It's heart breaking and although I understand the genesis in this economic environment, this is still surprising:
"About half of the dogs in their rescue are from owner surrenders, while the rest are mostly pulled from public shelters"

 

My next dog will be from a county shelter not a rescue organization. Our home falls short of most rescue's standards. No fenced yard

 

It’s also possible their requirements have changed since they must place more dogs. In your situation your dogs are trained not to run off. If you could show you can do that with a rescue it might work. Although I don’t think your area has the same crisis with thousands of abandoned dogs.

 

Right now in my neighborhood there are 2 flyers on the neighborhood mailboxes of people wanting to rehome their dogs, nothing really said other than they are moving. I wonder if there is more to it. I have seen people post flyers about lost dogs or cats, but never anyone looking to rehome their pets. It's really sad, this is in a town with much higher than average income. It makes me wonder how things are in areas that are not so well off.

 

This situation breaks my heart.

In my mind, shelter dogs are the way to go....

However, I am not qualified to adopt from our local shelter.
-German Shepherds ( labeled high-risk breeds ) require:
-A five-foot fence around the yard. I have none.
-No young or old people in the home. My 85-year-old mom lives with us.
-All currently owned dogs must be spayed or neutered. Ole is intact.

They have also tried to elevate themselves to a no-kill shelter. The result has been a shelter full of questionable dogs who have been there a significant amount of time, and almost no one is qualified to adopt the animals.

They mean well. I volunteered there for a couple of months last year. But they are so committed to being perfect that nothing gets done.

Add in the fact that 75% of the staff (paid and volunteer) won't work with the high-risk animals. So you end up with a 55 year old guy who signed up to walk dogs once a week, coming in and cleaning out the kennels three times a week. There are few things quite as demoralizing as a paid staff sitting around complaining all day about why no one will hire them for real jobs while a handful of volunteers do all of the grunt work.

Sorry, I'm a bit bitter about that experience. Maybe other shelters are more effective and my experience was a one-off situation.

@KaymanPup

Yes, I am also seeing an uptick in personal rehomings through Craigslist and NextDoor. The shelter system of accepting and rehoming dogs has slowed to a halt, so personal rehomeings are all that is left in the area.

 

However, I am not qualified to adopt from our local shelter.
-German Shepherds ( labeled high-risk breeds ) require:
-A five-foot fence around the yard. I have none.
-No young or old people in the home. My 85-year-old mom lives with us.
-All currently owned dogs must be spayed or neutered. Ole is intact.

Before I decided to go for a puppy from a breeder, I applied for a very nice looking and sounding spayed female GSD from a rescue. Denied! Why? My fence was not high enough and we had a twelve year old intact male Whippet. I had been training pet dogs professionally with good references, live on 5 acres and am basically home. All kids are adults. These kind of rescues contribute to their own problems. I can understand that as soon as a dog puts one foot in the rescue, they are spayed and neutered. Personally I will not get a neutered or spayed puppy only to get health problems later on because of it.

 

I got turned down for an adoption from a Humane Society before I got Rogan, same thing; the non-fenced yard was an immediate disqualification.

No matter that I'm an experienced owner for decades and my dogs are well trained, live a life travelling between a home alongside woods, streams, waterfalls, ponds, ravines where they hike 3-4X a day and another home on a lake where they get to swim, boat and hike in more remote areas.

No, they need a fence in their lives to be complete ....

I would still consider a rescue or shelter but it would have to be a case where there was a young surrender and they knew the dog's history/heath. Harley was a re-home att he breeder where his first (2 week) owner found him too intense. Hand up, I'll take him!

 

It's really bad here in Texas too. So many dogs and not nearly enough homes. 💔

 

This particular one, GSROC, is the gold standard of rescue groups. They used to place an average of 300-400 dogs per year. Now based on other articles I’ve read, they have months where they may not place any dogs.

this.
so regardless of all the stories where a rescue wouldn’t adopt to someone because they didn’t have a fence…… this is an example of a rescue WITH a fence requirement that was still placing 300-400 dogs a year and now experience dry months.

the weather is getting cooler. someone stole your jacket in high school…… ok, but it’s cold now.

