# GSD in Central Valley, CA



## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

Note: long post, i apologize in advance for any run-on sentences and grammatical errors because I was typing very fast.

Hi all,

I have not been on this forum for a while but I wanted to ask for some advice. A few days ago, we found a gsd on the side of the road. He looked scared and he was limping. He followed our car to my house the next street over. We live in a rural area. I called animal control and they sent a police officer who said they couldn’t do anything about the dog. They said since he was friendly and non-threatening, they would not take him in. This was also due to the fact that they didn’t have access to the shelter since it was around 12am. I was honestly shocked that they would just leave him.

I explained to the officer that I could not take him in because I already had three dogs at home who were reactive and not friendly with other dogs. The officer said they would take the dog away, however the next morning when I woke up, the dog was out in front of my house. He was sleeping outside of my door. The dog was very sweet, very friendly. He would jump on me but he did not show any type of aggression at all.

That morning I called my fiancé and we drove around the neighborhood asking the neighbors to see if the dog belonged to anyone or if anyone was missing a dog. We called shelters to see where we could take the dog and I also called a few rescues around the area.

They all said they would not take the dog either because they were full or because animal control needed to take the dog first. When I called animal control again to let them know that the dog was there at my house, they told me very clearly that they would not be able to even come to look at the dog because the shelters were completely full (keep in mind please that this is the county animal control). I was in a huge dilemma because the dog was already set on staying around my house, walking around my fence which made my own dogs go crazy. I asked my boyfriend to keep the dog while we looked for someone who could take him in. We eventually took him to his house for the day and for the last two days he has been at his house.

We are planning on moving in together soon and we each have a German Shepherd. As
I mentioned before, my dog is reactive and he does not do well with new dogs.
We are working on that with a trainer, however at this point I’m not sure what to do or how to find a good family to take this dog in or if I should call animal control to see if a spot opened up at the shelter? I don’t know much about shelters but what I have heard is not good.

I just don’t know what to do! We took him to the vet and they said he was approximately two to three years old. He is healthy and he is around 88 pounds. He is not chipped. We named him Duke for now. As I mentioned before, he’s very very sweet, he has not shown any type of aggression of any kind, he does well meeting all dogs, he has not shown food aggression, or aggression with toys, and he’s not fear reactive so far.
He doesn’t seem to like to sleep inside and he doesn’t seem to have any formal training. Does anyone have any advice on what we can do now? Could anyone take him in or what are the next steps? 

Pics below: 

I added the collar


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Get in contact with CalPaws K9 Rescue… they’re a small rescue that’s usually bursting at the seams but somehow Alex seems to work miracles. By law, in most counties he _does_ need to go to the shelter or if you can hang on to him for 30 days (and show an effort to locate his owners), he could legally be owned or placed by you or surrendered to a rescue. If your local shelter won’t take him… CalPaws may have a foster that can keep him for the rest of his 30 days, or she may have an “in” at the shelter or one that’s neighboring you. I never know what’s really considered “Central Valley”, but I believe as far as they work is from the Bay Area to Fresno.

Good Luck


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

Where are you located? Maybe somebody here is interested. Since he is so well mannered, he probably was somebody's pet and his family may be looking for him. Most animal shelters are full and to put him into one is the last thing he deserves. He looks purebred so put an ad up on Craigslist with your story and see if anybody wants him. Just carefully screen any prospective owners. Maybe the owner will see the listing.


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## banzai555 (Sep 2, 2019)

Look at those claws...they look pretty neatly trimmed. Guessing this guy has a family. 

Seriously tempted to take him myself.....


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Why don't you keep this gem? If you decide to keep him, make sure you go through the AC hoops to make sure you don't keep "stolen property".


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## Buckelke (Sep 4, 2019)

Either he is lost or he was dumped. We live in a rural area, too, and I've had 3 houseguests in the 20 years we've lived here. We spent a day driving one around only to find a surveyor who'd seen her dropped off early that morning. Makes you angry. I understand about full shelters, way too many people got Covid dogs they now don't want. If it was me, I'd take it as serendipity and get another dinner bowl out. They dog came to your house and wants you. At the very least give him a temporary home and keep hunting for a home that wants him. You can take him to any vet and have him scanned for a microchip, you might get lucky. I had one my vet told me to take him to area vets and see if anyone recognized him. (sadly, no). Is there a German Shepherd club in your area? Trainers? Someone may recognize him or know someone who would take him in. 

