Molly

Meet our barely one-year-old stunning sable Dude!!!  Dude arrived in his foster home before the Holidays and settled right in with his m... show more

Meet our barely one-year-old stunning sable Dude!!!  Dude arrived in his foster home before the Holidays and settled right in with his mate, the resident male shepherd, to learn the rules of his temporary household while we learn more about him. Dude loves his people, loves to snuggle in their laps both on the floor and when he invites himself on to laps on couches.  He's learning to be invited to share space on furniture and general boundaries different from his original household.  Dude plays well with the resident shepherd and can entertain himself with toys both in the same room with his people and alone elsewhere in the house.  He is potty trained and trustworthy in the house.  A bright, playful, and fun boy, Dude is treat motivated to learn new requests such as paw, sit, down, wait, and other common commands quickly. He has tender pads that need callouses as they get sore from the hardscape in active outdoor play with his dog mate and other relatives' dogs. He sometimes is overwhelmed by rough dog play styles and needs gentle support.  He barks to let his family know that there are new people in the house when visitors arrive, followed by taking treats and being petted. Dude has a slight preference for male guests, generally more relaxed and playful with them over female guests. When excited, he can be mouthy but corrects readily.  His leash manners need some work as he can be overly interested in dogs on walks, barky behavior. On the other hand, he rides well in the car although a little nervous as if he hasn't been on car rides to fun destinations.  He is an owner surrender via a partner rescue, raised by his original family from a wee puppy. We love that his puppy picture can be part of his bio photos. Dude was the only sable pup in his litter when his folks chose him to bring home. Duke grew up with three kids, the youngest seven years old. Job circumstances have led to exceptionally long hours away from home for his family resulting in them finding a better option for their beloved boy.  We'd love for Dude's next family to incorporate further training and socialization, provide consistent rules and structure for him to thrive along with lots of play and love. We'd love to discuss matches with folks with shepherd or similar working breed dog experience and time to include this sweet boy in their active lifestyle for the rest of his life.  show less

Hello, I'm Dudley. Countless calls, emails, and texts collectively saved my life in the nick of time.   When one of ShepHeroes volunteer... show more

Hello, I'm Dudley. Countless calls, emails, and texts collectively saved my life in the nick of time.   When one of ShepHeroes volunteers saw a rescue request posted about me on Thursday, a friendly 10 month old boy with a tibia fracture that needed help, ShepHeroes began lining up the necessities to pursue me. Knowing the severity of my injuries would likely mean surgery or amputation, arrangements were underway to get me into the UCDVTH Fracture Program. They thought they had a day or so, but mid-morning on Friday they learned that the shelter was giving me until end of day - I was set to be euthanized due to their inability to care for me. Because of staffing shortages, they could not keep my bandages dry to prevent infection and it took two staff members to move me for potty breaks. Shepheroes volunteers had to speed everything up - MY life literally depended on them. A new foster stepped up to help save me, and quickly arranged for me to be seen by their own dogs’ trusted surgeon same day, personally transporting me from the shelter for an orthopedic evaluation. The rescue coordinator lined everything up for me, even offering to personally transport me over an hour away. Healing was finally on the horizon. No one wanted to see me die. I was admitted and slumber partied at the specialty hospital for ‘round the clock care awaiting my surgery. During surgery prep, the x-ray showed an unexpected outcome - my fracture had healed sufficiently with excellent margins, and surgery was no longer necessary! (best. news. EVER.) Since I was already under anesthesia, the surgeon performed my neuter. My leg was then splinted for another week, recently removed with continued crate confinement. December 27th will likely be my final check up with a follow-up set of x-rays, but the surgeon is extremely optimistic, and so is the entire ShepHeroes team! My age undoubtedly helped, but the real credit here goes to the vet staff for their excellent splinting during my shelter stay and the confined care of the specialty vet team for four nights. And my growth plates and teeth showed me to be much younger at about 6 months.  I'm resting comfortably at my foster home, well on my way to recovery. My leg is still very swollen, and activity remains restricted, but my foster mom is already raving about how sweet and smart I am! I'm bored in my crate waiting for all this healing happen, being slightly naughty with tearing up bedding. I just got new toys to relieve my boredom, something about enrichment toys that dispense my kibble as I play. It's keeping me busy for the time being.  My story was shared in this fundraiser to help with my recovery and care costs​​​​, ​​​ https://gofund.me/c5c08cd8.  My folks say that I'll be available for meetings with approved adopters soon. Keep an eye on this space as I'm looking forward to a forever home just as loving as my current foster home.  PS. Our GSD loving family enabled us to save Dudley - thanks to your support, we were able to say YES to this beautiful boy. The funds raised on GivingTuesday provided us the cushion to begin Dudley’s journey, and now we are asking for help to further cover his expenses. The 24-hour care he received in addition to surgery, x-rays and medications quickly added up, and his recovery is still a work in progress. We remain committed to doing whatever it takes! show less

