Also known as Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue (AGSDR)           A 501(c)(3) non-profit, 100% volunteer organization

German Shepherds Are Known for Helping People...   Now It's Our Turn to Help Them

          Our         To rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home German Shepherds from across the State of Texas.

      Mission:         To educate the public about the versatility and ability of the German Shepherd Dog...
...from Family Pet to Working Dog.

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Why Become a Foster Parent?

We hope these stories can help you understand why we do it...

It always blows me away how when “the right” family walks in your door,

the family and the dog know it… and the dog rarely even glances back over its shoulder.

It is like the dog has just been waiting for them to come.  A miracle to watch!

...Megan Kazda

Why I Foster

As an experienced foster parent, I can tell you that the dogs coming into rescue range from dream dog to hell hound, and all in between. 

Most doggie problems are just old bad habits the dog came with...or new ones that develop when you give it too much free roam.  The stories of chewed furniture and stained rugs abound in rescue groups, but most damage can be avoided with careful supervision, the use of crates, and consistent training. There will always be exceptions.. .you were watching the dog and the television and didn't notice the dog had started chewing on the throw rug...but those will be much less if you are careful in the beginning and give the new dog freedom only as (s)he earns it.   

To me fostering is forever having a new exciting dog and a new chance for you to be a hero; a new chance to save a life.  I want a hundred dogs...and this way, I get them.  And I want to be something more than just one more face in a crowd of a few billion.  It's selfish and selfless and I don't know which is more the engine driving that desire for a new foster.  I've thought many times of taking a break after this dog or that one.  But every time, there's a new face waiting.  And knowing how good it feels for me to help that next face.  What it does for my heart.  And for the hearts of however many new family members that face will end up with.     

And when I leave this earth, not much will remain of who Liz Miller was, except this.  My kids will have told their kids stories of me.  My grandkids, too, should I have them before I die.  And out there, a hundred people will tell stories of dogs they had as a kid.  The dog that made them love dogs for the rest of their lives...and maybe even specifically the German Shepherd Dog.  That then led to their kids loving dogs.  And it started with a dog that I, Liz Miller, got to help save.

That's why you want to be a foster parent.  And it's worth every $100 shoe you ever lose.  Really it is.  

And if you prefer, there are so many other ways to help those faces...it's in all that we do.  The fundraising, the working of adoption applications, doing home visits, getting ads in the paper...the list is endless.  But my vote goes for being a foster home.  I do some of the other stuff, too, but nothing compares to having that dog in your house, giving it a reprieve from a death sentence, and seeing some happy family drive off with it.  Even if it did start out a hell hound.

Written by Liz Miller
Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue

A different day at Rainbow Bridge

Unlike most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray.

All the recent arrivals at the Bridge did not know what to think, as they had never seen such a day.   But the animals who had been waiting longer for their beloved people to accompany them across the Bridge knew what was happening and they began to gather at the pathway leading to the Bridge.

Soon an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail dragging.  He approached slowly, and though he showed no sign of injury or illness, he was in great emotional pain.  Unlike the animals gathered along the pathway, he had not been restored to youth and vigor upon arriving at the Bridge.  He felt out of place and wanted only to cross over and find happiness.

But as he approached the Bridge, his way was barred by an angel, who apologized and explained that the tired and broken-spirited old dog could not cross over.  Only those animals accompanied by their people were allowed to cross the Bridge.  Having nobody, and with nowhere else to turn, the dog trudged into the field in front of the Bridge.  There he found others like himself, elderly or infirm, sad and discouraged.

Unlike the other animals waiting to cross the Bridge, these animals were not running or playing. They simply were lying in the grass, staring forlornly at the pathway across the Rainbow Bridge.  The old dog took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting, yet not knowing what he was actually waiting for.

One of the newer dogs at the Bridge asked a cat who had been there longer to explain what was happening.  The cat replied, "Those poor animals were abandoned, turned away, or left at rescue places, but never found a home on earth.  They all passed on with only the love of a rescuer to comfort them.  Because they had no people to love them, they have nobody to escort them across the Rainbow Bridge."

