Carlos came to us as a stray from a North Carolina shelter. He has a beautiful healthy coat, two floppy ears, hazel brown eyes, a bit of grey tints here and there and unfortunately, is heartworm positive. He will undergo the treatment soon. He is acting rather traumatized for now and needs time to flourish and gain confidence. He is a total sweetheart and love bug, leans against you and puts his head in your lap....a diamond in the rough! With patience and time he will become a gorgeous and loyal best friend to a family. He is big (although he does not know it himself) and acts like a puppy, including mouthing at your hand and some rambunctious pushing at times. He feels safe inside his crate and always runs back to it to hide, to rest. He is still so insecure and we suspect he had a very rough start in life. He is missing part of his right muzzle, just behind the nose and lost a canine tooth. We are treating the infection and hoping to find the funds for cosmetic surgery. With cosmetic surgery he will be all beautiful again and be able to fully close his mouth and not have a bloody nose from running into things. If you can help and sponsor this poor soul, any donation per attention to Carlos #2895 would be highly appreciated! He is good with cats, just noses them and an occasional chase. He is still learning the proper ways of saying hello and finding his place with other dogs but his intentions are all good and he is submissive. He started watching people, other dogs and the street from our backyard gate but when someone approaches he goes low to the ground. When they leave again he keeps on watching them or even stands up and leans with his front paws on the gate to try and get them to come back to him. He does not jump over and also does not bark, just a soft whimper. He loves hanging out in our family room where his crate is and feels very at home there, so when we go upstairs he often stays behind. We take him along on a leash and he does relax but will grab the first opportunity to run back down to his safe zone again. He needs more time... He is good being left alone but does like to chew, so we give him good chew toys which do not hurt his muzzle. If not, he will pick up your shoes, remote control or anything else chewy. He would be good in a home alone and lots of human companionship or with other dogs and/or cats. He will definitely need obedience training, daily exercise and lots of patience and attention. If you are interested in Carlos, and/or helping with his expensive treatments (heartworm treatment, cosmetic surgery), please contact his foster mom Karen at gsdmom78@gmail.com Please check out our web site at www.shepherdrescue.org for more information about our dogs, our adoption process and to download an application. You must have a fully approved application on file prior to privately meeting our dogs. We do not have a facility, all our dogs are housed in private foster homes throughout MD/DC/VA areas. More information available on our web site, so please read through our web site before emailing questions, as it might save us both some time! VGSR can only adopt dogs out in the Virginia/Maryland/DC area, no exceptions. Although donations of all types are needed, our primary need is foster homes for our lovely dogs while they wait for their new family to find them. Fostering is an extremely rewarding experience. Vet care is paid for by our rescue, and we can even provide you with food. All YOU need to add is love and security. The adoption process starts with the applicant filling out the adoption application. This can happen at any time during the process, before or after having met a GSD that might be the ideal companion. (It's an advantage to have a pre-approved application on file with VGSR. It should be stressed here that being pre-approved does not mean that any potential adopter can select any available dog at will and take that dog home immediately. VGSR will exercise its best judgement as to which GSD will be the best match for that specific adopter based on a number of qualifying criteria. Many GSDs that come to us are matched up with their new people very quickly because their people have been pre-approved.) The applicant then submits the application form with a non-refundable $10.00 processing fee. VGSR reviews the application, then schedules an interview and home visit during which a number of questions are asked and the home is reviewed to be sure there is a contained/safe yard, and to meet the family involved. Once the application is approved, the applicant is asked to submit a $250.00 donation to VGSR, and the adoption is completed.