Meet our handsome Finn. This sweet six-month-old gentle pup carried the world's weight on his young shoulders, terrified when we met him... show more

Meet our handsome Finn. This sweet six-month-old gentle pup carried the world's weight on his young shoulders, terrified when we met him back in November. Finn worried if people would be kind to him, wanting to be near and yet unable.  As Finn settled in and got comfortable, a young, carefree puppy emerged.  One that's curious about what's on the kitchen counters, runs through the house with slippers, pounces on toys, bounces in play, and models the resident dogs. His foster family has slowly expanded his world by adding road trips, walks in the neighborhood, and outings to stores.  The first week in his foster home, he would retreat into his crate when overwhelmed, which was frequent, and soon he was part of the pack with the resident four dogs. Sudden movements rarely startle him now. Finn's foster mom is his most trusted person giving her snuggles, kisses throughout the day. He begins each day with boisterous, cheerful morning greetings first thing out of his crate with leaps and pirouettes before he heads out to potty. He'll take the pressure off his bladder and greet all the resident dogs with lip licks, invitations to play before he finishes his potty business. He doesn't freeze when touched all over his body now; instead gently snuggles in closer. Finn is now comfortable with all members of his foster family. He follows the lead of the resident dogs participating in all household activities, greeting guests, taking treats, and hanging out. Some guests get kisses and a belly rub immediately; others take longer. He's had sleepovers with young pups such as Astra at 3.5 months, Oso and Tansy at 8 weeks. The tenderness he displays to towards them and the joy of playing with them has been delightful for us to watch. Their confidence has brought him further out of his shell; he makes himself at home right by his people laying near their feet or next to them on the couch when he gets first dibs.  Finn is potty and crate trained, sleeping up to seven hours at night in his crate. He knows the "go potty" request, always complying when he needs a reminder after heavy play and naps. With a healthy appetite to support his growth spurt, Finn eats meals with gusto. Finn's shyness around his food as if he was reprimanded has disappeared; he will eat out of his people's hands and out of his bowl immediately now.  Finn prefers to eat in the kitchen with the resident dogs. He will wiggle his way into the pack to ensure he doesn't miss out on any love or treats. A quiet boy, he rarely barks or makes any noise except when he thinks a correction from a resident dog was unfair. Finn loves to play tug with toys with the two-year-old shepherd. Due to their size difference, Finn jumps on the couch to be equal in height as they play.  Long road trips are challenging on Finn's tummy since he's still prone to car sickness, but he's a trooper. He settles in quietly once he makes sure his people and dog buddies are in the car. He's been hopping in the car after the resident dogs instead of being helped in. He did terrific on a trip to Tahoe after a nervous first day choosing to stay on the main floor. On the second day, he navigated the stairs easily on a multistory house, exploring the new yard and another toy basket.  He had been found in the streets and brought to the shelter; his people, when contacted, said they'd pass on claiming him. We met him with tidbits of cheese and yummy chicken at the end of his second week at the shelter to end up with his little head snuggled into our hand, seeking love. If we went slow, he allowed us to pet him all over, look at his adult teeth that were peeking through his gums.  It's become apparent Finn likely experienced a heavy hand at some point in his young life. His foster home is very gentle and consistently teaches him to trust humans and leave his worries behind. Finn knows his name and will come running when called from the yard or other rooms in the house.  We'd like a future home for Finn to include a confident, easy-going resident dog and patient folks to provide structure and experiences to expand his world without overwhelming him. Finn adores the resident dogs, following their lead, and respecting their signals. Finn is respectful of the resident cat, happy to follow him around to see what's up. Finn is neutered, quickly recovering from his surgery without needing a cone, and current on all his vaccines and preventatives. He is available to a family with experience raising shepherd puppies, emphasizing the skills to guide, socialize Finn, and participate in training and dog-related activities to continue to thrive.  show less

Hi there, I'm Hazel. Since Tabitha headed to her new foster home in November, I've grown up so much. I am one of seven littermates at Sh... show more

