Sophie, a beautiful black and white roan 9 year old female GSP came to us when her owner was moving out of the country and couldn't take her with them.

Sophie has quite a story. We want to share it to bring awareness of the dangers of putting dogs on social media, as a place to re home them for free. Someone came forward to adopt Sophie from her owners, and thinking what nice people they must be who would be interested in adopting a senior GSP, unfortunately was far from the truth. Days later, the people ended up dumping Sophie. Fortunately, someone found her, and thanks to her having a microchip, the finder was able to contact the owner and returned her to them. The owner contacted California GSP Rescue to help, and we were committed to bring Sophie into our program, and find her a home.

When our volunteer, Greg went to pick her up, he learned that a couple of days after she was returned home, Sophie’s owner had taken her to the store, and when they were coming out of the store, two dogs ran up and attacked Sophie. They rushed her to the vet and she had to have stitches. Poor girl thankfully was okay. As you could imagine with everything she went through, being a very traumatic and painful experience for her, thankfully, she bounced back like a champ.

We found Sophie to be an amazing dog. Very sweet and easy going, and would be easy to acclimate into any home. Sophie was a bit overweight, due to lack of exercise, but we knew that we could find a family that would be committed to help her drop that weight in no time with a good diet, a routine of exercise and daily walks.

Sophie certainly had her world turned upside down with the chain of events that took place, but just as she was recovering, her luck changed for the better, and we found her the perfect forever home.

Andy applied to adopt an older male GSP to be a companion for his 7 year old GWP, Emmy. Andy had previously had GSP’s, and had adopted a dog from us in 2003. We were so happy to receive an application from Andy. We didn’t have a senior male at the time, and presented a couple of slightly younger dogs, but they were a bit more energy than Andy wanted. He was willing to wait as long as it took to find the right fit. He was flexible on a male or female as long as they were a good match for Emmy.

Then Sophie arrived. We contacted Andy and told him that we recently got a female senior dog, and she just may be the dog you have been waiting for! He was excited to meet her, and Andy and his daughter and Emmy came out to meet Sophie the very next day! Everything went very well, and Sophie joined their family.

We have received some updates from Andy, and this has been life changing for Sophie. No more bad days, only good days for Sophie from here on out!

“First day went very well. She had lunch when we got home and at 5:00pm had dinner. Went for a 20 minute walk after dinner. She’s familiar with the doggy doors now and had no “accidents “ .

Sophie and Emmy are still getting to know each other. You know, a little sniff here a little sniff there. But, no growling or showing of teeth. We just got back from our late morning walk. Introduced Sophie to one of our neighbors. They loved her!

Took her to the vet, and he wants her to lose 20 lbs to start. All in all he was happy with her overall health. We’re working on that. Good diet and exercise (easy walks for now.).

Those who bypassed Sophie missed out on a great dog. She already considers this her home and will give a low “woof” if she sees someone walking by in front of the house. I think she is one happy camper.

Also, in the two weeks we’ve had her, she’s lost 4lbs.!! Two walks per day and a good diet”.

One month update

“Not what I signed up for! Just to let you all know, Sophie’s endurance is increasing, plus she doesn’t walk as much as she used to. Now it’s more of a trot and/or canter. Which means…I have to jog to keep up with her! Who’s getting who in shape?!! She’s doing excellent!!

I’ve determined that she’s a GSL - German Shorthaired Lab. I found it on line. She’s a “designer dog” much like Goldendoodles or Labradoodles. Nothing but positive things about the breed.

It’s hard to believe she’s been with us for a month now. She has blended in so well, and she’s become such a big part of the family that it seems like she’s been with us much longer. A VERY affectionate pup. Loves stalking/ hunting lizards and squirrels in her yard and on walks. Her stamina is improving and she is slowly losing weight. I don’t know how much she weighs right now but I’ve had to tighten her harness and collar a little bit due to weight loss. Her belly is a bit smaller, too.

Sophie and Emmy love going for walks together, playing fetch, and tug-o-war. She is an absolute love”.