Details

 
   
     
Name:Embry      Available Soon
Age: 4.8 year(s)
female, spayed
View Photos

Help GSRNC pay for Embry's veterinary care, training, food costs, and more

Adoption Process

Our adoption process is designed to help you and the right dog find each other. Our goal is to place each dog into a permanent, safe, and loving home.

To adopt a German Shepherd Dog from us, you must:

1. Live in Northern California.
2. Complete an Adoption Questionnaire, either online, or by mail. If you do not own your home, you must also have your landlord complete the Landlord Permission Agreement.
3. Be interviewed by an adoption counselor.  
4. Allow a home visit by an adoption counselor.
5. Be approved for adoption.
6. Choose, and be chosen by, the right dog.
7. With our approval, sign our Adoption Agreement, and pay the associated fee.

After we receive your online Adoption Questionnaire, we will call you to begin the adoption process. We encourage potential adopters to come to one or more Adoption Days, because that is the best way to meet several German Shepherds and to find your new companion. If you attend an Adoption Day and choose a dog, you may be able to adopt the same day, if all adoption requirements are met.

If you cannot come to any Adoption Day, we can still assist you, this may take longer because the people who will help you are volunteers who usually have jobs, and scheduling meetings with dogs can be complex because our dogs live in many homes and kennels.

 

Embry's Story:

Embry is a beautiful 4.5 year old female who came from the Modesto shelter where she was on the euthanasia list due to her being highly stressed.

Embry is a petite Shepherd, weighing in at about 63 pounds. But in that small frame, she packs a lot of love and happiness. She walks around her foster home wagging her tail as if she knows she is one of the lucky ones to have been rescued. She is excited when her people come home, and is learning that jumping is not the right way to greet them.

Embry loves to be with her people and, if allowed, she will curl up next to you and snooze happily while you read or watch TV. When asked, she will go into her crate and rest there quietly. She can be left home alone – either in her crate, or free in the house – without concern about destruction or accidents. Embry has also learned how to use the dog door.

Embry is still learning to control her excitement in some situations. When she is leashed up and taken out for a walk or run, she is extremely excitable at the beginning. This manifests itself in excitedly barking at passing people and/or dogs, and trying to leap ahead. About 5 minutes into her exercise, she begins to calm down. She stops barking at people, and will generally only bark at other dogs if prompted by them first. She pulls a bit on the leash, but isn’t unmanageable. Once she has burned off that initial excitement, she is much calmer. She has walked through birthday parties in the park (balloons, loud music, yelling children) without expressing any reactivity.

Her foster family has discovered that Embry makes a great running buddy, and so far has run as much as four miles. Only adult dogs over 2 years old should go for extended runs, but Embry is about 4 so she is ready to put in the miles!

Embry can be barky when strangers come into her house. She will require a patient family willing to help her manage her anxiety. Her fosters don't have children, so it's unknown how she reacts to them.

Embry loves to play with water, and play fetch with her fuzzy squeaky toy. She likes to nibble on her toy, but has never tried to destroy it. (Think of all the money you could save in toys!)

Currently Embry is an only dog, but she did well with another dog during her shelter evaluation, and lived peacefully with another dog in her prior foster home. With proper introductions, she would likely do well with a doggy sibling. She has some prey drive, but it isn’t excessive, so it’s hard to say whether or not she could learn to live with a feline sibling.

This sweetheart is a level 3 dog being fostered in the Sacramento area.

Photos


      

Important Note About Dog Descriptions

Please remember that the descriptions of dogs (of Dogs Available) have been written by GSRNC volunteers and are usually based only upon our observation of the dog since the time it was rescued. While we try to provide dog descriptions that are fair and accurate, the nature of our work involves contact with dogs whose background and history are unknown to us. GSRNC cannot warrant or guarantee any dog's future behavior. For example, if we say that a rescue dog gets along with children, cats, or other dogs, this statement is usually based upon the fact that one of our volunteers has observed the dog interacting with his or her own children or pets. While this information may be helpful, we cannot be certain of how a dog will do with the children or pets in your home. If you are considering adopting, we encourage you to come to one of our Adoption Days and meet our rescue dogs. Ultimately, only you can decide whether one of our dogs is right for you.

Explanation of the Dog Levels

1 – "Fireplace dog"
Couch potato, super easy, low energy and no issues. This level of dog would do well in any home regardless of owner experience. (We rarely come across this level of dog.)

2 – “Easy Large Breed Companion Dog”
Low to moderate energy, needs some exercise but it is not a daily requirement. This dog will do well in most homes. The dog gets along with most other dogs, gets along with most other people and have been successfully been around children. The dog has no real behavioral issues that need to be managed or dealt with on a daily basis. This dog is an easy family dog.  

3 –“Standard Large Breed Dog”
Moderate energy, needs daily exercise of some sort to thrive and stay happy. This dog will do well in many types of homes, but some situations will not work for this dog. This dog may not get along with some types of dogs. This dog may be reactive to some other dogs while on leash. It may have too much energy to be around small children while unattended, and may have some behavioral issues that will require formal training or daily monitoring for the dog to successfully live happily in a family. These issues are normally minor such as fence climbing, prey drive, minor separation anxiety, nervousness in crowds, or other minor behavioral traits. A Potential Adopter for a level 3 dog must have prior, recent large breed dog experience and be able to demonstrate the ability to successfully deal with the level 3 dog that they wish to adopt.  

4 – “Experienced Ownership Required”
Moderate, high or very high energy/drive. Needs an experienced owner familiar with working breed behavior to provide direct leadership and proper management. Level 4 dogs typically have a challenging behavior, but are good dogs. These dogs might be dog-reactive with most other dogs or dog-aggressive, may have to be an only animal in the home, maybe have moderate separation anxiety.  The dog normally needs daily physical and mental stimulation, etc. This level of dog is not an average pet. (We try to limit the number of level 4 dogs in our program.) A Potential Adopter for a level 4 dog must be able to demonstrate the experience and ability to safely manage and care for a level 4 dog.  

5 – “Competitive or Working Dog”
This is a dog that has an intense focus to ‘work’. It could be a dog that provides Search and Rescue services, could be a competitive Flyball or Agility dog, or has other working abilities. These dogs can be strong, pushy, dominant, and/or have extreme energy/drive. They need a professional handler or an owner who has the experience to provide a demonstrated commitment to the dog’s ‘working ability’. A Potential Adopter for a level 5 dog must be able to demonstrate the experience and ability to safely manage and care for a level 5 dog.