The principle team members at Thulani Senior German Shepherd Rescue (TSGSR) have been rescuing and re-homing German Shepherd Dogs (GSDs) of ALL AGES for over 15 years. We are a California non-profit Animal Welfare Organization (AWO) and we are an all-volunteer organization which allows all donations and funding to go completely to the betterment of rescued GSDs. Because rescuing senior GSDs or ones with a terminal illness requires a dedicated focus TSGSR was founded for this special purpose.
TSGSR provides hospice care and sanctuary for German Shepherd Dogs with limited life expectancy. TSGSR team members were finding German Shepherd dogs in shelters that were wonderful dogs, but because of terminal medical conditions or extreme age, were not dogs that could successfully be adopted out to the public as part of a regular adoption program. Yet these wonderful dogs have some quality life left for them, even though it might be short. TSGSR realized that, if they turned their backs on these dogs, they very likely would die alone and afraid in the shelter almost immediately.
The critical turning point came at the end of 2008 and eventually lead to the creation of TSGSR when we evaluated a three-month-old puppy who had been badly abused, mistreated, and neglected. Yet he was a happy, loving, affectionate puppy that just wanted to please, so we decided to bring him into a specialized rescue. We lined up a foster home for him, and planned out his stay with us before he would be put up for adoption, and then the lightening-bolt struck.
The puppy had a level 5 heart murmur that further analysis indicated would be fatal in just a few months. We called the prospective foster to inform her of his condition and that we would not be bringing him into the program after all. She was devastated as were we, but she called back in a few hours to tell us that she and her daughter would take him and would give him the best life she could for whatever time he had left! That dog's name was Thulani.
Thulani's foster Mom later said “It is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I loved the experience of living with the Thulani Dog and I will always love her. It was very hard to say goodbye to her, and I don’t regret one moment.”
These are people who can enjoy the dogs ‘for the moment’ and bear the grief that they will shortly feel in order to give the dog a quality life for whatever time it has left.
