Honey Bear

“Honey Bear was dropped off at Oakland Animal Services. She was quite old and not in very good shape. Her eyes were sunken and dry and her fur was matted with dander. She also had a cyst with black discharge coming out of it. That is why I was so moved by the quiet strength and dignity that I saw in her eyes when I first met her.

When I kiss her face she gives me a gentle lick in return as if to say thank you. When I talk to her, if she is standing up, she often gives me a half wag of her tail. She is extremely smart and has adapted quickly to life on my small ranch. She mingles respectfully with the other dogs, cats, chickens, goats, and the rest of the ranch ‘hands’.
She is a picky eater but not in the way most people would think. She will eat a hotdog over imported chicken sausage dog food any time. I have never seen a self respecting ranch dog that did not like horse poop, and she is no exception. Honey has discovered that lying on your back in the sunshine and rolling back and forth is about as good as it gets. Honey has come home, to a veritable doggie paradise, and will live out her life here.”

Angel De San Martin

“Hi! My name is Angel and I am now safely with GSRNC. Even more importantly, I am at home with my new mom, Nicole. I’m still a bit confused by how this happened. All I know is that I found myself all alone in a rural area south of San Jose, with nothing to eat, nowhere comfortable to sleep, and without my people. I really don’t know how I got there but I know I was scared. Luckily, a very nice man from Animal Control gave me a ride to the shelter.

Although the shelter was kind of scary and noisy, it was warm and they fed me well. I waited patiently for my people to come get me, but nobody came. Then one day a nice lady came by, took me out into the play yard, played all sorts of weird games with me, and declared that I could come live with her friends. I was really happy with that because at the shelter I came down with a cough, and my arthritis was really beginning to hurt. The nice lady came back, took me to see a gentle doctor who was very easy to like, and then took me home with her. My cough got better, and my elbows stopped hurting so much. I wonder if those strange hard little pieces of food she gave me every day had something to do with it!

A couple of days later, I took a long car ride to meet my new mom. She is really cool. She knows just what I need, and she lives with two other people who really love me. They are all young and it makes me feel young again just being around them!

When I look back at the past few months, I think that I have ended up in the best place possible. I loved my other family, but this is just the cat’s meow! (oops, did I just say that?)”

Lady Love

In her prime, Lady Love must have been a beauty. Well, actually, she still is! She is about 13 years old, has a great disposition, and she is very sweet. Lady Love melts with affection, absorbing every ounce she gets.

Lady Love is in the advanced stages of degenerative myelopathy, a progressive disease of the spinal cord that causes hind-limb weakness and, eventually, paralysis. But this aging beauty still gets around well enough to follow her new people around the house and yard.

Lady Love has met several younger dogs in her foster home and she is great with all of them. She allows other dogs to lick her muzzle and lie next to her; she also accompanies them around the yard.

We are not sure why Lady Love ended up in a shelter, but her foster mom was determined that she not spend her final days there. Instead, she will be coddled and doted upon, as any loving senior should be. This Lucky Lady has a warm, loving home in which to live out the rest of her life.

Blanca

Blanca is a sweet white GSD who was picked up as a stray. She is very affectionate with people, is gentle and easy going, and pretty much ignores other dogs. She loves to go for walks, and is starting to enjoy riding in the car. Blanca is a great companion dog, she is quiet and undemanding.

Blanca is in our Thulani Program because she has advanced cancer. For now she is happy and does not know she is sick. She is with a very compassionate fosterer who will give Blanca the best life she has ever had for her remaining time. In turn, Blanca always has a smile on her face, a spring to her walk, and a wag to her tail. She takes the best walk of any dog we have seen in a long time, stopping often to thoroughly smell the roses. Blanca lives for the moment, a trait many of us would do well to emulate.

Hawkeye Senior

Hawkeye Sr. is a 13-year old retired drug-sniffing dog whose owner’s medical difficulties made it impossible for him to continue to care for Hawkeye. This aging GSD is still an incredible dog; he loves people, gets along well with other dogs, is very social, and is fixated on his ball or kong. Hawkeye Sr. is partially blind but is also very spry for his age and is still quite athletic.

To quote his foster mom “Hawk is the epitome of ‘young at heart’. He loves to go for walks and take a swim. He is often seen around the house carrying his favorite kong or a toy that he has de-stuffed. He appreciates having free access to the outdoors during the day and has a knack for finding comfy shaded spots in which to take a snooze. Hawk gets along nicely with other dogs and is living nicely with two dog savvy cats. His eyesight isn’t what it used to be so care has to be taken when playing with toys or when carrying objects that look like toys because hands can easily get caught in the way.

Hawk loves all people and is very happy to pal around with just about anyone, though he has a particular fondness for men. Hawkeye Sr. had a great working life, giving his all to society. Now it is our chance to give back to him, by making the rest of his life everything a dog could dream of.