# Kalamazoo, MI; Male, 7months.



## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

This guy is at my work right now. We're a no kill shelter so he's not urgent, just in need of a home.  I'm thinking of fostering him for a while to get him over some fears, but he's a great boy. Skinny, knows how to sit, doesn't potty in his cage. I haven't seen him around other dogs, but I don't think there'd be an issue. Very eager to please. Will fetch tennis balls and bring them back. Has the GSD voice, very attached to people. Tilts his head a lot! His adoption fee is $375 









Petfinder Adoptable Dog | German Shepherd Dog | Kalamazoo, MI | Stu


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

so handsome


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## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

Oh my goodness, he's so adorable! I hope the perfect home comes around for him.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Do you know his background, owner surrender or did they pull him from an AC? Hope he gets out of the kennel asap, so he doesn't become reactive to the other dogs.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> Do you know his background, owner surrender or did they pull him from an AC? Hope he gets out of the kennel asap, so he doesn't become reactive to the other dogs.


According to his petfinder his owner moved out of the country and couldn't take him with. He's awful skinny. 

I doubt he'll have a problem becoming reactive though; very few of the dogs in the kennel are and with our foster system and his age, I doubt he'll stick around long. 

All of the dogs go outside with other dogs and walk freely through the kennel with no problems and the dogs in cages are quiet while others are going out. It's a really routined, scheduled place which prevents the dogs from becoming aggressive and reactive. In the healthy kennel right now we have (50-75?) dogs, and only one it dog aggressive. Only one is human reactive, and a couple that have been there for more than a year are dog reactive now, but friendly otherwise.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I've volunteered there, and done some eval's it is a nice place. But after awhile dogs do get reactive...the GSD's are better off in foster.
The only reason for him to not get adopted quickly is the high adoption fees the SPCA charges.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> I've volunteered there, and done some eval's it is a nice place. But after awhile dogs do get reactive...the GSD's are better off in foster.
> The only reason for him to not get adopted quickly is the high adoption fees the SPCA charges.


After a while, yes. But, like I said, right now we have only a couple of dogs that want to bark and growl at dogs as they go by. 

And yeah, the fees are quite high, but it doesn't seem to be stopping people from adopting; last week we had 16 dog adoptions. I don't think he'll last too long. My favorites have been going like mad.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

any guess how he would be with cats and small children? if the adoption fee were lower i would certainly find a way to get him. His face reminds me a great deal of the GSD that caused my love of the breed. He just looks so happy.


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

He is so handsome! I guess I did not think the fees was that high, perhaps its because that is pretty much the going rate here in IL for most rescues and shelters unless its a county shelter.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

KZoppa said:


> any guess how he would be with cats and small children? if the adoption fee were lower i would certainly find a way to get him. His face reminds me a great deal of the GSD that caused my love of the breed. He just looks so happy.


I think he'd be a cat chaser at first, but with management and training I think he'd listen really well against chasing them. I would have felt fine bringing him into my home with my kitten, anyway. 

He's really calm and shy around people, but not fearful or reactive, so I think he'd be good with kids too. 

Unfortunately for you, fortunately for him; he got adopted today! He was only available for adoption for less than a day and he got adopted. Cheers, Stew!


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

Yippee, I love happy endings!


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Those high adoption fees are why a lot of people go to BYBs instead.... I know there are some GSD pups in my area right now for $275. 

He's a gorgeous guy, hope he gets adopted soon.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

DJEtzel said:


> I think he'd be a cat chaser at first, but with management and training I think he'd listen really well against chasing them. I would have felt fine bringing him into my home with my kitten, anyway.
> 
> He's really calm and shy around people, but not fearful or reactive, so I think he'd be good with kids too.
> 
> Unfortunately for you, fortunately for him; he got adopted today! He was only available for adoption for less than a day and he got adopted. Cheers, Stew!


That's awesome news!


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

yay!!! i'm glad he got adopted. Happy endings are always good. Love it. But i also agree. High adoption fees are partly why people go to BYB. I understand the higher fees are because of the no kill, have to feed and provide medical, so its to recoup some funds but wow. Still glad he got adopted. thats really great.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Konotashi said:


> Those high adoption fees are why a lot of people go to BYBs instead.... I know there are some GSD pups in my area right now for $275.
> 
> He's a gorgeous guy, hope he gets adopted soon.


That's not why. Adoption fees at our local shelter for adult dogs are over 300$, but it NEVER occurred to me to buy a dog for less instead. 

People who want to adopt will adopt. People who want to buy for less will buy. 
People who want to buy, but feel guilty for not adopting, or want to at least give the appearance that they tried to do the right thing by adopting, will use the high adoption fee as an excuse for doing what they wanted to do in the first place, which is to buy a puppy from a BYB for less. 

Glad that sweet looking guy got adopted!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

The SPCA has a brand new facility to pay for. They average at least 15 dog adoptions a week. I use to volunteer w/ them and foster. At that time there wasn't much of a screening on the new owners, never did home visits or any follow-up other than phone call. 
They pulled many animals from high kill shelters(especially down south where the burden is so heavy) so were saving lives, but profitting bigtime from it as well. The new building is awesome so the animals are very well taken care of...the cost of adopting is normal, but in this economy~either people can't afford it or they can. And many are now surrendering their pets due to the economy.
At the time I was helping out, there were only a few paid employees~ everyone else volunteered(even vetting).
The eval's on dogs weren't that great either.
I didn't like the way they placed animals so backed away. It has changed board members in the past year, so hopefully things have changed. 
I have done some eval's for potential adopters and go now and then to walk dogs, but can no longer foster

I'm glad he got adopted, I hope the new owners get support and good training for him!


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

onyx'girl said:


> The SPCA has a brand new facility to pay for. They average at least 15 dog adoptions a week. I use to volunteer w/ them and foster. At that time there wasn't much of a screening on the new owners, never did home visits or any follow-up other than phone call.
> They pulled many animals from high kill shelters(especially down south where the burden is so heavy) so were saving lives, but profitting bigtime from it as well. The new building is awesome so the animals are very well taken care of...the cost of adopting is normal, but in this economy~either people can't afford it or they can. And many are now surrendering their pets due to the economy.
> At the time I was helping out, there were only a few paid employees~ everyone else volunteered(even vetting).
> The eval's on dogs weren't that great either.
> ...


A lot has changed since the last director left and the board has changed around. We're still without a director, but we're up to 10+ paid staff now and it seems like the screenings are going better, too. We do strict behavioral testing now and won't adopt out dogs with behavioral issues. We're hoping to become a destination shelter for petsmart charities which will up our adoptions even more, hoping to be able to keep up with the costs of the building. It is very nice, but with this building we have much higher costs for everything, and there is more staff.


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