He's a gorgeous fellow, btw. Thank you for taking him in and trying to help him.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

I found the owner of several lost dogs that have wandered in here by the local county Facebook lost and found page. At least in Ohio I think there is a group for each county. Good luck, he's beautiful.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

Fodder said:


> Get in contact with CalPaws K9 Rescue… they’re a small rescue that’s usually bursting at the seams but somehow Alex seems to work miracles. By law, in most counties he _does_ need to go to the shelter or if you can hang on to him for 30 days (and show an effort to locate his owners), he could legally be owned or placed by you or surrendered to a rescue. If your local shelter won’t take him… CalPaws may have a foster that can keep him for the rest of his 30 days, or she may have an “in” at the shelter or one that’s neighboring you. I never know what’s really considered “Central Valley”, but I believe as far as they work is from the Bay Area to Fresno.
> 
> Good Luck


Thank you, I have been driving around my neighborhood and asking all of the neighboring houses if they’re missing a dog and so far I have had no luck. My neighborhood is not huge so pretty much everyone knows each other and we all pretty much know who has what dogs. Maybe he came from farther away in the town and walked a long distance but I’m not sure. Also, I am shocked by how unhelpful animal control and all the shelters have been. I have never experienced this but I didn’t realize that it was so difficult to take a dog in and I didn’t realize that rescues do not take strays in? I know I am probably being unfair because I am sure that the shelters are very full right now and the rescues are as well.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

DHau said:


> Where are you located? Maybe somebody here is interested. Since he is so well mannered, he probably was somebody's pet and his family may be looking for him. Most animal shelters are full and to put him into one is the last thing he deserves. He looks purebred so put an ad up on Craigslist with your story and see if anybody wants him. Just carefully screen any prospective owners. Maybe the owner will see the listing.


I am located near Manteca, CA. I was thinking about putting up flyers around the neighborhood to see if his owners were looking for him but I’m a little bit hesitant on doing that or even putting ads online because I’m not sure if someone will just try to claim him because he is good looking or they just want a purebred German Shepherd. I would not want him to go into the wrong home.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

banzai555 said:


> Look at those claws...they look pretty neatly trimmed. Guessing this guy has a family.
> 
> Seriously tempted to take him myself.....


That is what I was thinking but no one has claimed him yet.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

wolfy dog said:


> Why don't you keep this gem? If you decide to keep him, make sure you go through the AC hoops to make sure you don't keep "stolen property".


I want to keep him so badly! He is so sweet and in the few days that I have had him, he has won my heart. It breaks my heart to even think about leaving him at a shelter or him going into the wrong home, but unfortunately I have a German Shepherd male who is almost 2 years old (so he’s around the same age as Duke) and he does not get along with new dogs at the moment. That is something that I’m working on with training, however I don’t know if it would be a good idea long term. I wouldn’t want to put either dogs in a bad situation.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Don’t put a picture of the dog in the ads or posts and ask then to describe the dog to you and give you the name. You should be able to tell if the dog is theirs or not. Every dog should be chipped. I know of two rescues who would take the dog and didn’t Fodder give you a suggestion? Rescues also know how to find owners if someone is looking for the dog. I don’t remember if you check lost boards?


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

Buckelke said:


> Either he is lost or he was dumped. We live in a rural area, too, and I've had 3 houseguests in the 20 years we've lived here. We spent a day driving one around only to find a surveyor who'd seen her dropped off early that morning. Makes you angry. I understand about full shelters, way too many people got Covid dogs they now don't want. If it was me, I'd take it as serendipity and get another dinner bowl out. They dog came to your house and wants you. At the very least give him a temporary home and keep hunting for a home that wants him. You can take him to any vet and have him scanned for a microchip, you might get lucky. I had one my vet told me to take him to area vets and see if anyone recognized him. (sadly, no). Is there a German Shepherd club in your area? Trainers? Someone may recognize him or know someone who would take him in.
> 
> He's a gorgeous fellow, btw. Thank you for taking him in and trying to help him.


Yes, we are going to keep him for as long as we can. No one has claimed him yet even though we have been looking. It’s only been a few days but we haven’t found any person who wants to take him in. We had to pull some strings for him to stay with my fiancé but we are trying our best. Also, he was not chipped.

I wish I could keep him but my boy is almost 2, so he’s around the same age as Duke, and he is not friendly with new dogs. We are working on this but idk if in the future we would be able to have both of them. That would be ideal but I am not sure. I wouldn’t want to put either in a bad situation.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

LuvShepherds said:


> Don’t put a picture of the dog in the ads or posts and ask then to describe the dog to you and give you the name. You should be able to tell if the dog is theirs or not. Every dog should be chipped. I know of two rescues who would take the dog and didn’t Fodder give you a suggestion? Rescues also know how to find owners if someone is looking for the dog. I don’t remember if you check lost boards?


