# Thoughts of Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue (MAGSR)?



## Drewbacca

Hey all,

Was looking to adopt from this organization. Their application process is pretty vigorous, I felt like I was taking an exam and haven't felt that way since I was in college lol, but I have to commend them for their dedication to their rescues. Has anyone dealt with this organization before? Was just looking to get some stories and feedback before I go forward and finish the application. 

--Andrew


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## Stevenzachsmom

Sending you a PM.


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## wolfstraum

a breeder I know had a dog get grabbed up at a vets...they refused to give the breeder back the dog...long bitter battle between lawyers on teh BOD and breeder who wanted dog back (still in her name BTW) but who did not have the financial wherewithal to fight them...

Lee


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## Jax08

Look into All Shepherd Rescue. Good group of people.

There have been a couple of issues at MAGSR, including Lee's post above. Also a dog that they sent to a bad foster who ended up with a bite due to their own stupidity. Many people fought the rescue, who was going to euthanize the dog, and a breeder in CT took him, rehabbed him and adopted him out.

Not a rescue I can recommend with confidence anymore.


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## G-burg

You can also look into Virginia German Shepherd Rescue.. 

Home - Virginia German Shepherd Rescue, Inc.


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## Merciel

Jax08 said:


> Also a dog that they sent to a bad foster who ended up with a bite due to their own stupidity.


There's only so much a rescue can do to control the behavior of its fosters. Unfortunately everybody is so hard up for fosters all the time that almost every rescue will gamble on an iffy foster home if it's not obviously super terrible.

And most fosters are just well-meaning regular people who don't necessarily have a ton of expertise in handling dogs of any sort, let alone dogs with behavioral issues.

I'm not taking a stance with regard to MAGSR one way or the other -- I've never dealt with them personally and have, at best, third-hand reputation-type information that's pretty much neutral and therefore not too helpful -- I'm just saying that it's not always fair to impute the stupidity of one foster home to the whole entire rescue.

To the OP: you'll find that most of the good rescues have pretty extensive applications. Shelters tend to be a little simpler because they're usually dealing with higher volumes in a less personal setting.

But when you adopt from a foster-based rescue, you're taking a dog that's been living in somebody's home for a while, almost like one of their own pets, so the foster always wants to feel comfortable that the dog is really truly going to a great home. 

And a foster-based rescue really wants to make a good match. That's the biggest benefit of adopting from a rescue rather than a shelter in the first place -- you can get a lot more insight into the dog's personality, activity level, behavioral quirks in a home setting, and so forth. But all this extra information can't be used to maximum advantage if they don't know enough about _you_ to figure out which of their dogs would be good matches. So that's the other main reason they typically ask so much stuff.

Not that you asked for an explanation. I just talk too much sometimes.


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## Jax08

Merciel said:


> There's only so much a rescue can do to control the behavior of its fosters. Unfortunately everybody is so hard up for fosters all the time that almost every rescue will gamble on an iffy foster home if it's not obviously super terrible.


Since you quoted me...

there was a little more to the whole story than just a bad foster. Look the story up. the rescue was going to euthanize the dog because of the bite and people took the rescue to court to save the dog. That part is not on the foster, it's on the rescue.

Now maybe they have their act together again. Because they used to be a top notch rescue. But given the past couple of years, I would not recommend them.


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## Stevenzachsmom

Andrew is in* PHILADELPHIA!!* Can anyone suggest GSD rescues in PA? 

Thank you!


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## Jax08

sent a PM to you in response, Jan.

SASRA
GSR-SP
ASR (MD)
Shepherds To Love (MD)
VGSR (Virginia) Not sure if that is out of their adoption range.
BDBH in Rochester - Again not sure about adoption range.


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## Prinzsalpha

We have worked with them numerous times and had no issues.


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## Drewbacca

thanks for the responses everyone. as stevenzachsmom said, I do reside in philadelphia. the gsr-sp i've been keeping an eye on, because that's what is closest to me. i stumbled across the MAGSR because apparently they do cater to parts of PA, so i'm going to fill out an app and see how that goes. they seem to have alot more shepherds to choose from than the gsr-sp. every other rescue closest to me i've looked at doesn't seem to have what i'm looking. i'm also still on the hunt for a reputable working line breeder in my area, if anyone has any info, that'd be great as well. 

--andrew


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## Jax08

Prinzsalpha said:


> We have worked with them numerous times and had no issues.


Good to know!! Maybe they just had a couple bumps in the road of new management.


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## Jax08

Drewbacca said:


> they seem to have alot more shepherds to choose from than the gsr-sp.
> 
> --andrew


Unfortunately, GSR-SP doesn't seem to foster many. They do seem to eval and match up dogs in shelters with potential adopters


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