Molly

Are you partial to dreamy white shepherds? Alex has been thriving in his foster since he arrived; he's had vet visits to catch up on vac... show more

Are you partial to dreamy white shepherds? Alex has been thriving in his foster since he arrived; he's had vet visits to catch up on vaccines and neutered, hung out at the groomers getting even more handsome with a bath.  His original family realized they were over their heads as he grew from the tiny pup they brought home last fall and sought a new home for him to thrive. The community sprung into action, and he ended up with a family willing to help him find the right home. They asked if we could bring him into rescue while they continued to foster him. Since they have two shepherds, a pre-schooler, and three indoor cats, Alex is getting excellent guidance and exposure while we seek the perfect match for him.  He's potty trained and has learned the place command to sleep free on his bed in the bedroom with the resident shepherds. Alex listens well, aiming to please his foster family. He's working on leash manners and keeping his voice quiet when he sees other dogs at the vet and groomers. But settles down quickly with knowledgeable handling. A smart boy, he's mastered fetch and respecting the senior dogs in his house. Such a love; he's curious about the resident cats but accepts that they are part of his new pack.  His foster family is impressed with his ability to blend into their household, and he's doing great with their busy family life. Alex is super food motivated, making training easy. Alex is fully recovered from his neuter surgery and looking for a forever family. Since he's kid and dog-friendly and cat workable too, he's that unicorn of a shepherd that will fit well with most active families committed to structure, training, and environmental exposures to expand his world for him to grow into a lovely adult boy.  We ask that you have experience with shepherds or similar breed dogs and are willing to provide training, structure, and exercise for his brain and body as his forever family.  show less

Bowie's a five-month-old lucky boy! After surviving parvo with his littermates in the shelter setting, Bowie's thriving and gaining much... show more

Bowie's a five-month-old lucky boy! After surviving parvo with his littermates in the shelter setting, Bowie's thriving and gaining much-needed weight in his foster home. Bowie's getting many outings and experiences, including love from his two young boys who adore helping pups find their forever families. The three resident dogs provide support and guidance as older dogs. A lucky puppy, Bowie, was found with his littermates at eight weeks, testing parvo positive during the shelter intake processing. He fought the virus with immediate supportive treatment at intake and recovered at the shelter.  Due to overcrowding and slow shelter adoptions, even sweet puppies like Bowie are spending inordinately long months at shelters.  Super sweet, an easy-going boi, Bowie is stealing hearts in his foster home; he could have been a foster failure if not for the fact they are at capacity with three dogs. Bowie rides easily in the car, walks nicely on a leash, and settles well.  Would you consider joining our quest to help at-risk puppies at shelters by fostering for us? So many puppies need to leave shelters for the safety of foster homes and be matched to loving forever families.  Bowie will continue to need exposure to the broader world just as his foster family provides, following three months at the shelter, further training, and lots of love. Experience raising shepherds or similar breed puppies would be wonderful for Bowie to continue his path to becoming a well-adjusted adult dog.  show less

Dahlia and her five littermates (Tallulah, Winnie, Mona, Gator, and Lolla) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day weekend and... show more

Dahlia and her five littermates (Tallulah, Winnie, Mona, Gator, and Lolla) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day weekend and headed to foster homes. Dahlia and Tallulah, aka Tully, spent the weekend with one of our short-term foster homes before catching a Pilots and Paws flight Memorial Day to their next foster home. We are so grateful for our regular and short-term foster families when overcrowding requires shelters to clear their kennels at short notice to make room for the influx of litters being surrendered directly to shelters or abandoned in the streets. These pups were an oops litter, surrendered once they were weaned at seven weeks.   Dahlia and Tully are sweet, cuddly, snuggly, and friendly; they have socialized with children, extended family, and friends. They shared their short-term foster home with a young child and a cat and have also met other kids since arriving in their regular foster home.  Dahlia and Tully are terrific riders in their puppy stroller, quietly taking in the world and all the new things to see, smell and hear during walks in the park, the activity on the streets, and in stores. They travel well in the car, including their hour-long plane ride.  They are super playful with each other and initiate play and follow the resident adult male shepherd easily. Dahlia and Tully sleep in the same crate at night with two potty breaks to make it through the night. They spend alone time away from each other for portions of the day to learn independence, and after crying initially, they are each thriving with their solo time. And they have both doubled their weight with robust appetites.  Dahlia is the assertive puppy of this pairing and bossy with Tully; she explores more and is much more daring to try new things and initiate adventures.  We're excited to start the matching process for these nice pups, looking for adopters experienced in raising puppies who can be present for them since they can't be alone for extended hours due to their age and are committed to training, structure, environmental exposures, aka socialization and navigating the adolescent shenanigans to lead them to become neutral, well-adjusted adult dogs.  show less