Okay thank you this is all great information. I actually have not had a chance to call the rescue today but I’m gonna look into it.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

This is what one AC officer told me when you find a dog: that dog is some one's property by law. Keeping it can get you sued by it's owner and can get you jail time. The way to go about this is to call AC to get the dog. If you want to keep the dog, you have first right of adoption after stray time is over. Or... You keep the dog with you and you have to post the dog through three, easy for the public to reach, media sources or announcements. If no one claims him in 30 days you can keep him. This is based on the experience when I found a dog.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

Does the pup have a microchip? Also depending the county and how overloaded the shelters are, the "turnover" rate for a dog is super high. My dog was in the high kill shelter for about 7 days before they put her up for adoption. She had no microchip or collar. I would get advice from an AC officer like wolfy dog said and get in touch with those rescues!


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

The issue sometimes with rescues is that they adopt out the dog before the owner has had a chance to find it.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

wolfy dog said:


> The issue sometimes with rescues is that they adopt out the dog before the owner has had a chance to find it.


Yes which is why i seconded your opinion of talking to an AC office first! OP please listen to this advice! The dog could have just escaped and the owners are frantically looking for him. The first day I adopted my dog she pushed my mom out of the way to open the door and bolted! It took hours to find her (not enough time to alert animal control or put up posters). I would be horrified if someone let a rescue take them and adopt them out. But maybe the rescue will have someone that can hold the dog for when the owner comes around.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Just make sure you have everything in writing and signed if you decide to go the rescue route. But I would stick with AC. Actually, when they impound him, he becomes available after probably 5 days vs. keeping him until he is available after 30 days. Jail is only one mistake away sometimes. That AC officer, who told me all this, scared the **** out of me.


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## Sunsilver (Apr 8, 2014)

He's gorgeous! If I didn't live so far away (Canada) I would take him!


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

wolfy dog said:


> Just make sure you have everything in writing and signed if you decide to go the rescue route. But I would stick with AC. Actually, when they impound him, he becomes available after probably 5 days vs. keeping him until he is available after 30 days. Jail is only one mistake away sometimes. That AC officer, who told me all this, scared the **** out of me.


One of the people who lives in the houses close to where I found him said he has seen many people “dropping” off dogs in the field recently. I really hope this did not happen. I am going to try to look for his owner through various methods & yes lol the AC thing is kinda freaking me out even though when I called them they had seemed like they wanted me to keep him


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It’s very sad. Where I am GSDs are scarce in shelters and are pulled immediately by rescue groups. That dog would already be requested by a dozen people and gone once he’s cleared by AC. It’s possible he was owned for a specific reason that he did not fill and the people hoped he’d find a home. They obviously didn’t care. The first clue is that he’s not microchipped. Every decent vet now insists on it.


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## mreese (Jan 20, 2013)

I'm not sure what their geographic range is, but you can try Westside German Shepherd Rescue (Westside German Shepherd Rescue).

They are located in Los Angeles but rescue GSDs/mixes from shelters from a wide area.

One of our current rescues is a Westside alum and we are supporters. 

If they can't directly help you by taking him in, they may be able to point you to a rescue in the area (or maybe even get him into one of the shelters that have turned you away through their relationships).


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## Barz (Jan 9, 2020)

First of all, bless your heart for taking the time to try and find the owners. Unfortunately, with the way the economy is people are quite literally dumping animals as they can't afford food, vet bills, etc. 
My advice is, as a few others have suggested is to try and take him to a German shepherd rescue. I would first contact the ones mentioned earlier in this post. If they cannot accommodate Duke then please contact Saving Paws Rescue of Arizona. We live in Pismo Beach, CA and have adopted 4 dogs from them over the years. They specialize in GSD's and Belgian Malinois and have a very large facility staffed by many dedicated volunteers. I know it would be a considerable drive for you (it's located in north Phoenix) but I know that they would be happy to take Duke and find a good home for him.
Home - Saving Paws Rescue Arizona

Good luck and have a wonderful holiday.


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## P’s mom (Sep 25, 2020)

Thank you all. I spoke to the animal control officer today and I asked about keeping him or rehoming. They also mentioned the 30 day rule in CA and they said that we are basically fostering him right now. They mentioned again that they’re not able to take him to the shelter because they are full right now. 

