Sheba remains a sweet, sweet dog who has fully integrated into our pack and has even convinced our grumpy female GSD to like her and play with her!   She LOVES small dogs and will try to meet every single one of them if she can! She does not need very long walks, as her favorite pastime is playing ball in the backyard, either with us or with the other dogs. She also tries to be very helpful when we do yard work (which means she helps us carry sticks around or steals them from a pile LOL). Squirrels and rabbits are a curiosity for her, but she does not chase them. Same for our parrots, she likes to sit next to their cages or aviary to be close to them, but has never shown any aggression towards them.

We have had the pleasure of fostering Sheba through all four seasons now, so we know that her environmental allergies will flare up during times of high humidity or high pollen. In addition to her daily medication, regular baths with a medicated shampoo are a must, especially for her belly area and her feet. While she is a very good girl during bath time and when taking medication, she still hates having her nails trimmed, and we continue to work with her on that.

16 March 2019 Sheba continues to do great. She loves to play with our two resident GSDs, and you would never know that she just turned 8 years old!  Her activity level outside is that of a much younger dog, and even though she is smaller than our dogs, she is fast and loves nothing more than to chase them all over the yard!  Once she comes inside, though, her main activity is to make sure to be as close as possible to "her" humans and snooze at their feet!

10 January 2019   ​ Sheba’s spay surgery went well, and she is now fully recovered and ready for her forever family!   She looks and feels great and will be attending adoption events in the Hampton Roads area. On her walks Sheba does well on a leash and likes to meet new people and dogs. She does have a prey drive when she sees squirrels or birds, but is easily corrected. She listens very well to commands and knows all the basic ones. And with a treat as an incentive, she is an extremely fast learner! Sheba likes nothing more than to be with her people, be it walking, playing ball, or just lying at your feet or on her dog bed next to you. She is an absolute sweetheart and a pleasure to have around.

5 December 2018     Hi, Sheba again, take a look at me now!  Almost all of my fur is growing back!  I still have a bit to go, especially on my belly, but I am starting to look like a real German Shepherd Dog again!  I continue to work out (I am really good at chasing and bringing back balls) and have lost some more weight.  Check out the fancy winter coat I am modeling in the video  –  hopefully soon I will only need it when it is really cold.  Won’t you consider adopting me so that I can have my own forever family to cuddle with?

From Sheba’s foster mom:  Sheba continues to do well!  Her skin has improved so much that she can be spayed in mid-December, and she will be available for adoption in the New Year.  She will have to be on thyroid medication (about $10 to $20 per month) and some form of allergy medication (currently this runs about $50 per month) for the foreseeable future, but you are getting a very smart and very sweet dog who wants nothing more than to be with you.  She loves to meet dogs on our walks and is very good with little dogs (as our own dogs are not quite as friendly, introductions with them are still a work in progress).  And she has not met a human she does not like.  We have not had her around children, but she grew up with several of them.  She has picked up a lot of commands already and is constantly learning.  The only downside right now is that she is alone a good bit of the day when we are at work and she gets bored, so we would love for her to go to family who can give her some quality time.  If you would like to get more information about Sheba, please contact steven-uli@cox.net.

11/11/18    I know what you are thinking, who is this weird-looking dog? I am Sheba, and I am working very hard to turn from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan! You see, my family loved me, but they did not know about all the allergies that German Shepherd Dogs can have, and they could not afford to keep me. My foster parents had to take me to the vet a few times already, but I feel 100% better now! I have a thyroid under-function which can easily be managed by medication, and the vet also found the right allergy medication to stop me from scratching and licking constantly. Now I just have to endure twice weekly baths to get rid of my skin infections, and with fingers and paws crossed, hopefully my hair will grow back! Stay tuned for more updates!

From Sheba’s foster mom: Sheba is a very sweet and friendly girl. She surprised us by going into heat a few days after we got her, so we have had to restrict her interactions with other dogs, but hopefully this will end soon. In the short time we have had her, she has already come a long way from a stinky, itchy, overweight and depressed dog into a happy bundle of energy who loves to be with people, get belly rubs, go for walks and explore the backyard. She still has to lose a bit more weight, and her skin needs more time to heal, but she is a joy to have around. She knows the basic commands (Sit, Stay, Come) and picks up on what you want from her very quickly.  Sheba is being fostered in Virginia Beach and will attend adoption events in that area.