 

There are ways to get around a fence requirement, too. Build a fence, get a dog run, etc. I know personally two people who adopted from rescues who don’t have full fencing. One has a ranch and her fences are all western style for horses. A dog can jump them or climb through the slats. She has two rescued dogs and a foster. Another has several acres with open spaces and took a very calm dog, again no one cared about fences. I agree, I would be upset if I had been turned down but I’d try again. Situations change. The majority of people who apply to adopt are accepted. I don’t think anyone here criticizes someone for getting a breeder dog, either.

@Dogma in my state alone at any one time there are easily 1,000 or more homeless dogs.

 

granted, it’s AI

There isn't a single, up-to-date number for homeless dogs in all of California, but data from Shelter Animals Count shows that in 2024, nearly 3 million dogs and cats entered California shelters and rescues. While this number represents animals entering the shelter system, it doesn't include the dogs living on the streets or in other situations, so the total number of homeless dogs in the state is likely higher.

 

One thing everyone needs to remember... A lot of these dogs are being transported to different parts of the country, thus spreading diseases. And where do most of them come from???? BYB's and Puppy Mills, and "Doodle" breeders.... Those people only care about getting their money from the puppy and not about finding it a lifetime home. Once the puppy is gone, they wash their hands while pumping out more puppies. And those spur of the moment puppy owners who are not responsible and dump the pups when they have an issue.

Most reputable breeders take their puppy's back if that is ever needed, and then they find them a new home or keep them themselves, thus not ending up in a shelter or rescue.

Now if you opt to go Rescue or Shelter, then be prepared to possibly get a dog with lots of issues. Only support your local shelter or rescue. Do not support PETA or HSUS financially. The majority of those animals are put to sleep and the money goes to salaries of their top employees.

That said, you have to do what is right for yourself, not what others pressure you to do....

 

Rescue simply means bought anymore. After passing an interview.
Go catch some kittens out of a briar patch on the side of a road if you want an authentic rescue experience.

 

Some people here are out of touch with what the rescue situation is like in some states. It’s not what you are used to. These rescues are not buying puppy mill dogs. Dogs are being dumped in record numbers in shelters, in rural areas, everywhere. It’s impossible to wrap your head around it unless you experience it first hand. The rescues here spend a lot of money treating sick and injured animals. The shelters also treat sick dogs. Rescued dogs aren’t all diseased. They don’t all have behavior problems. I’m a little distressed my thread which is intended to make people more aware has been sidetracked by anti rescue, anti shelter comments. There is a time to talk about those, so why not create your own thread and let the rest of us discuss the rescue crisis here.

 

There is a time to talk about those, so why not create your own thread and let the rest of us discuss the rescue crisis here.

I think there is a difference between anti-rescue/shelter and being frustrated by the direction our local shelter has taken over the past decade.

I have been a lifelong supporter of shelters. Every year, my wife and I donate 10% of our income to support local community groups. For over 20 years, the local shelter was on that list.

One of my daughters and her cousin had their first "job" at the local shelter. I am a big fan of kids earning their money rather than getting an allowance... When they turned 12, I 'hired' them to work at the shelter. Every Wednesday after school, we would drop them off. They would attend the kids' after-school education program. Then, they would stay for 2 hours afterwards to do chores for the shelter. Every two weeks, they would get a 'time card' from the shelter and I would pay them. Over time, this grew to 2 X 4-hour shifts.

The shelter was great about it. The girls were usually allowed to split their time between things like doing laundry( there alway seemed to be an endless pile of towels and bedding that needed to be washed, folded, and stacked), and 30-45 minutes of picking up poop in one of the yards (even the best jobs usually involved some amount of working with poop, might as well learn that early in life), and "socializing the kitties". We did a lot of Saturday workdays as a family as well.

Then something started to change. I will gladly go back to supporting them if they can find their way back to their original mission.

P.S. When she turned 16, our daughter started "volunteering/working" at a local nursing home. When she turned 18 she was old enough to get paid by the nursing home instead of by dad Now she is in medical school. I credit a lot of that to those early experiences folding laundry and picking up poop at the shelter when she was 12.

 

But I think the point - and @davewis i love that - is that right now shelters need on the ground support re people adopting and pulling dogs, rescues pulls dogs and people who just want a pet would be just as well off getting a dog from a shelter - or rescue if reputable and experienced at assessing the dog. Which that one rescue mentioned I believe is.

I mean I think even for me - I love the idea of getting a well-bred GSD that will have good discernment and protective behaviours while being - imagine - environmentally stable - but do I really need a dog from a breeder? Probably not. Frankly I worry a well bred dog would walk all over Toby bless the man. So I’m in two minds personally.