I mentioned to her that the other officers told me to basically leave him on the street and she was apologetic but said that that is the unfortunate reality at this moment with many of the dogs roaming around. 😕 I told her that I will keep trying to find the owner and she said that she sees me making a great effort. 

Unfortunately, as you all know, I cannot keep him long-term but this probably means that I can continue looking for a good home for him. And I will contact the rescues you all mentioned!!


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

he is obviously someone's lost or (more likely stolen-could be why no info in your area) pet-dont give up, his owner is out there looking for him-if that was my dog I would not give up looking for him- most people wouldn't think their pup could have been taken to another state. To bad he wasn't chipped. Do you have a kennel and dog house keep him in that for a few days. PS Owner would be able to point out something specific about their lost dog so dont post full bodied pics and keep any pictures to a minimum and dont tell people much about the dog's behavior. Look to the lost pets groups first. To bad you dont live near me(NJ)-I have the land and kennels he could have staid in until his owner is found. I have had dogs/animals(even had a lost cow once) at my farm a few times a year since I live next to a walking trail/park/farms so I put them in a kennel with food/water/house and then call the cops, dog pound, vets to report said lost dog-have the cops come out to fill a report/info and set a time/date(if they have room) then take them to pound-by then most owners would have contacted the police/dog pounds to about their lost pup or advertised and the pound can notify me to bring in pup if the pound couldn't take the pup right away. Longest I have a dog was 2 days because of the holiday.


P’s mom said:


> I am located near Manteca, CA. I was thinking about putting up flyers around the neighborhood to see if his owners were looking for him but I’m a little bit hesitant on doing that or even putting ads online because I’m not sure if someone will just try to claim him because he is good looking or they just want a purebred German Shepherd. I would not want him to go into the wrong home.


just an ad NO PICs stating lost GSD dog(owner would know what a GSD is) is plenty enough and the caller has to prove with a picture etc that its their dog.


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

LuvShepherds said:


> It’s very sad. Where I am GSDs are scarce in shelters and are pulled immediately by rescue groups. That dog would already be requested by a dozen people and gone once he’s cleared by AC. It’s possible he was owned for a specific reason that he did not fill and the people hoped he’d find a home. They obviously didn’t care. The first clue is that he’s not microchipped. Every decent vet now insists on it.


 my dog disappeared from my home and I looked for and went to the local pound 10 days, gave them pictures and info on my dog and yes he was microchip. On the 10th day my mom and I stopped at the pound just because I never gave up looking and there was my dog getting ready to be adopted out-I freaked out and went ballistic, pointed to said picture/info of my dog that was posted literally right there on the lost pets board next to the desk why wasnt I told they had my dog-they kept him in the back away from the public. The adopting family was smart and just backed away from it all. The lady said I just cost them money(?) I dont care I will pay for it all just give me back my dog which they did because I threaten to take them to court. I found out later that year the dog catcher was arrested and both she and the pound was taken to court for taking pets from yards, holding them to get a pay off-they were ALL fired.


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## michaelr (Aug 5, 2010)

P’s mom said:


> I want to keep him so badly! He is so sweet and in the few days that I have had him, he has won my heart. It breaks my heart to even think about leaving him at a shelter or him going into the wrong home, but unfortunately I have a German Shepherd male who is almost 2 years old (so he’s around the same age as Duke) and he does not get along with new dogs at the moment. That is something that I’m working on with training, however I don’t know if it would be a good idea long term. I wouldn’t want to put either dogs in a bad situation.


Have you asked your trainer if they could possibly help on the introductions and acclimation of Duke to your (and probably your boyfriend's) dogs? It might take a little while, but you're waiting on a solution as is, so might as well try to work something out while you're waiting. If it works, your solution will be at hand and you will have a sweet dog as the reward. 

Our Bear (died 2010) was reactive with not just dogs but people he didn't already know also. He literally wouldn't let our older son's fiance into the house for months (we would put him behind a baby gate across the stairs to the second floor). Eventually we decided to try and acclimate him to her by muzzling him and leaving him on the ground floor. He barked and carried on for a few minutes, but soon enough settled down. Eventually he went over to her and sniffed her hand, let her pet him, etc. By the end of the night they were the best of friends and the muzzle came off. My point is that acclimation is possible.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

dojoson41 said:


> my dog disappeared from my home and I looked for and went to the local pound 10 days, gave them pictures and info on my dog and yes he was microchip. On the 10th day my mom and I stopped at the pound just because I never gave up looking and there was my dog getting ready to be adopted out-I freaked out and went ballistic, pointed to said picture/info of my dog that was posted literally right there on the lost pets board next to the desk why wasnt I told they had my dog-they kept him in the back away from the public. The adopting family was smart and just backed away from it all. The lady said I just cost them money(?) I dont care I will pay for it all just give me back my dog which they did because I threaten to take them to court. I found out later that year the dog catcher was arrested and both she and the pound was taken to court for taking pets from yards, holding them to get a pay off-they were ALL fired.


