported and fostered dogs and really enjoyed it. Then I met Jen at one of the adoption events in LA and we became friends. A few months later, I was talking to my dog trainer friend, Wendy, on the phone and she said to me, “Tom, why don’t you start your own rescue?” And the very next day I spoke to Jen about it and we discussed it in great detail and she said to count her in. Jen and I had several meetings discussing ideas, costs and what was involved in the start-up of a rescue to see if it is something we can realistically move forward with. We decided it was what we wanted to do and are fully committed to the cause. Soon after, we had a few round table discussions with other people whose opinions we valued and we ultimately gained a lot of good information that will benefit our safe haven. After 22 years, I finally found my passion and it is to help unwanted German Shepherd dogs find a happier life and a loving home that they deserve.