Since her foster family thought Lizzy might be a working line shepherd, we wanted to get professional input by sending Lizzy to be asses... show more

Since her foster family thought Lizzy might be a working line shepherd, we wanted to get professional input by sending Lizzy to be assessed and participate in board n train at Gold Country K9 near Ione for us to match her appropriately with a forever family or as part of a working team. We're delighted to share that although Lizzy is likely a working line gal, she's a mid-drive easy-going shepherd who loves her routine alternating between training, her kennel run, and hanging at the office in place with her toy.  Lizzy's a happy, thriving, neutral shepherd without reactivity, calm in new situations with innate curiosity. Although she displays an independent streak, likely a learned behavior from not being expected to respond until now, she's adjusted graciously as a cohesive team with her trainer. Upon arrival, although initially stressed in transitioning from her foster home to a training kennel, Lizzy easily connected with all the staff enjoying their company. She's approaching the end of her training sessions with outings offsite to proof her new skills. And rides quietly in her crate, accompanying the other crated dogs heading out for the same skill development.  At sixteen months old, Lizzy will soon seek an active family committed to continuing her training, providing appropriate structure for Lizzy and stability to thrive while they love her as she truly deserves. Lizzy lived with dog-savvy kids whom she adored in her foster home.  This beautiful sable pup's story involves ending up in homes that weren't prepared for an affectionate, intelligent, playful, and energetic shepherd puppy, being rehomed multiple times in her short life.  A snuggler, Lizzy's last foster home also included cats and a combination of small and large resident dogs, including shepherds. Lizzy bonded strongly with her fosters, appreciating all the love and toys. Although she managed to live with resident cats with careful guidance, Lizzy's prey drive strongly suggests no cats in her forever home.  While in her foster home, Lizzy settled in her crate at night with her Kongs to slumber away and showed that she's potty trained. Lizzy also has ridden nicely crated in the cars and could be a great running buddy once fully grown since she's a young and active gal showing that she could scale 5-foot fences in her foster home to showcase her athletic ability.  A good Samaritan saw Lizzy being given away for free in Summer 2022, followed by another post where the folks who acquired her for free attempted to sell her. When all the dust settled, the good Samaritan tracking her story on Craiglist brought her to safety, ultimately placing her at the local shelter hoping she would find a good home. Lizzy came to our attention thanks to the incredible work of a group of volunteers who advocate for shepherds, and when an experienced foster home said yes, Lizzy hopped in the car for a ride to a brighter future which now includes professional training and assessment.  If you'd like to be part of that bright future for Lizzy, please follow through with her adopt me button to be considered for a match. Her forever family must be committed to ongoing training and consistent structure and keep her mind and body thriving through mental and physical activities.  We'll be posting new pictures of Lizzy soon.  show less

Lolla and her five littermates (Dahlia, Tully, Winnie, Mona, and Gator) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day weekend and he... show more

Lolla and her five littermates (Dahlia, Tully, Winnie, Mona, and Gator) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day weekend and headed to foster homes. Lolla and Gator are fostered together in Sacramento. We are so grateful to our regular and short-term foster families when overcrowding requires shelters to clear their kennels at short notice to make room for the influx of never-ending litters being surrendered directly to shelters or abandoned in the streets. These pups were an oops litter, surrendered once they were weaned at seven weeks.   Lolla and Gator are sweet, cuddly, snuggly, and friendly, just like their littermates; they are socialized with kids, extended family, and friends. They share their foster home with a small senior dog teaching them boundaries.  Both pups travel well in the car and have been out for excursions in their puppy backpack.  They are super playful with each other, initiate play, nap together, hang out in their playpen to avoid trouble when they don't have direct supervision, and sleep in their crate at night. Lolla (black coat) and Gator (black and tan) are alerting to potty and have their routines down to minimize accidents. They share toys with lots of give and take, growing by leaps and bounds. Lolla will be heading to a new foster home to allow us to learn more about their personalities independent of each other.  We're excited to start the matching process for these lovely pups, looking for adopters experienced in raising puppies who can be present for them since they can't be alone for extended hours due to their age and are committed to training, structure, environmental exposures, aka socialization and navigating the adolescent shenanigans to lead them to become neutral, well-adjusted adult dogs.  show less