But that shouldn’t take away from the very real need right now. Even in Canada we’re aware of how bad the situation is in California, especially LA like it’s insane.

I don’t like the movement of dogs by rescues across international borders - too many dogs here bring possible disease - when Luc was in his final year there was a flu that was coming from Thailand AND the US - and people here would proudly flaunt their non-Canadian dog - I found it stressful - but like I said - right now shelters need help, so do rescues. We see that here in Toronto too. It’s not as bad but it’s not good equally. You see the change. While there are regularly shepherds/mixes the number of bullies (illegal but listed as “bulldogs” ahaha) is truly heartbreaking. But obviously here we have a soft spot for GSDs!!!!

 

Here "rescue" people under a charity name cherry pick pound dogs and adopt them out for a fee. Last time I asked it was $160, that does NOT include vet fees for shots and neutering.
Lucky came from a place like this.

The local county shelters have been full my entire life. In the 80s that was how we got 2 borzois. The local shelter could not afford to feed them. Back then the local dog club worked with the shelter to save the most at risk animals. I don't suppose that happens anymore.
Sadie was turned out from a puppy farm in Roane county and Flame was seized from a breeder charged with animal cruelty in Kanawha county.

We have adopted many dogs and cats from shelters over the years. 10-15 or so. I have lost count.
Some we found and no one claimed. Some were newborn and abandoned and we raised them so they would not be put down.

You can work until your eyes bleed but placing animals will never solve the problem. The supply must be contracted and the current trend for mutts like doodles to have value is working against you.
Jill and I have done our time. We had 9 dogs living here not so long ago.
If I wish to purchase a GSD with a known pedigree to avoid the health problems associated with them, it isnt your business. Stop demonizing me and the breeder I got Paddy from. People charging thousands for pups aren't the problem.

 

Stop demonizing me and the breeder I got Paddy from

Nobody is doing that.

The supply must be contracted and the current trend for mutts like doodles to have value is working against you.

I believe this to be true. Too many people making bad choices = dog overpopulation.

 

Nobody is doing that.

A Facebook thing. I apologize.
I got a dog from the pound for father's day. Mia

and a surprise gift.

Rudy was in the newspaper add so Jill and Jeanna went and got him.

Chewy, Dyson, Bodie and Bailey.
Toby was supposed to be 1/2 Jack Russell and 1/2 ACD

He was supposed to have been conceived on a fire escape.
Daisy and Lilly. Max and Molly, Sadie and Flame. Ella, Indy, Tooby, Mulligan, Jazzy, Mocha, Louie, Kit, Olive. Lucky. Bear was given to us because he was too big.

It's your turn now. Go rescue as many as you can. Give them a great life. Every one of them has been a blessing to us. We got old and are winding down.

Jill is feeding the neighborhood cats and a beautiful male Manx showed up today. Now I have to build a winter cat house.

 

Cassidy’s Mom gets her dogs from reputable breeders. Fodder gets her dogs from various shelters and rescues. Cassidy’s Mom and Fodder are friends….

Be like Cassidy’s Mom and Fodder

 

Great now I gotta up my cool quotient

 

Not a GSD, but I got the coolest, smartest kitten from my local shelter many years back and he & I learned marker training together before I ever had a dog. Miss you Zack.

 

I've had 7 dogs since my husband passed in 1999. Five were from the local animal shelter, two from the same GSD rescue. Every one has been/is wonderful in their own way. Some day I'll write about each and every one. "Rosebud" saved me from severe depression after my husband passed at the young age of 52.

 

"Rosebud" saved me from severe depression after my husband passed at the young age of 52.

I know many & myself too that a pet helped get us through a rough time in our lives. I feel sorry for those with no pets. I met a lady just the other day outside our local grocery store. She approached me, because everywhere I have ever lived I'm always known as the "German Shepherd lady" even to those I have never met as I'm always out everywhere with a GSD so I'm quite noticeable. One of the things she said & I totally agree with, she said she does not trust people that hate dogs. I agree, I'm not talking someone that by choice doesn't have one, because of their personal situation, but people that really dislike dogs. I think their hearts are missing something. It doesn't matter where they came from, but they give us much more than the other way around. Hugs to all.

 

I'm not really too concerned that I was turned down for an adoption and already stated that I would certainly entertain a dog from a shelter but in my case, it would need to be a surrender where there was a lineage/health history available.