The dog asked the cat, "So what will happen to those animals?"  Before the cat could answer, the clouds began to part and the cold
turned to bright sunshine.  The cat replied, "Watch, and you will see."  In the distance was a single person, and as she approached the Bridge the old, infirm, and sad animals in the field were bathed in a golden light. They were all at once made young and healthy, and stood to see what their fate would be.  The animals who had previously gathered at the pathway bowed their heads as the person approached.

At each bowed head, the person offered a scratch or hug. One by one, the now youthful and healthy animals from the field fell into line behind the person.  Together, they walked across the Rainbow Bridge to a future of happiness and unquestioned love. The dog asked the cat, "What just happened?"  The cat responded, "That was a rescuer."

The animals gathered along the pathway bowing in respect were those who had found their forever homes because of rescuers.  They will cross over when their people arrive at the Bridge.  The arrival here of a rescuer is a great and solemn event, and as a tribute they are permitted to perform one final act of rescue.  They are allowed to escort all those poor animals they couldn't place on earth across the Rainbow Bridge and into Heaven."

The dog thought for a moment, then said, "I like rescuers." The cat smiled and replied, "So does heaven, my friend. So does heaven."

Written by Benny
CCDR/DUR/TRUCKNPAWS
Saving the World, four paws at a time
Foster home, Hospice

http://www.trucknpaws.com/

I Have Done Something

I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society.

I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness, and betrayal.
And I was angry.

"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?"

God was silent for a moment, and then spoke softly,
"I have done something," was the reply. "I created you."

My Foster Dog

My foster dog stinks to high heaven.
I don't know for sure what breed he is.
His eyes are blank and hard.
He won't let me pet him and growls when I reach for him.

He has ragged scars and crusty sores on his skin.
His nails are long and his teeth, which he showed me, are stained. I sigh.
I drove two hours for this.

I carefully maneuver him so that I can stuff him in the crate. Then I heft
the crate and put it in the car. I am going home with my new foster dog.

At home I leave him in the crate till all the other dogs are in the yard. I
get him out of the crate and ask him if he wants "outside." As I lead him to
the door he hikes his leg on the wall and shows me his stained teeth again.

When we come in, he goes to the crate because that's the only safe place he
sees. I offer him food but he won't eat it if I look at him, so I turn my
back. When I come back, the food is gone.

I ask again about "outside." When we come back, I pat him before I let
him in the crate; he jerks away and runs into the crate to show me his
teeth.

The next day I decide I can't stand the stink any longer.
I lead him into the bath with cheese in my hands. His fear of me is not
quite overcome by his longing for the cheese.
And well he should fear me, for I will give him a bath.

After an attempt or two to bail out he is defeated and stands there. I
have bathed four legged bath squirters for more years than he has been
alive. His only defense was a show of his stained teeth, that did not hold
up to a face full of water.

As I wash him, it is almost as if I wash not only the stink and dirt away
but also some of the hardness. His eyes look full of sadness now. And he
looks completely pitiful as only a soap covered dog can.

I tell him that he will! feel better when he is cleaned. After the soap,
the towels are not too bad, so he lets me rub him dry.

I take him outside. He runs for joy . . . the joy of not being in the tub
and the joy of being clean.

I, the bath giver, am allowed to share the joy. He comes to me and lets me
pet him.

One week later I have a vet bill. His skin is healing. He likes for me to
pet him ( I think). I know what color he will be when his hair grows in.

I have found out he is terrified of other dogs, so I carefully introduce
him to my mildest four legged brat. It doesn't go well.

Two weeks later a new vet bill for an infection, that was missed on the
first visit. He plays with the other dogs.

Three weeks later his coat shines, he has gained weight.
He shows his clean teeth when his tongue lolls out
after he plays chase in the yard with the gang.

His eyes are soft and filled with life. He loves hugs and likes to show
off his tricks, if you have the cheese.