To be loved by Rayne is the sweetest! She adores her foster family and the resident male shepherds and has developed relationships with... show more

To be loved by Rayne is the sweetest! She adores her foster family and the resident male shepherds and has developed relationships with them based on their personalities. Rayne respects the eldest shepherd, who oversees the pack, and coaxes the middle shepherd into play by charming him with kisses and play bows when the youngest shepherd, her best playmate, chooses to herd his ball or play by himself. Rayne zooms, shares toys, and rumbles with the youngest shepherd, as they have similar play styles. Rayne's foster family has also been part of Stewie's foster team. When Stewie was cleared to resume regular activity by his orthopedic team, Rayne was his first introduction to a dog mate. They hit it off right away, besties where he didn't even mind Rayne sneaking out his stash of toys that kept him busy during his months-long crate confinement.  Rayne is attentive to her foster humans and very gentle; her initial mouthiness and frantic energy have disappeared. When her foster mom had a minor injury, Rayne inspected it every morning and at bedtime like clockwork until the scab fell off, at which point she lost interest. This lithe girl loves running after the morning potty to wake up her foster dad, sticking her nose under the covers in encouragement with a happy dance when he gets up. Fully integrated into her foster home, she greets her foster dad at the end of the work day as part of the pack, seeking her own turn for pets and snuggles.  Since Rayne is energetic and athletic, initially, she had some snags on her skin from her zoomies. Most were easy to clean and heal, but the deepest cut on her shoulder required stitches. And a second round of stitches when she used her back toes to scratch her first stitches open. She was a terrific patient through her two visits for stitches at UCDVMTH's ER. Displaying considerable pain tolerance, Rayne has never whimpered or fussed over her injuries. Rayne graced a t-shirt layered over a surgical suit for 10 days to ensure she didn't tear through her second set of stitches. Every day she happily cooperated to change her surgical suit for the spare, so she always had a clean one. As the saying goes, it takes three days, three weeks, and three months for a rescue dog to settle and feel at home; Rayne has settled and matured in the last few months, and her coordination has improved to be injury free. Rayne still prefers to lounge on patio tables for downtime and is learning to trust the pool to become a swimmer with the warming temperatures. She's progressed from sloppy dog paddles to graceful swimming when she accidentally falls in zooming around the pool corners and has learned to exit from the steps. Tossing her pool toys next to the edge to retrieve them repeatedly from the water in self-play keeps her busy while her mates swim to fetch their balls. She loves to dunk her head in from the pool steps to cool off, roll in the grass's dew first thing in the morning, and if, by chance, she's outside when the sprinklers come on, her joy is immense. Comfortable with all kinds of touch from her trusted people, Rayne gets washed off and toweled regularly. Rayne will be an excellent running or agility partner when growth plates mature in a few months or a fabulous nosework partner. Her lithe body loves long walks and hikes even in the pouring rain, and her nose is superb. This compact prancy bouncy girl effortlessly jumps over baby gates or her dog mates,  on outdoor patio tables, and the chest of drawers in the bedroom; she's a joy to watch in action, except when she misjudges space and lands on you while aiming for a sliver of a spot left by the resident dogs to be next to her people.  Rayne loves to hop in the car for rides and settles quietly. During cooler weather, she's been trusted to stay in the vehicle during short errands if dogs aren't welcome at the destination. She has attended multiple dog painting activities, group lessons, and pack walks, which she thoroughly enjoyed, organized by Terra Colson of Wholistic Canine, with long naps to follow. Rayne heads out for many excursions accompanying her foster family to dog-friendly stores, including Home Depot, Leslie's Pools, and Home Goods.  Rayne is crated at home if her people are gone and alternates between sleeping free and in her crate at night. She adores being permitted to sleep on the bed, snuggling in and sleeping soundly all night. Her re-decorating activities have lessened as she's learned household rules.  