I'll post this again since this email is still making rounds. This dog has been reuinited with his owners. Read on for the story which was posted last week or the week before to another gsd list I am on... ************************************************************************* In less than 24 hours of sending the e-mail, there was a tearful and extremely emotional (for all of us) reunion between a grand old dog and his owner. For those who want the Paul Harvey version (you know, the rest of the story), here it is: A fabuluous old GSD (who was well-bred, by the way) disappeared 3 months ago on a Sunday morning. We sometimes turn our backs on the old ones for just a minute thinking that they won't wander or get far, but occassionally even the old ones feel their oats and get into trouble. It appears that the dog wandered for several weeks before being picked up in mid to late June by Lexington County Animal Control. REMEMBER, LOST DOGS MAY NOT END UP AT AN ANIMAL SHELTER FOR WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS AFTER THEY DISAPPEAR. DO NOT CALL THE FACILITY--GO LOOK.NOT EVERYONE DESCRIBES DOGS THE SAME AND THE EMPLOYEES SEE HUNDREDS OF ANIMALS A WEEK. IF YOU MAKE WEEKLY VISITS AND GET TO KNOW THE EMPLOYEES (SHOW THEM LOTS OF PHOTOS OF YOUR PET), THEY BECOME MORE VESTED IN REUNITING YOU WITH YOUR PET. CHECK SHELTERS WITHIN A 50 MILE RADIUS OF WHERE THEY WERE LOST--THEY TRAVEL FURTHER THAN YOU THINK OR PEOPLE PICK THEM UP. When this dog's five day waiting period was over, his bad luck ended and his good luck started when he had several guardian angels enter his life. The first was Amy Cook--the shelter manager who has a soft spot for GSDs. She spent weeks trying to get him into rescue, but GSDs rescues were full, as they usually are. She asked me to help, and after he had been there for more than a month, I knew she could only hold him so long. Guardian angel #2 appeared--Dr. Rosemary Branson of Blythewood Animal Hospital offered to board him at no cost while I worked to find him a home. After several weeks of boarding, I felt she had been generous enough, so I decided to bring him home, but did not have a crate big enough. Guardian angel #3 appeared- Darla Ladkau gave a crate and paid for the dog to have extensive bloodwork b/c of his age, medication and a bath (which he needed). Then all of you, the collective guardian angels spread the word, and helped reunite him--THANK YOU!!!! We had orginally called the dog Luke, which he did not repsond to. A friend at work said, "Try calling him common dog names--maybe you will get lucky. He started with the obvious--"Rommel, and then said "Bear". The dog immediately responded, so he became "Bear." I discovered last night, his real name is "Baron." He does not have obedience titles, but did have extensive training with CJ Landry, so you know he got the best. I suspected he had been a "bad ass" in his younger days--not because of aggression, but because of the way he carried himself. Those who know GSDs will know what I mean. I learned last night he had protected his owner against a crack-crazed mugger in New Orleans. Everyone that met Bear/Baron knew he had a story to tell--he told it to us everyday which was how the people who read the e-mail knew exactly who he was. The susccess has inspired me to help other old dogs be reunited--not every dog in a shelter has been discarded or unwanted--sometimes owners don't know how to find them. Expect a few more e-mails in the future--and more fabulous reunions!! Nicole Howland ************************************************************************ -- Michelle LaFay Pawsitively Caring Pet Sitting Auburn Hills, MI pawsitivelycaring@xxxxxxxxx http://www.angelfire.com/ky3/mblafay/ps.html ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================