Someone called today and asked about him. They saw the picture I took the
first week. They asked about his personality, his history, his breed. They
asked if he was pretty. I asked them lots of questions.

I checked up on them.
I prayed.
I said yes.

When they saw him the first time they said he was the most beautiful dog
they had ever seen.

Six months later, I got a call from his new family.
He is wonderful, smart, well behaved, and very loving.

How could someone not want him?
I told them I didn't know.
He is beautiful.
They all are.

Unknown Author
 

I would've died that day if not for you.

I would've given up on life if not for your kind eyes.
I would've used my teeth in fear if not for your gentle hands.
I would have left this life believing that all humans don't care
Believing there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted
Skin that isn't flea bitten
Good food and enough of it
Beds to sleep on
Someone to love me
To show me I deserve love just because I exist.

Your kind eyes, your loving smile, your gentle hands
Your big heart saved me...

You saved me from the terror of the pound,
Soothing away the memories of my old life.
You have taught me what it means to be loved.
I have seen you do the same for other dogs like me.

I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair
Why you do it
When there is no more money, no more room, no more homes
You open your heart a little bigger, stretch the money a little tighter
Make just a little more room to save one more like me.
I tell you with the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes
In the best way I know how
Reminding you why you go on trying.

I am the reason
The dogs before me are the reason
As are the ones who come after.
Our lives would've been wasted, our love never given
We would die if not for you.

(used by permission of the author)
By Kim Senke-Rocka
Associate Executive Director
Heart Bandits American Eskimo Dog Rescue

Dedication To Draco 

by Jan Miller, 10/05/05

I'm not sure why you do this, bringing strange dogs into our home,

I hate the mess, the cost, the time, just leave them free to roam.

You simply cannot understand the feeling that I get

When I look into a pair of big brown eyes and make this stray a pet.  

To take an injured animal and show him love and grace

Is more than I can make you understand, no feeling can this replace  

To know he would die for me for nothing more than a bed and a meal

it's not always the dog who benefits or only his heart that starts to heal.  

I have discovered things inside myself by doing what I do

I have no way to explain this other than to show this thing to you.

  I called over one of my foster dogs, so sick and ill when he came

for all that he has suffered at the hands of man, he still casts no blame  

he loves me for the things I've done to show him that I care

I stroke the naked skin with sores still barren of his beautiful hair.  

He knows that I love him and burrows under my chin

This dog that arrived so scared, sickly and so thin.  

He gives a gentle kiss and lays his head down in my lap

Content and secure in my love for him, and takes a little nap.  

No worries does he show, no nervous looks around.

he knows I will cherish him, and keep him safe, this gift that I have found.  

A gentle sigh escapes his lips and he settles in to sleep

I gaze upon his ravaged body and my eyes begin to weep.

  If you can't see what I am showing you, what is going on right now

The look of utter contentment upon this babe's furrowed brow  

And know that he would die for me, if this he's asked to do

Then I cannot make you understand and my heart weeps for you.  

For you must have never known the love of a creature so noble and so bold

Just for giving him something to eat and bringing him in from the cold.  

He doesn't care how much I weigh or even what job I do

And whether you realize it or not, he would do the same for you  

All for just a little love, some compassion and a kind word

Listen with your heart to the song you just now have heard.  

The song of a singing heart, that wants so badly to love

It’s the sound of Angel's singing, from heaven up above  

You have to listen hard to hear it, not just anyone can

It's the sound of a loyal dog giving his heart to man.  

Did you listen; did you hear it, the song coming from his heart?

You don't have to hear it loudly; just a whisper is a start.

 I don't hear anything, just a dog snoring in his sleep

I still don't understand why all of these mutts you must keep.

  How do you make someone see this who just doesn't understand?

The stirrings felt deep in our souls for the beasts abused by man?  

I take a ragged breath and let out a sigh of defeat

I do know in my heart that I can't save every dog I meet  

but God has brought you to me and placed you in my care

so I have locked you deep in my heart and keep you safe in there.  

This won't be the last time that someone questions what I do

But I will not turn my back on you sweet babe, this I promise you.