She came to us from the shelter with excellent crating skills. Her prior owners must have crate trained her as Rayne crates without a peep, settling for as long as you ask her to be crated. She is house-trained and can hold 8-plus hours at night. Rayne has mastered sit, shake, down, and touch and comes like the wind when called.  When her favorite resident playmate about her age had major surgery and needed to heal, she charmed the next oldest shepherd in her foster home to play with her all the time. He generally requires persuasion to consistently play with the fosters since he prefers his ball and managing the squirrels in his yard.   Rayne typically walks with a loose lead on her walks, checking in with her person, unless her nose captures a scent, which she must explore by lying down on the grass and inhaling it all. Rayne most definitely enjoys sniff walks, uninterested in bikers and skateboarders. She notes dogs on her walks, pausing to see if she'll meet them, and is quickly redirected to continue her walks. Treats and toys are magic for Rayne; she will play for hours with toys, tugging with her mates or tossing her toys to leap, shake, pounce, and toss them again in self-play. She enjoys human playtime with chuck-it balls and loves to cuddle next to her foster family with a chew toy in the evenings. When Rayne first arrived, all the toys in the yard and house excited her so much that she would masterfully hide her selections in parts of the yard, using her nose to cover them up with dirt, leaves, and mulch. She transitioned to putting her treasures in her crate at her family's direction and didn't mind when the collection was weeded out to leave her more room to sleep. Rayne learned her treasures were safe when her foster mom shut the crate door. Her crankiness when the resident dogs initially approached her crate has disappeared as her foster family's ongoing house renovation means all the crates and dog beds are close to each other, all shared communally.  Rayne has a big deep bark when she alerts to new noises but quiets when asked. She rarely barks when the construction crew arrives early, deferring that task to the older shepherds, and is generally uninterested in the crew. Rayne can be barky towards new people who want to interact with her, around "her person." She will initially say hello nicely and then get super close to bark at them as if to drive them away. Rayne is learning and practicing the "say hi" skill of taking a treat and returning to her person without engaging further. If ignored and with high-value treats, she becomes friends just as she did with her foster dad, visiting relatives and other friends. She's one of those shepherds that needs to assess that all is well. On the other hand, Rayne is neutral at walking with people and dogs on walks with friends and their dogs, in group walks, and in public settings. Interestingly, Rayne doesn't exhibit any of her barking in vet settings, happily trotting off, and is very cooperative, earning praise from all the vet staff for being "such a good girl".  Rayne eats with all the shepherds without resource guarding, respecting everyone's bowls. Since Rayne eats with gusto, her food is served in a slow-eater bowl, although initially, we used a combination of the slow-eater bowl, snuffle mats, puzzles, or other food dispensing toys to slow her speed. Her joyful food dance ends with a sit as her food is served only when she sits politely.  Just like any standing pool of water, the kiddie pool is a favorite of Rayne; she loves to leap in, splash around and hop back out to repeat all over. Since she loves water, her foster mom taught her to rinse her feet in the kiddie pool before entering the house on rainy, muddy days.   Rayne was on the adoption floor of her shelter but overlooked amongst all the shepherds waiting for forever families. She had a fantastic advocate team of folks who had found her in a field, bringing her to our attention, especially since she had ended up on the at-risk list. Rayne was kenneled with a male shepherd at the shelter and met other dogs in the shelter setting. The video from her time with the shelter volunteers shows her personality in the shelter setting; we've heard more than once that she was a volunteer favorite. Friends of Front Street was generous with a donation of $600 to facilitate her arrival at ShepHeroes.  Weighing in at 57 lbs, Rayne's just the right size. Her surefooted graceful energy level reminds us of a touch of Kelpie or Belgian Malinois. Just like them, she is devoted to her people.  Rayne's lovely and is looking for an experienced forever family to provide her with appropriate structure, exercise, and patient guidance to continue to thrive. Given her speed and athleticism, she may be better suited for a home with older kids and confident male dogs.  show less

