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If you are looking for a friendly, stable,
affectionate, confident companion to adopt, look no
further! Mack is your boy! Mack is a handsome black and
tan, neutered male German Shepherd. Mack's history goes
to show that weird things happen to even great dogs, but
great dogs come through it all still believing that
humans are great.
Mack was adopted from a shelter a number of years ago or
so by an elderly woman, along with a toy poodle. She kept
him for a few years, being tied outside a lot then, but
was allowed in the house, too. Then the elderly woman's
life changed and she gave Mack to her daughter. Her
daughter lived in a very small home w/her family and 2
cats. Mack was wonderful with the daughters, and the
family enjoyed him, but he *really* liked chasing the
cats, non-stop. He didn't hurt them, but he was obsessed
by them. In a small home, this can be a problem. So Mack
was relegated to living outside day and night in a large
pen with an insulated dog house. He was allowed to come
inside to play w/the 2 children for an hour or so each
evening, then he had to go back outside to his pen,
alone. His owners let him out of the pen sometimes for
walks or to play with the neighbor's Cocker Spaniel for a
bit some days, and they fed him/cared for his basic
needs. But otherwise, he lived in his pen. This went on
for around 2 years.
This type of isolation can really ruin some dogs or cause
them to become suspicious, barky, and/or aggressive with
people, but Mack didn't seem to care! He enjoyed whatever
attention he was given, and he holds no grudges or
ill-effects from this way of life. This is the sign of a
great temperament! But if you just think how cold it gets
outside at night, especially in the winter and how lonely
that would be for a pack animal... this life for a dog
wasn't right. His owners knew this, but they felt they
had no alternatives, so they called GSRNE for help in
placing Mack in a more appropriate home.
We met him and we were thrilled to take him in. His
foster dad says that Mack is delightful! He behaves well
in the house, gets along w/the foster dad's female German
Shepherd, doesn't try to climb on the furniture, and
behaves happily if you need to crate him. He's a
cooperative, nice dog. He's been friendly with friends
and relatives who visit, and even got along fine w/a
visiting toy breed dog. His foster dad feels that Mack
is a wonderful, easy-going dog who just wants to know
that you care about him. He's naturally a happy animal.
He will play a little with a toy, but that's not his
focus in life - being a part of a family is what he
enjoys.
Mack hasn't hurt any cats he's lived with, but he's so
obsessed with "making them run" that we feel he should go
to a home where there are no cats to herd. He tends to
get along very, very well with female dogs, whether large
or small. His owners said that he can be macho with large
male dogs, so he'd probably do best in a home w/females
or with no other dogs. We can discuss placement with
another neutered male dog, however - we'd just have to
test him with that. It probably depends on the individual
dogs.
Mack had experienced some allergy symptoms once a year or
so ago with his last family when living outside all the
time, but hasn't shown much of that while with GSRNE this
winter. This may be a seasonal issue - regardless, it's
not difficult to deal with these issues usually. Or it
may not be an issue at all with proper pet care and a
quality diet.
Mack is a dog who will move into your home and into your
heart so quickly, you'll be shocked. He's an upbeat,
optimistic dog who confidently believes in the good in
humans, even though he hasn't led an idyllic life. He's
incredible! Contact us about Mack if this is the kind of
dog you are looking for.
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Foster Parent
FPiC