Harper now Arlo (estimated to be 12 years old) was dumped on a street in Modesto with no ID. He was picked up by animal control and was found to have a growth on his neck and weak hind legs. His callouses indicate that he’d spent much of his time in a pen, with little […]
Tripper is a little guy who showed up at a shelter weighing just 45 pounds at around one year old. He stayed with his first foster family until they had to go on vacation. He went to a new foster home, with a couple who had raised and adored three GSPs previously—all bigger and browner than
Leo (in his adopter’s own words): When Leo joined us, he had already been with two foster families since being rescued from a bad situation six months earlier. The behaviors he exhibited with those families were consistent with a dog who’d had very little socialization with people. We decided to foster Leo because we thought
Five-year-old Harry was in big trouble. He’d wound up in a shelter that was going to euthanize him. But then, everything changed. Three sets of volunteers formed a caravan to transfer him from central California to a Bay Area foster home, where he would be safe. At first, he sniffed every inch of that home—acting
Some dogs (people, too) are too smart for their own good. Often bored, they turn into the class clown or a delinquent. That was our precocious Cassie–until she met Ron. Their first night together, she tried to take over the bed and he pulled out a Liza Doolittle quote: “Move your blumin’ arse!” She thought
Jerry came to us as a stray who unfortunately looked as if he hadn’t had a good meal in a while. Jerry is an older gentleman who was down on his luck..until one day (thankfully) he was found! One look at that face and his foster mom realized that not only was he quite the handsome
Zoie (now Lena) arrived at her foster home severely underweight and with a reputation as a hyper-active trouble maker. Fortunately, her foster mom had lots of GSP experience. Her foster dad had never owned a dog, but from their first meeting, he knew they would end up adopting Zoie (renamed Lena). They were very impressed
Ziggie came into rescue with his sister Zoie, but he proved to be much less of a wild thing than Sis (whew!). This little guy is relatively calm for a GSP. He is smart and curious. When he’s not exploring new places and things, he loves to just hang out in the sun. No wonder
Orion (now Packer) came into our program under-socialized and with physical pain from a broken leg bone that had never healed properly. It was challenging for him to adjust to a foster home that included two attentive humans and two exuberant GSP brothers. His foster mom and dad were super patient with Packer, working with
Maxine (now Molly) landed at a foster home where she seemed to fit in perfectly. She got along great with her Weim sister immediately, and when she tried to play chase with the house cat, kitty let her know who owned the home. She quickly learned to leave that cat alone, and save her pointing
We knew that Pluto was going to be a foster fail even before his family knew it. Who could resist those big floppy ears? He came into rescue with no training, afraid of everything. One thing this young guy was sure of, though, was that he dug his foster dad. The two of them did
In the midst of the holiday season, we were contacted by a shelter about a young GSP male with a broken leg. Knowing time was of the essence to get his leg looked at and repaired, we were able to identify a foster home quickly and get him the vet care he urgently needed. After
Jet was one of a number of dogs rescued from a neglect situation. He was undersocialized and a bit of a Wild Child. Fortunately, his foster home put in the work and time needed for training. In a short amount of time, Jet became the poster child for the benefits of training. He made such progress that
Winston came into rescue at a mere twelve weeks old, suffering from the most extreme case of Cuteness Overload we may have ever seen! Everything was still new to this babe, but we soon discovered that he is a complete love bug who adores people of all ages–and dogs, too. Thanks so much, Eric and
Some things are simply meant to be….Boscoe (now Cooper) was relinquished to a shelter when his owner died. On the day he was scheduled to be turned over to us, one of our patrons found out about him and rushed straight to the shelter to try to adopt him. We had already approved this man
Handsome Buzz (now Bochy) is always smiling, just grinning ear to ear. He carries some scars that indicate why he may not be too crazy about other dogs, but boy does he love his people! He adores human attention and cuddling. He’ll gladly do tricks for praise, and he is always ready to go for
Young Tulip (now Sadie) was picked up as a stray, but the shelter was full. She needed to find a foster home with no other dogs ASAP, as her time was up. Alli and Joseph had lost their beloved Bennett (a NorCal GSP alum) a few months earlier, and were ready to step up and
Dipper (now Jake) is adopted! Dipper’s foster objective was to learn how to live with humans and live in a house, neither of which he had done before. Who knew that he would learn most by learning how to play? Foster sibling Rally, the old man, laid down the law in the house. Through Rally, Dipper learned the
Lumi, a young GSP-Catahoula mix, is quite the looker. Turns out she is as sweet as she is beautiful. She needed to learn basic commands and potty training, but she is a fast learner and mastered all that in no time, meanwhile charming her foster family with her feisty spirit and her fondness for cuddling.
Young Hamilton was a submissive, belly crawling, pup-thetic mess when he came into rescue. He pooped, peed and vomited during his transport from the shelter to the vet. He would pee whenever anyone so much as looked at him. In spite of his problems, a foster home stepped up to care for him and help him
Mr. Wiggins is not a pure GSP, but he is a handsome young brown fellow with white socks and belly, and a lot of energy and curiosity. He may be crossed with Love Bug, since he is always happy to meet new people and dogs. He’s gone to a permanent home with two loving parents
It’s impossible to talk about Louise without mentioning her sidekick, Thelma. They’re sisters with a very special bond. Louise is the fearless one; but she is also blind. She depended on Thelma to guide her around furniture and through the doggie door. When Thelma died of cancer, Louise was lost, missing her helper and lifelong companion. Her
Guero (now Guy) came into rescue around seven years old, skinny and scabbed, but with a foundation of good manners. As his foster home nursed him back to health, they discovered he was polite, eager to please, and played very nicely with his GSP sister, Lyla (adopted through our site). There was some concern about his hearing,
Handsome Ronald was picked up as a stray and sent to a shelter—but the shelter was full! We were told his days were numbered, so we scrambled to find him a good home. Ronald has had quite the adventures since we pulled him. First, he got a plane ride, as Pilots ‘N Paws flew him to northern
Adorable, powder-faced Mila came into rescue around 8 years old, weighing a mere 31 pounds. She was nursing scars, and initially she would flinch at the site of anything with a handle–like a broom or a shovel. It took her a few weeks to feel safe and emerge from her shell, but once she did,
“Who rescued whom?” – the familiar saying goes. For Quixote and Christine, there’s no question. They rescued one another. Just two weeks after Christine lost her beloved GSP, the email about “Buddy” arrived. He desperately needed out of the shelter, asap. She was still grieving and had never fostered, but his imploring eyes staring out from that
Vivian (now Nala) is adopted! This cute puppy showed up at a shelter as a stray. She had a hernia that was repaired when she got spayed, but it was soon discovered that she was leaking urine. All day and all night, urine dripped and soaked everywhere Nala went. It turned out she had some
Pippa was just a pipsqueak (barely 3 months old) when her owner surrendered her because she had been exposed to Parvo, which is contagious, difficult to manage and can be fatal for a young pup. Thank you, Anna, for fostering Pippa until she was healthy enough to move to a new home. Thank you, Lara
Whiskery Otto charmed his foster home by getting along well with the pack, even the cat. (The chicken was another story). In spite of his age and size, he proved himself to be a real snuggle puppy. Thank you, Catherine and Jen, for fostering the Ottopotamus, and thanks Peri and Brian for fostering and adopting
Brody was so skinny when he came into rescue, you could clearly see his ribs and hip bones, but that did not stop him from wagging his tail upon being released from the shelter. We never discovered why he’d lost so much weight, but after several rounds of digestive enzymes and deworming treatments, he finally