Have you heard my story? I'm Stewie, a sweet and affectionate shepherd. I ended up at the shelter with a broken tibia at the end of Janu... show more

Have you heard my story? I'm Stewie, a sweet and affectionate shepherd. I ended up at the shelter with a broken tibia at the end of January after being hit by a car, and my person surrendered me to give me a chance at getting my leg fixed. The ER staff and shelter vet loved me since I was a good boi despite much pain. They gave me pain meds and set to get me qualified into UC Davis Veterinary Hospital's Fracture Program for Rescue Animals to repair my tibia instead of amputating my leg. When I needed to be matched to rescue while waiting for my surgery slot and to recover through months of crate confinement, ShepHeroes stepped in with a co-fostering rotation plan where I traveled with my toys, treats, and meds between my foster families based on their work and travel schedules. Each family had a resident crate for me since I was the happiest in a 48-inch crate during the last four months of healing.  Fast forward after all those months of limited activity - I was released for normal dog activities of running, romping, and playing fetch after months of short elimination walks, always on leash, then gradually increasing the frequency and length of my walks. I also had a physical therapy consult where I got an exercise plan to build back my muscles that didn't get used for all those months. They are simple and fun exercises on our walks, such as sit-to-stand, walking in figure eights and large circles, walking backward, and putting my front feet up on objects to bear more weight on my back legs. I've been having so much fun being out and about on our long walks and doing things where I get treats. I do love treats very much. We started with short walks and gradually increased our time to over an hour since I've been doing so well, but it's been hot lately. During hot days we break up our walks into multiple shorter ones.  I was the only dog in one of my foster homes and got to spend more time out of my crate there during my healing months, sharing the couch while watching tv and sleeping at my foster family's and their extended family's feet, always ready for belly rubs. I was crated more in my other primary foster family since they had resident dogs, and I wasn't allowed to play. We would see each other briefly, and I appeared uncertain about them with all my pain and anxiety meds to make crate confinement palatable.   I finally got to meet all the shepherds, one at a time to see how I would do with all their temperaments and to avoid overwhelming me since there are three male resident shepherds and Rayne, also available for adoption. I met Rayne first and loved her immediately since she wasn't troubled by my slightly rude dog-meeting skills and dominant behavior; in exchange, I let her run off with my favorite toys. It's been three weeks since I integrated into the dog pack; the boys were clear in their expectations, as affirmed by my foster mom. Although I love my people, having buddies is fun as we've settled into a nice groove. We're comfortable with each other, now playing and hanging out together, including swimming together. That's the best part of my story, I spent a couple weeks watching the boys swim, and yesterday I went for it. I'm a swimmer now, even swimming to bring a ball back; my strokes are smoother with less splashing than my first attempts. My foster mom had me wear a life jacket and encouraged me since she thought I'd like to get past playing with the hose water and swim instead.  My foster families thought I was a trooper throughout my healing thanks to medication, lots of love and snuggles, and loads of toys to engage my mind. Even though I like having buddies, my heart is with my people. At the end of a play session or when I get tired, I love to sit near my person with a toy, touching them like when I was healing.  As you may suspect, I am super crate trained and will immediately settle when asked to crate. A handful of treats tossed in my crate is all I need to head in, although I needed frozen filled Kongs and Westpaw toys to keep me content in my crate at first. I sleep 8-9 hours without a peep at night and am completely potty trained. I eat from a slow feeder bowl since I can speed eat otherwise. I'm slim and trim, avoiding weight gain during my healing months.  I love toys - squeaky stuffed ones, Benebones to gnaw on, Jolly soccer balls, chuck-it balls, chomp & chase squeaker balls - the list is quite long. And my favorite pastime was sitting and snuggling into my person with my toy. Now that I'm fully active, I return my balls for throw after throw. I've shredded some of my stuffed toys, yet others are still in great shape from day one.  I'm an active boy, sometimes engaging in persistent demand-barking to get my way. I ride nicely in the car, settling best in the back of the SUV, likely trained to ride in the back in my prior home. I love an open window to smell the breeze and stick my head out at traffic lights if tethered in the back seat. I bark at the drive-up windows, and other times just quiet and curious about our purchases. I used to be inconsistent on walks between my foster families, sometimes barky towards other dogs, mostly little ones, and then not at all. Once I could take long sniffing walks, I relaxed, and the tension towards other dogs began to melt away. Treats also helped teach me to leave it and to learn to respond to my name to break focus if I stall on a dog approaching. Being super treat motivated means I learn fast. I attended a dog workshop with a pack walk component this week and did great.  Our next steps are to head to places with more people to see how I do in crowds and busy people sites; sometimes, I'm a little shy, and other times barky when people want to engage with me. From a socialization perspective, four months of healing is a chunk of time for an adolescent shepherd like me; my foster families are all on board to support my further socialization.   During my stay at UCVMTH for surgery and subsequent check-up visits, I was terrific with the staff and students, they were so happy to send me off with a successful surgery outcome. I also spent a weekend with a couple of shepherd-savvy elementary school kids; although I was kid-friendly, their active household with the kids and their resident dogs made it hard for me to settle in my crate. It was the only time I broke out of a crate  I have a soft mouth for treats and adore treats and kibble. My favorite foods other than kibble are apples, bananas, and blueberries for snacks, and the stuffed Kongs, Toppls, and snuffle mats that give me a variety of stimulation around meal times. Yogurt, peanut butter, and whipped cream binding my kibble in frozen Kongs and Toppls round out my other food favorites.   I've had lots of fun with an early start on beginning nosework; I can find kibble and treats hidden in boxes and on various lawn objects to give me mental enrichment.  I'm neutered, on preventatives, and current on my vaccines. And ready for adoption. My adopters should have experience with shepherds or similar breed dogs, a commitment to further socialization, training, and lots of love to shower on me. I can be a lot of dog at first but settle nicely into a routine.  PS. We are grateful to the Fracture Program for Rescues for allowing us the opportunity to repair his leg and to the shelter vet who brought his case to the attention of this program to avoid amputating his leg. As with Tori, our other shepherd recovering from surgeries to repair the injuries also caused by a car collision, each of these dogs' arrival in rescue is possible by the coordination amongst an extensive team of shelter staff, veterinarians and their staff, and rescue volunteers managing many details regarding transportation, medications, and surgery timing.  show less