With a brief search, there are about 16 rescues within an hour of me and clicking on just one of them, I stopped counting at 231 dogs currently available. So yes, it's heart breaking when half are surrenders where the owners simply feel they can't care for them any more. A hint to the broader issues is food banks are jammed.

 

@Jax08 you are the coolest!

I didn’t intend for this to be a “promote adoption, hate breeders” thread. I am also dismayed it started to go the other way. I didn’t mean to offend anyone who was turned down by a rescue or who only wants a breeder dog. I’ve done both and I’ve subscribed to both. There were times I would only get a dog from a breeder and times I said I would never buy another one again.

If anyone wants to adopt a dog and doesn’t want to face rescue requirements, take a trip to California. Just about any shelter will let you adopt a dog without any restrictions. Contact the shelter ahead of time to make sure they will adopt to out of state owners. If you foster they do a background check, but if you pay their $50 fee or whatever it is at the time, the dog is yours without checking you out. There are so many dogs right now they can’t afford to be picky.

I don’t care where anyone else gets a dog, as long as you get the dog you want and can be happy with. Well, I don’t like puppy mills, but none of us do. BYBs can be a crapshoot but one of my best dogs as a teenager was from a random BYB. One of my sickest dogs ever was from a good breeder. He had bad luck with health but I still got a dog I adored.

If you really want to adopt a dog from a GSD rescue group, volunteer. Offer to foster a dog. If you can’t do that, become a dog walker. Offer to take their dogs to training or the vet. Donate. Let them get to know you. Make sure they know you will follow their guidelines. Most rescues insist their dogs live indoors. They prefer the dogs not be locked up in crates all the time and ignored. They want to know the dogs will get training, love, exercise and a good diet. They want to know it will be a forever home. I can guarantee if the rescue decision makers know your love of the breed and your experience and they like you, they will eventually let you adopt a dog.

 

Let's all back up.
I don't see anyone really bashing good breeders or the rescues or shelters for that matter.
And I agree with LuvShepherds, get a dog that works for you, breeder or rescue or shelter but understand the latter two need your support right now, one way or the other.

Thanks for starting the thread.

 

It sickens me that shelters are jammed. But as I have repeatedly stated,the system is broken.
Giving transfusions without stopping the bleeding is pointless.
Start pressuring the powers that be.
Stop importing street dogs from other countries.
Start a real smack down on these puppy mills
Hold owners and breeders responsible.
Stop taking up space with dogs that will never be adaptable.
And shut down these problem causing "rescues" that are breeding dogs surrendered to them.
Im beginning to think you should have to pass a basic competency test to own a dog.
Housing needs to be addressed. In Ontario landlords cant say no pets and you cant be evicted for having them. That needs to be everywhere.
Low cost spay neuter clinics need more funding.
And basic obedience classes should be available at no cost.

 

@LuvShepherds I’m late to the convo, but thank you for starting this thread and for navigating it the way that you did. I know your intent was to highlight the help GSD rescues need right now and that one of the most well run GSD rescues in SoCal may not make it through the end of the year. It’s truly heartbreaking.

So many valid comments throughout this thread…As WNGD pointed out, sadly the situation at this rescue is a sign of the times we are in: macroeconomic challenges, global instability, layoffs and job losses, are all adding to the problem of overloaded shelters and rescues, which are facing increasing costs and reduced support. Much like food insecurity, the issue is nuanced and requires a multi-pronged solution.

Hugs to all. While we may not agree on everything, we do all share a love for this masterpiece of a breed we are fortunate to share our lives with.

 

I've tried to rescue a GSD from GSROC & Westside GS Rescue in LA several times. They have denied me every time because my yard fences are only 4 ft tall and they DEMAND 6 ft fences. I live on 4 acres, 1 1/2 acre fenced for dogs, nearest neighbor 100 yds away. I've had 10 GSDs and a few Goldens. NONE of the GSDs ever left the property, although 1 or 2 walked around to the front door and waited on my porch for my return.
These rescues are more focused on their specific demands than they are on a potential owner's care and attention. My Goldens liked to follow their noses around town. My GSDs were all trying to find ME!
The rescues that I have encountered are missing a LOT of potential suitors!
JP

 

Rather than blaming rescues for requiring fencing we need to look at why it’s a requirement. Dogs that land in shelters or rescues sometimes end up there because they run away. Dogs jump fences, dogs get loose and wander. They get hit by cars. They get stolen. They eat something bad and get poisoned. it is not that difficult to put in a 6’ high fence in a small area. It costs something but if we love dogs aren’t they important enough to keep them safe?