Hi there, I'm Hazel. Since Tabitha headed to her new foster home in November, I've grown up so much. I am one of seven littermates at ShepHeroes and shared my foster home with Tabitha when we arrived in rescue from the shelter at 4 weeks.  All my littermates live with their adoptive families now; their adoptions will be finalized with their respective spay or neuters this month. I'm outgoing, happy, and playful and looking for a fantastic family to raise me.  I'm an independent, adventurous pup who likes snuggles, short if you don't mind, since there is an entire world out there to explore. My foster family fosters many young ones like us, teaching us lots of good manners like loving our crates, age-appropriate potty training, and fun things like sitting, spinning, and down. We spent a couple of days with a relief foster last month; they had a medium-sized dog and a couple of teenagers who were excited to have us over. Snuggles galore, I mean, who could resist having us in their laps. We also met many toddlers at their house, quickly running around with them since we know all about busy followed by naps. I thought the toddlers were terrific and so much fun.  I see Tabitha and Bran when we head over to the vet for our booster vaccines and preventatives. Now that we are bigger, wrangling us for a group shot is next to impossible by our volunteers, but I can assure you we are a hit in the waiting room hanging out for our turns. Last time there were lots of oooh and ahhs. We were adorable and, of course, super excited to see each other.   Lunabell's family loved the idea of a DNA test. We are 63% German Shepherd Dog with little bits of Husky (6%), Shar Pei (7%), Chihuahua (5%), and Border Collie (4%) plus seven additional breeds of trace representation. We are all shepherd personalities; the trace quantities of eleven other breeds add to our charm. We are chunky, happy, loving pups dialed in with potty training, or should we say our people have learned our patterns. We love affection, cuddles, chew toys for those sharky teeth of ours. We've gone from eating, pottying, and sleeping all the time to active puppies exploring our houses, back yards. There are two boys and five girls in our litter, Bran, Ginger, Tabitha, Bishop, Lunabell, and Koko.  We came in under 5 pounds at approximately four weeks of age from a local shelter and will be ringing in our 14th week birthdays. We will need to adopt folks who have raised shepherd or shepherd mix puppies with resources to raise us to be happy, well-adjusted, socialized, and trained adult dogs. Our adoptions will be final when we are spayed in early January.  show less

Are you looking for a sweet tomboy gal with the softest coat? We might want to meet if you have experience raising shepherd or similar b... show more

Are you looking for a sweet tomboy gal with the softest coat? We might want to meet if you have experience raising shepherd or similar breed puppies and have the resources to love me, provide consistent guidance, training, and boundaries. I'm about 18 weeks old and scheduled for my spay on January 14th.  My prior folks loved me very much; they just weren't familiar with how much crate training provides boundaries, structure for settling on my own, easing potty training. They realized that I needed more experienced folks to raise me, especially since they have long work hours.  Now that I'm in a ShepHeroes foster home, it's a crash course. It was lovely to have Ginger, another ShepHeroes adoptable puppy to play with, and a three-year-old ShepHeroes alum to guide both of us in dog etiquette.  I'm spending the Holidays solo in a foster home. I act a little shy when meeting new folks, but a few treats and happy voices melt away my concerns becoming friends within a few minutes. Likewise, I hang back and let other dogs sniff me first when meeting for the first time. Then I realize my folks are introducing me to friendly dogs; my tail starts wagging, and off we go. I play happily with pups my age, equally chasing and being chased, tumbling over each other, playing our mouthy games. I take correction well from older dogs and my humans.  I met and spent my first night with Finn and his foster family; he was super sweet and looking for his forever family too.  I sit for everything and just learned touch. You'll find that I'm intelligent and ready to learn lots of cool things. My sire was a Malamute/GSD mix, and my dam a GSD. I'm a quiet pup, rarely bark unless the other dogs are alarm barking; I let out a woof since it seems to be the thing to do. I adore frozen yogurt treats for pups, have a good appetite. My adult teeth are erupting, oh my. I like having lots of toys to chew on to ease the pressure and aching.  I am also living with a resident cat, so far I haven't paid much attention totally distracted by having dog playmates. It'll be a few more days before my folks will be ready to provide input on the cat compatability. Car rides are easy for me; I am more comfortable riding free but learning to relax in a crate in the car. I'm a typical shepherd puppy, agile and willing to climb over pens if the prize is worth it. My foster family will share more as I settle in and reveal more of my personality.  Please get in touch with my folks via the adopt button, and they'll get back to you about setting up a meeting. But first, you'll have to be puppy-approved through their process.  Meetings with me will take place in San Jose, where I'm fostered.  show less

Watson is one lucky boy!  Surrendered to the shelter with a confirmed distal femur fracture, Watson qualified for UCDVTH Fracture Progra... show more

Watson is one lucky boy!  Surrendered to the shelter with a confirmed distal femur fracture, Watson qualified for UCDVTH Fracture Program for his surgery.  Sweet throughout all the procedures to fix his leg and neuter, he captured the heart of a faculty member who offered to foster him for us.  Fast forward a month plus, and he's adoption pending to his foster family fitting right in with their resident shepherd, another rescue adopted from a local shelter three years ago.  Watson has a kid to grow up with and an experienced shepherd family to guide him into a terrific, well-adjusted, happy shepherd.   show less