Tallulah, aka Tully, and her five littermates (Dahlia, Winnie, Mona, Gator, and Lolla) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day... show more

Tallulah, aka Tully, and her five littermates (Dahlia, Winnie, Mona, Gator, and Lolla) arrived from the shelter just before Memorial Day weekend and headed to foster homes. Tully and Dahlia spent the weekend with one of our short-term foster homes before catching a Pilots and Paws flight Memorial Day to their next foster home. We are so grateful to our regular and short-term foster families when overcrowding requires shelters to clear their kennels at short notice to make room for the influx of never-ending litters being surrendered directly to shelters or abandoned in the streets. These pups were an oops litter, surrendered once they were weaned at seven weeks.   Tully and Daliah are sweet, cuddly, snuggly, and friendly; they have socialized with children, extended family, and friends. They shared their short-term foster home with a young child and a cat and have also met other kids since arriving in their regular foster home.  Both pups are terrific riders in their puppy stroller, quietly taking in the world and all the new things to see, smell and hear during walks in the park, the activity on the streets, and in stores. They travel well in the car, including their hour-long plane ride.  They are super playful with each other and initiate play and follow the resident adult male shepherd easily. Sharing a crate night, they need two potty breaks to make it through the night without accidents. They spend alone time away from each other for portions of the day to learn independence, and after crying initially, they are each thriving with their solo time. And they have both doubled their weight with robust appetites.  Tully is a softer puppy than Dahlia, who bosses her around. Tully is better at alerting her need to head outside to potty and enjoy a slower eating pace than Dahlia. All the pups have been easy to potty train, recognizing grass as their potty areas, and have minimal accidents.  Tully is a master at finding ways to escape the pen area that keeps them out of trouble and mischief when they can't be directly supervised. Both pups love toys.  We're excited to start the matching process for these lovely pups, looking for adopters experienced in raising puppies who can be present for them since they can't be alone for extended hours due to their age and are committed to training, structure, environmental exposures, aka socialization and navigating the adolescent shenanigans to lead them to become neutral, well-adjusted adult dogs.  show less