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All I wanted for my Anniversary in January 2002 was a German Shepherd Puppy. My anniversary came.....no puppy. Valentines Day came .....no puppy. Mothers Day came.....no puppy. My birthday in August came...no puppy. My set answer for "what do you want" was "a German Shepherd puppy. Christmas morning, before dawn, my husband tucked this wiggly, warm little body in the bed with me and proclaimed "Merry Christmas!" I guess he figured he might as well give in because I was not going to stop asking. Because it was dark, and I didn't have my glasses on, all I could see was this little black ball of fur, and all I could think was "He gave me a BLACK LAB; WHY would he do that? He KNOWS I want a German Shepherd!" As the fur-ball was busy licking and biting me, I managed to turn the lamp on, and realized that it was a solid Black German Shepherd pup! She was, and remains, the best Christmas gift I ever got!
I wanted to name her something "fierce" like MAJOR, CAPTAIN, COLONEL, GENERAL....you get the idea.....but in all reality, she looked like a little black bear cub. Bear seemed too "plain" for her tho....so I named her Kim's Christmas Bexar (pronounced Bear) after the Presido San Antonio de Bexar, a mission here in San Antonio; she simply became "The Bexar". The Bexar went everywhere with me....simply because leaving her alone was asking for trouble! Her nickname was "Dennis the Menace" because nothing was off limits for The Bexar to get into! The Bexar taught herself to open the fridge...The Bexar taught herself to open the front door (leaving us to install the handle upside down). She squeezed her huge, 100# body thru the cat door to go help Mommy clean the cat boxes....what a good girl!! The Bexar ate fire-starter logs, prompting a call (and a $60 phone consult fee) to poison control! She ate whole pies off of the counter at the holidays in the blink of an eye. She opened the gate and roamed the neighborhood.......... Oh, the stories we can tell about The Bexar.We had to say things in Spanish when we didn't want The Bexar to hear/understand. We laughed that we were going to have to learn German when she figured the Spanish out.
When she was 2 years old, she began having seizures. It took a while to get her regulated on her meds, but she lived the last 9 years of her life with seizures...more with than without. She also developed Pannis, an autoimmune disorder that eventually took her sight. She never let any of these things slow her down.....in fact, she was in such good control with her meds, she went a year without seizures several times. We laughingly called her our "million dollar dog", but she was so worth every penny.
She was one of the funniest, most loving fuzzy critters that I have ever been blessed to spend my life with. She welcomed countless foster dogs into her home, and helped gently train every one. She never met a human or dog, big or small, that she didn't get along with. She had a presence about her that let all of the dogs know that she was The Queen, and even my big male dogs never crossed her, not because she ever was ugly with them, but because THEY knew she was The Bexar, and she ruled.......
She never failed to know when I needed a big Bexar kiss or just a snuggle, and gave of herself as only a dog can. The last year was hard on her. Her Big Bexar personality was there, but her body was tired. Her seizures were in control, but her eyesight went fast, along with her hips. It was just time to let my friend go.....
The morning The Bexar crossed the Bridge, she laid her head in my lap and gave me kissses, just like the first morning so long ago when we first met. I miss her big, booming bark and her huge fuzzy presence in both the house and my heart. She is resting now, in a big black urn in her favorite place....right beside my bed, close to Mommy; I miss you my Bexar. I am so thankful I was allowed to have you in my life.....
Until we meet again.....
I Love You.
Mom
An extremely generous donation was made by Franklin Prieskop.....in memory of Katherine, one of our most dedicated volunteers. She was instrumental in saving so many dogs, and she was taken too soon. She is gone from our lives, but not from our hearts. Thank You Frank; I know Katherine is surrounded by the dogs that she loved so dearly and smiling down on us.
A special THANKS to Mr. James Spates of Austin for us continued, steady support of AGSDR....you are a blessin!
A very generous donation was made by Mr.David McMahon in memory of Jake.
"In Memory of Lucky, the foster dog who never left". A sweet, loving boy who will be missed terribly by Dave and Beth; they were really the lucky ones. Vaya con Dios Amigo...."
A generous donation was received from Ms. Anne B Graves and Paige Alyn in memory of Miss Snickers Jacobs. Snickers touched a lot of lives.
Everybody thinks their dog is "the perfect dog", but I know Snickers (or as she was lovingly called "Miss Doodles") was the perfect dog for Evelyn. Everyone who met her fell in love with her immediately. She came to live out her life with Evelyn at the age of 10 after her original owner died, and it was a match made in heaven. Snickers brought a calmness to Evelyn's house that had never been there before. She was patient with the new pup that was brought in, and definately taught him his place in the pack. She was so gentle and loved all of Evelyn's grandchildren, and they loved her right back. And although she was older, there was no doubt that she was a force to be dealt with when a stranger came to the door! That girl had a BIG bark on her! Miss Doodles allowed no foolishness on her watch!! On her last day, she was licking tears from our faces, trying to Mother everybody...just like she always did. We will always remember her with happy tears and fond memories. She was Evelyn's first German Shepherd, but not her last........We miss you Doodles.
A big THANK YOU to Kathy Nagel and Cheryl Bodenhammer for their generous donation in Memory of Emma Stooksberry, Cindy's best friend.
A generous donation was recived from Laura Wilson in honor of Robbie who was attacked and killed in 2011. Robbie had hip dysplasia and fought a good fight but could not endure the attack. May he rest in peace.
A generous donation was recived from Jo Ann Nickell in honor of Phoenix, a very much loved German shepherd.