I had an online friend I met elsewhere who was a small hobby breeder of WGSLs and a dog trainer. She lived in a rural area. Her yard was several acres and had low fencing near the house, but if her dogs wanted to run they could easily get past it. They were well trained and had perfect recall. One day a moose ran across her property and the dogs chased it. Six dogs disappeared chasing after the moose. She called and for the first time, every dog blew off the recall. She could not follow them in a car, so she waited and eventually they returned. Their foot pads had worn off and were bleeding. She felt very lucky that they came back to her.

Rescues lose dogs to stupid people behavior. When I adopted from a rescue in 2010 they told me they had just lost a dog that someone let off leash and it was hit by a car. The man wanted a refund because they gave him an untrained dog. Another dog was returned to them with severe spinal damage because the adopters threw a frisbee near an empty swimming pool and the dog fell in and was injured. It’s the same with people who insist rescues give them an intact dog when they know it’s never going to happen. Rescues can’t assume anyone will do the right thing so they go on past experience. They don’t know you and people lie. People make poor decisions. People say they have German Shepherd experience when their skills are limited. We see that here.

So I have a question for everyone who is blaming the rescues for turning them down. Why is the rescue to blame because it’s not important enough for a dog owner to have fencing? When we moved here we only looked at homes with 6’ fencing. It was for our protection and privacy. Fencing costs money but isn’t it worth it’s if it means you can get a dog and keep it safe? I’m not singling out any one person and not the previous poster but it did make me think. Every time this forum has a pro rescue thread, many people come into complain that rescues won’t allow them to adopt because of fencing or some other reason they can’t get approval to adopt. So, then don’t adopt. There are other ways to get dogs. But don’t blame the rescues for your personal situation.

I had one breeder who refused to sell me a dog even though she advertised a litter. She wanted a specific type of home and owner and I was not it. I was extremely annoyed at first, but then I realized it was her dog, her decision and I moved on. She never sold to anyone who lived in my area, only to certain counties. It was an odd bias but I did not qualify. Does that make her a bad person? It also doesn‘t make rescues bad for having their own rules. We tend to give breeders a lot of leeway when they discriminate based on specific criteria, but don’t want to give rescues the same consideration.

 

Over the last 20 years, I got my three GSDs as adults from rescues, two of them from Westside German Shepherd Rescue in Los Angeles, and they were/are all great dogs (two have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge). That rescue usually has 80-100 GSDs to choose from, and even though I live in NM, I make the effort to either go there or have their van driver bring the dog to me. Their adoption counselor will work with you to find a dog that fits your situation. I do have a 6-foot fence now, but with Jedi, I was just in the process of building it and I showed WGSR photos of the partial construction, which they accepted.
Whenever one of my GSDs gets old and sickly and I know his time is coming, I always start looking online at all of the rescue groups. It's like online dating, choosing a potential partner, LOL. I like the fact that I know how the dog will turn out because he's already an adult, and I'm too old to raise a puppy.
I always look locally at shelters and rescues for a couple of months, but in NM the majority of shelter dogs are "pibbles," which I would not own. So I end up going to CA. I've found that one advantage of CA (unlike Texas or NM, with their intense thunderstorms) is that most dogs from CA don't have a phobia about thunder and lightning because even if they were tied out in their first owner's yard, they were not terrorized and traumatized by being in the middle of a storm with no escape.

[New addition/edit] I forgot to mention that it often is possible to get a purebred adult GSD from a shelter or a rescue that was not neutered at an early age because a lot of the dogs that are taken in were not neutered by their first owners. My current GSD was taken in by Westside GSR around age 3, and he was intact so they neutered him. He's very active and has no spinal or hip problems, probably because of the late neutering.
And I could say that this dog saved me from a rattlesnake bite twice this summer--probably the same snake in my yard. I had taken my dog to a Rattlesnake Avoidance Clinic 3 years in a row, and he definitely learned to identify rattlesnakes by their smell, sound, and appearance. Considering that he has a crazy prey drive and will kill anything that moves (rabbits, mice, pack rats, gophers, lizards, bull snakes, bees, grasshoppers, you name it), it's almost miraculous that the one creature he runs from and, if leashed, pulls me away from is a rattlesnake.