A heartfelt thank you to Bradshaw Shelter for hosting the Roy Marcum Adoption Faire! It was a wonderful day filled with love and joy as we connected with fellow shepherd lovers. Our adoptable dogs thrived while playing and receiving affection from everyone who attended. We are incredibly grateful for our amazing volunteers, whose hard work made this event possible. Together, we’re making a difference in the lives of these wonderful animals. Thank you for your support!
We loved having our social adoptable dogs like Hayzel and pups Clem, Sunny, Ollie Bear, Monty share shepherd love with all their admirers and play with each other with Ambassador puppy joining them at the Bradshaw event. Hayzel is so tolerant of the puppy shenenigans and liked all the puppies.
Our sweet Hayzel is a German Shepherd with a heart as big as her spirit! This bright and active almost two-year-old certainly had an entire community helping her when she landed in the shelter with a fractured leg a year ago. With the community's support and the staff who all rallied for her at her shelter, Hayzel qualified for surgery through the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital if a foster and a rescue could be matched to provide for Hayzel's care. Hayzel's fracture was too complex for surgery at the shelter setting, and she had been placed on the euthanasia list if options couldn't come together.
Hayzel left the shelter as a 10-month-old puppy with volunteers driving her to her foster home with funds collected for her care. Fast forward to Hayzel's long months of crate confinement pre and post-surgery; Hayzel's surgery through the Fracture Program for Rescue Animals resulted in a 99% correction of angulation of her fractured leg. With CT scans and 3D modeling before surgery, along with delays due to skin irritations from her splints to her fracture requiring complex surgery, Hayzel's fosters were her amazing advocates in socializing her through stroller rides, outings to wine country, cafes, and Point Isabel. Although she was limited in how long she could walk the way her leg had healed waiting for surgery, Hayzel loved all the outings, ultimately graduating from her dog stroller before surgery.
Throughout her many vet visits for exams, bandage changes, x-rays, scans, and tests, including her stay at the hospital, Hayzel's vet team adored her just as her fosters did. Her fosters intended to adopt Hayzel once she was cleared medically cleared.
Hayzel was finally cleared for full activity in mid-June 2024, seven and a half months after leaving the shelter. Hayzel resumed her weekly Pt Isabel outings in the SF Bay romping off leash with good recall, getting a bath when she finds the mud puddles to roll in and nail trims at the Pt Isabel grooming station and walks locally with her mates and dog friends. All the while, she learned good leash skills, household manners, and sit and down, with additional skills added over time. Hayzel is a terrific gal to take to cafes, wineries and other outings as she is friendly, non-ractive and easy going gal as she's hung out with her foster family at all these types of venues while waiting for surgery and subsequently.
Hayzel is a happy, playful, social young gal who is very affectionate with her people, resident cats, and, initially, the resident male and female dogs. However, as Hayzel has come into her own, she's displayed dominant female behaviors and arousal, leading to re-directed frustration at times towards the resident female who doesn't appreciate Hayzel at all. We have explored if this arousal may be due to her significant time in crate confinement recovery as an adolescent. Hence, Hayzel spent 7.5 weeks in board and training, building confidence, increasing her exposure to the world, and learning new skills.
Hayzel is happy girl who is crate, potty, e-collar trained and muzzle-conditioned, and thanks to her fosters and trainer, she has a toolkit with many commands. Hayzel's intelligence shines through, and she's a quick learner who adores puppicinos. She also adores her chuck it ball, squeaky toys, benebones, some of which she'll take into her crate at nights and then bring them out to settle on her dog bed to play with during the day. Hayzel is a calm pup, settling easily for naps or playing with her toys for down times.
Since Hayzel struggles to live cohesively with the female, less confident senior shepherd, we along with her family who has fostered her since arriving from the shelter have decided that the relationship between these two femails is too fractured at this point to continue. To determine if Hayzel should be a solo dog or possibly live with confident, neutral male dogs in her next home, we have had Hayzel spend the week with another foster family with all male neutral dogs. The collective answer is that this petite powerhouse of energy and enthusiasm could live either as a solo dog or with confident neutral male dogs. Since she adores humans more than anything else, Hayzel would be very content as a solo dog while visiting and playing with confident, neutral dog friends too. She has large male shepherds friends with him she plays with regularly and heads with them to Point Isabel.
Hayzel was a gem at our adoption event at Pet Food Express on September 28th, meeting all of our volunteers, visitors, store employees, and all the dogs we had in attendance, and not interested in the dogs at the store for vaccinations at the VIP pop-up vet clinic. She and Whiskey, one of the alums, were disappointed that they couldn't freely play after many playbows since space wasn't available to go off-leash.
If allowed, she'd be the quintessential lap dog. Her petite-ish stature, at 70 plus lbs, makes her the perfect companion for those who appreciate a compact yet agile furry friend.
She'll be an ideal partner for an active individual or family with older kids. She'll thrive with an owner who enjoys keeping her body and mind active, providing structure and boundaries for this intelligent girl. Hayzel walks great on leash noting every squirrel while staying on heel and she totally rocks her Noxgear vest on night walks.
If you're searching for a bright, active, and devoted companion to join your life's adventures, Hayzel could be your perfect match.
As a foster-based rescue, ShepHeroes is always in need of fosters. An overwhelming number of shepherds in our local shelters need our help for a fresh start. Would you be willing to share your home and part of your summer to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we'll provide everything else! Saying "yes" today truly saves a life. Complete this https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we'll be in touch ASAP! We appreciate your consideration.
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