A generous donation in honor of Anne and Cathy Sumner and Hanna was received from Phillip, Merry, Robyn, and Cara Rubins.
Phoenix Madison In 2002, Phoenix was approximately 2 years old when she was picked up, as a stray, by Austin Animal Control and taken to Town Lake Animal Shelter. She was rescued by Austin German Shepherd Rescue (AGSDR) just before she was scheduled to be put down. We adopted Phoenix and immediately adopted another girl, Athena, also, from AGSDR. Phoenix and Athena were inseparable. Athena grieves the loss of her buddy and now follows us, like a shadow, moving room to room, never letting us out of her sight. Phoenix was an amazing girl; very talkative, amazingly intuitive, loving and incredibly sweet, but highly protective of her family. She was the perfect girl. We were so blessed to have Phoenix for 10 wonderful years as an integral part of our family. She died April 2012 after multiple (and unpreventable) complications immediately following emergency back surgery. We loved her so very much and miss her terribly! Rest in Peace our precious angel, Phoenix.
Shirley, Kevin, & Rachel Madison
A generous donation was received from Candace Hall in memory of a sweet german shepherd named Sam.
This is given in Memory of our Beloved BEAR. Bear was not a rescue, but in the 12 years we had him he was a mentor to 2 AGSR rescues. Tequila, and older shephard that we had for two wonderful years and now Bolt, that we got as a puppy. Bear potty trained Bolt himself and taught him how to be a gentleman. Bear gave us our Love of the German Shephard Breed. Austin German Shepherd Rescue has helped us make our decision to only adopt from here on. Thank you BEAR for allowing us to share your life for twelve years.
Lynne and Paul Ayllon
Generous donations were made from:
Marylyn Goutmann
Mr and Mrs Roger W Anderson
Teresa Mulinazzi Kempf
Eric and Irene Cruse
In honor of Julian Holtzman who was for decades a lover of German Shepherds and especially his Remi.
Bella Memorial from BuenaVistaPhotography on Vimeo.
Beautiful Bella passed away, August 2012. She was well loved, first and foremost, by Tucker, her protector, friend, running mate, and chew toy. Also honored to share Bella's life were adopters Tom and Karen, fosters Bryce and Amy, BFF Kim, and every single person who ever met her. Bella could attract a crowd. With her huge personality, keen intelligence, athletic prowess, loving nature, and sheer beauty, she charmed everyone she met, and served as a perfect example of all the magnificent qualities of the German Shepherd Dog breed.
A generous donation was made in honor of Cathy Sumner on her birthday by her sister Merry.
Our precious Mesquite never met a stranger. Adopted from a rescue at the age of 2 in 2006, he loved and protected everyone and everything he met, earning him the nickname “Mama Mesquite”. He would always allow kittens to pull on his tail and tug on his ears without as much as a grunt. He would pace anxiously awaiting the birth of kittens and if one was lost, he would bring the kitten back to the mama or lead one of his humans to the stranded kitten. In the last days of his life, even when he was very sick himself, he was mama to a stray fawn which had wandered onto our property. Gentle with kids, we have never seen a more tolerant dog than he who would put up with the two year old who tried to ride him. Our sweet baby left us way too soon, we miss him dearly. Heaven truly has an angel with them today!
Griffin Family
Our Bella girl went to heaven today. We will miss her, but she is able to run and play once more. We will see you at the Rainbow Bridge my love!
Laurie McKay
A generous donation was made by Sarah Alward in honor of Alec and Emy Alward, in memory of their two beautiful german shepherds, Maggie and Daisy.
In Memory of AndyAndy’s soul-full eyes captured my heart when I saw his picture posted at German Shepherd Rescue.com. back in 2008. His life with me proved his eyes were indeed, the windows to his soul. Loyal, loving, patient, and glad to finally to be in a “forever-home,” Andy refused to let the tumor around his spinal cord destroy his spirit. Despite his pain and uncontrollable back end, he dragged his back legs so he could “walk” with us in the evenings, and he faithfully struggled to get himself through the dog-door so he wouldn’t foul our home. He welcomed me home with joy every afternoon, and loved eating his biscuits every night after dinner. He lived nobly with me until his back legs just would not work any longer. It has been my joy and honor to have had Andy by my side these past four years. I will miss him.
Deborah Ostas
A generous donation was received in memory of Lary Carpenter from Jean L. Griffiths Wright. “Mr Carpenter was the proud owner of many German Shepherds in his life and loved the breed. He would be so happy with your work.”
A gererous gift was received from Kathleen and Vernon Anderson who adopted Charlotte in 2005. Still doing well…….
A generous donation was received from Arvind Raghunathan "In Memory of my German Shepherd Dog Duke who passed away Feb 20, 2011."
AGSDR is very grateful to an extremely generous anonymous donor. Whoever gifted the organization so generously is appreciated, and AGSDR will use the gift carefully and efficiently to save and improve the lives of as many dogs as possible.
A donation was received from Joan Hoburg as an alternative Christmas present to her niece.
A donation was received from Bonnie Cint.
Two very generous donations were received in loving memory of Katherine Cristiani, from Klair and Lisa. Even after her passing, Katherine's legacy continues to save the dogs. Her presence is sorely missed by everyone at AGSDR, and she is remembered every day. Katherine's passing continues to be a source of sadness and grief for AGSDR, however her huge heart, sharp smart personality, and love for the dogs is always remembered with smiles.