Volunteer of the Month
Here are the Golden State German Shepherd Rescue Volunteers of the Month! We appreciate all of them for their tireless work.
Volunteer of the Month for September 2012 is Debbie Bellamy-Reyes!
I first became involved with German shepherd rescue 12 years ago when I was taking our first German shepherd to training classes, and a rescue volunteer brough a different foster dog to the class every Saturday morning. I watched this parade of wonderful shepherds, and when she brought a puppy named Sunshine to the class, I was hooked. I asked how my husband and I could get involved, so we joined the group and started fostering. We failed fostering 101 by adopting our first foster dog, Little Sheba, who was skin and bones, had recently had a litter of puppies, and had a raging infection around her neck from being chained. She blossomed before our eyes both physically and emotionally, developed an adorable personality and attitude, and started slapping around our big male shepherd, Buddy, who loved her. So we renamed her Chivita (loosly translated means "little pest") and kept her. We were on a roll for awhile taking in and adopting out a string of foster dogs until Sarge came to us for behavior modification. He had been kept in a 4'x4' pen 24 hours a day, had became a spinner, and had chewed off his tail. We found the right keys to calm him down and stop his self-destructive behaviors, and we had to adopt this once extremely distressed dog who became one big, goofy, happy male. And we continue to foster. I'm also on the resource committee helping to plan our one huge annual gala, this year at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Concord on Saturday, October 20, 2012--it's so much fun you all have to come! And I've started to do some adoption counseling and home visits for potential adopters, and I've dipped my toes into going to the shelter to evaluate and pull adoptable dogs. I've only done that twice by myself, but both dogs have been adopted to wonderful families who love them, so so far so good. My favorite quote from a rescue site is, "A foster home is the bridge from what was to what can be." I feel so honored to be a small part of such a wonderful group of volunteers who unselfishly donate their time in so many different capacities to help save the lives of so many wonderful German shepherds. It really does take a village just to save one dog.
Shown is a picture of Debbie with one of her foster dogs, Kyra, at the 2012 Golden State German Shepherd Rescue picnic.
Volunteer of the Month for August 2012 is Tanya Fairbanks!
When we bought our 1st home about 5 years ago, the first thing I wanted to add to our family was a dog. We didn't know what kind of dog we wanted, we weren't too sure. I wanted a BIG DOG and my husband Josh, he always had dogs. He had a GS when he was young. I too had a GS/Saint Bernard mix. His name was Lobo ("wolf" in Spanish). I have very little memory of him. No matter what dogs we looked up, it always came back to a GS. We found a breeder in Los Angeles and fell in-love with all the pups, but one stood out the most, "pup #2". Ball of fur and big bones we knew he was for us. We named him "Odin" and he's the love of our life. He grew up with 2 cats and 3 kids. With time, I have wanted so much to have another amazing GS, but we figured that the breeder had raised the price and it would be a while before we could buy a pup. I searched the web and came across, "Golden State German Shepherd Rescue". I fell in love with all the pictures and knew that I wanted to get a puppy. It just never was the right time for our family. So I saved the web address and thought I would visit it once in awhile. Being a stay-at home I had time to play with a puppy so I visited the site again. I immediately applied to volunteer. I was taking a risk like Josh had said. "You can't keep it. You'll have to give it up and You can't do that". he'd say. I was nervous and he was right, but I knew that I already had Odin and even though I would fall in love with a puppy, I knew that I would have to let him go. A few days after emailing the volunteer application I was contacted by Dez Murray and that's all it took.
Dez met with me and gave me my first "rescue pup, Poppy". I fell in-love with her and felt I wasn't going to be able to give her up. I worked closely with her and told myself that regardless how I felt, I would let her go. These pups were coming to me to help them get a good start to becoming someone's forever dog. I would do my best to love the dog and let it know that people still could love animals and that's what I had to focus on. After seeing Poppy get adopted, I knew that I had to keep going. From seeing the intelligence that these dogs have and how they want love and respect, I knew that this is what I am supposed to be doing.
Being a "Foster" is great for me. I get my "puppy fix" and I train the pups as best as I can. Odin gets a temporary playmate and the family gets to enjoy the pup. I would have to say my husband, Josh, is my inspiration to volunteer with GS. Its a way for me to enjoy the animals and know that their going to homes that want them and have the room for them. I have met amazing people and amazing dogs, all by volunteering. I believe that "You can teach an old dog new tricks". Although I have yet to have an old dog, I can teach all the new pups some new tricks.
Volunteer of the Month for July 2012 is Sarah Woehrman!
I have been a member and volunteer with Golden State German Shepherd Rescue for three years. In the beginning I attended an adoption day and helped out at the Bay to Barkers event, where I met some great people and dogs of course! Since then I have been mostly involved with the Hotline, handling calls every week. Most recently for the Maddie’s Adoptathon, I became an Adoption Counselor. I handled my first phone interview and home visit, and happily approved the young couple to adopt one of our amazing dogs. Such a wonderful feeling…finding a forever home for a dog and finding a dog for a great family! German Shepherds are a huge part of my life, given that my husband and I have three in our household. They are always happy to see you, provide challenges to keep us on our toes, and most of all, love us unconditionally. I look forward to helping these remarkable dogs in the years to come!
Volunteer of the Month for June 2012 is Tony Charriere!
My name is Tony Charriere. I've been with GSGSR for about a year now. I became a foster parent immediately after talking to Dez. I was originally looking to adopt, but after talking to Dez I realized fostering was the way to go for me. I've had five dogs and loved them all. It's tough to let them go, but you have to if you want to help another. It's always such a bittersweet feeling and I'll never stop doing it. Shepherds are the perfect dog to me because their intelligence, loyalty, playfulness, and beauty. Most of the dogs I've had also seem to understand English if I have a treat in my hand.
I also love the other volunteers. Everyone is so nice and helpful (shout out to Debbie Bellamy-Reyes), such a great group of people with such huge hearts. I feel so lucky just to be a part of them.