Red Stick German Shepherd Rescue
Samantha ("Sam") is a lovable female German Shepherd Dog. The "snow" on her muzzle shows her wise, old character, but she's still young at heart. Unfortunately, she's been waiting for a home for along time -- most people want shiny, new puppies and won't give a senior dog like Samantha another look. It's their loss, as she's pretty wonderful. One look at her sweet face shows how much personality this golden girl has!
We don't know her exact age, but it's over 7.
Samantha's had a rough patch, but she deserves to be pampered and loved. She had glaucoma, so she lost one of her eyes. She never missed a beat and acts like nothing ever happened. (She'll be on very inexpensive eye drops for life in her good eye, to keep from getting glaucoma in it -- the generic medicine costs under $20 bottle).
We also got her much-needed hip surgery, relieving pain on a bad hip. That gave her a new lease on life!
One of the great "secrets" of this breed is that the very best years start once they're seniors. They almost seem to have telepathy to read the thoughts of the people they love at this age. They're done with puppy mischief and ready to just enjoy life. Most Shepherd-owners describe these as the "magic" years.
Sam still has a lot of life left in her -- she's the most energetic, active senior we've ever known. She loves water and has her own swimming pool in her foster home. She plays with the water hose during the filling of the pool, biting playfully at the stream of water.
She warms up to some new dogs slowly, but she does okay once she knows them and trusts them, especially with good leadership from her person. However, she would be happiest as an only dog (and she does not like small dogs).
She's still a solid, well-built dog. As she may knock over small children, she isn't recommended for little ones (though older, considerate kids could be okay).
Through all her ordeals, she was a great patient and made lots of friends at the vet clinic. The rescue already paid for this expensive surgeries and handled her rehabilitation so that her adopter won't have to -- she just needs someone to love on her now.
She's house trained and ready to join you on the couch (or in the pool....).