*Sammie VGSR #1082   2004- 1/1/2018*
*Gone from my side but forever in my heart. *

Sammie adopted me on April 3, 2005 and was by my side until the day God called her home.  She was my guardian, my exercise buddy, my playmate, my alarm clock, my best friend.  She made me laugh, she comforted me when I was sad.  She taught me perseverance, courage, compassion, forgiveness and most of all, how to love unconditionally.  I will forever be grateful for her loyal companionship and the precious time we spent together.  She was a very special gift from God and I was truly honored that he chose me to accompany her on her earthly journey.  I miss her everyday but take comfort in knowing she has passed through the gates of the Rainbow Bridge where she runs and plays freely.  I hope that when it is my time she will be there to accompany me where we will be reunited for eternity.

I love you Sammie and will cherish the memories until we meet again. Paula

RIP 9/11/2008 - 1/15/21
Sasha came into rescue in 2014, was adopted and brought back into foster three times and finally passed in her sleep while with her last foster. Though she had different owners and fosters and lived in different. homes, she was a loyal and loving soul to the end. She could be a couch potato or a backyard hunter, looking for deer and wildlife...she always loved her people and was full of life until the end. 

8/10/15  Schatze passed away August 10, 2015, in White Stone, VA at the Bayside Pet Hospital. She experienced a neurological episode earlier, Sunday, August 9 while kenneled at the Bayside Pet Emporium in White Stone. She was ten years old, born May 9, 2005. I received Schatze as an adoption from VGSR on September 3, 2011. 

She was a true friend every day I spent with her. She was smart, considerate and obedient. I was fortunate to be with her for a few years.     John Pace

It is with an incredibly sad heart that I write of the passing of Shadoe D. Cabeca (originally “Nelly”).  Danger was literally his middle name.

I was watching the TV show, “Animal Cops” with a friend back in December of 2004, and mentioned how much I’d love a dog again, as I no longer travelled as much.  Her comment, which changed my life forever, was, “well, why don’t you get one?”  Within minutes, I was online looking for German Shepherds.  I had a GSD as a kid, and they were (and still are) my all-time favourite breed.

I quickly found VGSR and started on the paperwork.  Because I had a female black & tan GSD (Rebel) when I was younger, I thought that’s what I’d want.  So I made sure to include that in my documentation.  After filling out the paperwork, I made the contacts, and arranged for a home visit.  In walked a woman named Susan and an all-black GSD that his previous owners had named Nelly.  Susan looked around and got to know me, while I played with this dog.  I fell in love immediately, and he stayed with me from that moment until earlier this month.  Clearly, I had no clue what I really wanted, and I’m now the better for it.

My adoption of Shadoe was finalized on 12/23/2004, but prior to that, I decided to come up with a list of names.  One night, while we were out driving, I tried to look into my pitch-black backseat to see if he was sleeping.  Suddenly, a huge mouth opened inches away from my face and gave me a chin to forehead lick, followed by a smile.  That settled it.- Shadoe it was.

We spent what seems like years at various dog parks around the Herndon and DC areas, and later here in NJ as well.  We’d head out, chuck-it! and tennis balls at the ready, and go romp with other dogs for hours at a time.  While we were in VA, he played with friends like Klondyke (boxer), Joe (pitbull), Zeus (Great Dane), Charmer (greyhound), Keisha (GSD), and Kylie (a mix).

He would wrestle and play and run and jump and love every minute of it, whether it was 100 °F out, or just hovering somewhere in the low teens.  I taught him how to swim and he LOVED splashing and jumping into the water.  Our last dog park here in New Jersey even installed a huge pool for the dogs to swim in, and he was always wading into it to chew his tennis balls, stand in the cool water, and take a breather in between sessions.

I was a nervous parent at first, and asked copious questions of then VGSR President, Lea Spickler, who was always at the Herndon Dog Park with her boy, Remo.  She clued me in on veterinarians, leashes, dog foods and training tips.  She was instrumental in my development as a dog owner and lover, and I can’t thank her enough for it.

Shadoe went wherever I went.  Over the years, he travelled to most east-coast states, including Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, DC, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

He got to see the famed Washington DC Cherry Blossoms.  He got to romp on Florida Beaches.  We shared a sunset over NYC from a cold beach on southern Long Island.  He lounged in grasses in upstate New York.  He played in snow in New Jersey.  He swam in lakes.  He truly experienced life.

We often got in the car just to drive around.  We’d pack food and drinks and drive together, aimlessly, for hours at a time.  Together, we spent hundreds of thousands of miles together in various vehicles.

We moved to New Jersey in 2006.  We visited dog parks, and were the second members of our new local facility.  Shadoe donated blood, and we donated the food they gave us in compensation to local shelters.  He even got mentioned in the local paper, but they spelled his name wrong.

He loved to swim in the ocean, and even taught other dogs how to fetch, the same way that he was taught back in 2005 at the Herndon Dog Park by an Australian Shepherd named Dazzle.

Shadoe got a friend back in 2012, in the form of another all-black GSD, who was also a rescue.  Lady had lived her entire life in a concrete kennel, and was an unwanted Craigslist find.  She fit right into our little pack, and Shadoe and Lady stayed together for the last 3 years of Shadoes’ life.

As Shadoe aged, he had issues with his health.  He had Pannus, a common German Shepherd eye disease, which required daily eye drops.  He developed tumours all over his body, which were always tested, and always turned up benign (thankfully).  With age, his arthritic hips began to bother him, and he required daily Rimadyl.  This past winter, when it was -15 °F for days on end, I had to help carry him up my steps to our home.

The lenses from his eyes, now clouded with age, began to slip out of place, and he became totally blind in one eye.  To help him move around, I carried a flashlight with me everywhere, and we took our time on stairs.  Lady would charge ahead of us in both directions, and then pause so that her friend could catch up with him.

Still, he saw well enough to eat the double bacon burger that he always got each year on his birthday, which I arbitrarily picked as June 30^th, because when I got him, I was told he was around 6 months old.

On what was to be his last day, we slept in together.  We went for a nature drive.  He ate some potato chips.  He got to nap and play with his friend, Lady.  And he hung out with me on our deck, listening to birds and watching squirrels play with a watchful eye.

That night, I drove to the emergency vet at and they confirmed that he had bloat.  Shadoe was put down less than 2 hours later on 7/6/2015.  I had lost my best friend.

I still can’t believe that he’s gone.

Thank you, VGSR for introducing me to the best friend I could ever have.  I gave him the best life I could, and I love and miss him so very much.

Brett R. Cabeca

RIP 3/13/01 - 6/9/13
Shaggy came into rescue 1/31/13 with his lifelong friend Cam 3432. They had been junkyard dogs their entire lives with Shaggy watching over his doggie friend that whole time. They were fostered together with hopes of finding a forever family who would take them both, but they passed away, well loved, in foster care.