2/11/24  Hello everybody….my name is Major.   I am just a youngster and roamed a remote lake/campground area for about 3 1/2 months.  I hear my foster mom tell people that it is not known how, or why I was wandering around that lake and campground all by myself at such a young age.  I wish I could talk so I could let everybody know what my life was like before I got to that lake/campground.  Something called animal control came out and caught me in a thing called a trap and then took me to this really loud scary place that had lots of other dogs that barked a lot.  No one came to that scary place to take me home with them and my time to be there was running out.  VGSR came to my rescue and found a foster home for me: boy was I lucky!  I was very shy and timid, and when my foster parents came to pick me up and take me out of my crate, I curled up in a little ball at the back corner of my crate, shaking from my head to my toes, I was sooooo scared of those strange people.  It was a long car trip back to my foster home.  On the ride there I did warm up a tad to my foster mom, she sat in the back with me and gave me some yummy treats.  When I got to my foster home I had my own room, with a large comfy crate and lots of toys and some really good food to eat.  It took quite a while for me to get a little bit comfortable in my new surroundings and at times I can still be a little leery, but me and my foster mom are real buds now, I love my foster mom a whole lot.  I have two GS foster brothers that I love playing with; we have a good time running and chasing each other around the yard. I am still quite timid and shy and still get very frightened with new people, places and things, but I am getting better.

When we first got Major he had no confidence at all with anything, it was as if his spirit had been totally broken.  The first night we got Major home, I walked him in our yard to potty, when we got to a certain point he saw his own shadow and was totally terrified by it.  We took Major in for his vet visit a few days after we had gotten him.  Major was so frightened once we got him in the vet’s office that he curled up in a tight ball under the bench shaking from his head to his toes. As frightened as he was/is of everything this baby has never shown one ounce of aggression at all, his reaction was/is flight, rather than fight.  Major is slowly gaining confidence daily, he is one of the sweetest boys ever, and he loves to be loved on and loves to give love once you have gained his trust.  He is still extremely frightened of all things new.  On Major’s initial vet visit the vet determined that Major had a significant heart murmur, we immediately took Major to a Cardiologist and this was confirmed.   Major’s heart has a very small valve on the right side and because of the stress put on his heart to pump the blood through this valve, the right side of his heart is slightly enlarged.  The Cardiologist has Major on heart medication to slow the heart beat down in hopes that less stress on his heart will help keep the right side of his heart from enlarging further.  Major goes back to the Cardiologist in about 3 months for another checkup to see how things are progressing.  If this medication is working, Major will be on it for the rest of his life.  If not, the only other option for him is to have surgery to enlarge the valve.  Major has come a pretty good way in the 3 months that we have had him but he still has a pretty good ways to go.  Major has just completed six private sessions with a trainer and is beginning another six private training sessions to help him gain confidence and to not get so frightened by unknown stimuli.  Major is extremely smart, a very active boy full of energy, highly inquisitive and still very much a puppy!  Major will need and adopter who is familiar with the breed, not much alone time definitely a fenced in yard. He will need an adopter who is devoted to him and his needs for his medical condition, devoted to continuing his training and tons of love and patients to continue working with him.

Believe me; every ounce of time and energy put into to helping Major become the fantastic GSD that he was meant to be, will be given back to you tenfold, by his undying love and devotion!!

If you feel that you have a place in your heart and home for this super special boy you can contact his foster at bhriddick@yahoo.com