That is a horrible story and everyone’s worst nightmare. But most dogs today are chipped by the vet. They usually insist on it. This poor dog doesn’t have a chip. They are doing everything they can to find the owners. Sometimes lost dogs never get back home again.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I talked to a rescue for you. They won’t take a dog unless it’s from the legal owner or has been held the requisite amount of time in a shelter or foster home. There are legal issues. So you will want to find a foster for the rest of the 30 days and then a rescue can take the dog or someone can adopt him.


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## Matador27 (Dec 24, 2021)

P’s mom said:


> Note: long post, i apologize in advance for any run-on sentences and grammatical errors because I was typing very fast.
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> ...


Hi , how are you?
He is beautiful, did you find the owners? Or are you going to keep him? I have a year old German Shepard maybe can be get along with my dog.
Let me know if I can help.
Marco.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Let's not forget that this dog is not available for adoption but needs to find the owner still.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

He would need to be fostered for a full 30 days while they look for the owner.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

People are often too eager to "rescue". Glad that he is safe though


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Where did we get 30 days as the holding period? County by county in California, the laws I found says a report must be filed with the local shelter. Then the hold period is 10 days when ads are to be placed and the finder must check the lost dog listings and make every avaialble effort to find the owner. Then the county can sign off on the dog after that period and it is available to adopt. The shelters only have to hold a dog for 72 hours. If anyone has different information please post a link. Since the OP has already had the dog for a week, that may also count as the time period.

@Fodder. You said 30 days but I could not find that anywhere.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

30 days is in my county in Oregon. Could be different anywhere else. That why it's best to check with your own AC.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

LuvShepherds said:


> @Fodder. You said 30 days but I could not find that anywhere.


that information has always been given to me in person, directly by animal control themselves… mostly in LA and surrounding counties. the last time i encountered this info was in 2012, sacramento. in post #25, animal control told the OP the same thing, so idk.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It looks like all lost and found dogs in the Central Valley go through the City of Stockton shelter. I’m very sensitive to this because one of my previous rescues was found and fostered for 30 days but I’m not sure they got the dog legally or that they were following a timeline. They just didn’t know what to do with him and said he was too sensitive for a shelter. They were unable to keep him, so I was contacted by a non GSD rescue group that knew I had GSD experience and basically dumped with me without any contracts or paperwork. All I got was vet paperwork with his neuter data and new shot record. After I had him a month, I contacted AC to ask what now? They didn’t want him and since I had already spent a month training him, he was completely attached to us and he was around age 5-6, they said You have a dog. So we ended up with him by default. That is why I said sometimes a dog never returns to their owners. I looked and he was not listed as missing anywhere.


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## Hopps (Dec 5, 2021)

LuvShepherds said:


> It looks like all lost and found dogs in the Central Valley go through the City of Stockton shelter. I’m very sensitive to this because one of my previous rescues was found and fostered for 30 days but I’m not sure they got the dog legally or that they were following a timeline. They just didn’t know what to do with him and said he was too sensitive for a shelter. They were unable to keep him, so I was contacted by a non GSD rescue group that knew I had GSD experience and basically dumped with me without any contracts or paperwork. All I got was vet paperwork with his neuter data and new shot record. After I had him a month, I contacted AC to ask what now? They didn’t want him and since I had already spent a month training him, he was completely attached to us and he was around age 5-6, they said You have a dog. So we ended up with him by default. That is why I said sometimes a dog never returns to their owners. I looked and he was not listed as missing anywhere.


This was my experience with Fern at the City of Stockton shelter. Someone brought her in as a stray on November 26th or so of this year. She was up for adoption on December 2nd this year. I adopted her on the 3rd I believe. Sat in the shelter for about a week and was put for adoption. She had no microchip or collar, no one called in for her or even put a notice saying they're missing a dog. The shelter gave me two sheets of paper and a microchip number. I looked on so many websites for "lost dog" ads to to triple check no one was looking for her. Legally no one can take her back, even if it was the previous owner but it was AC's decision to put her up for adoption. At this point the shelter is way overwhelmed (waiving adoption fees for dogs over 25 lbs or so). I looked through about 300-500 listings for lost german shepherds in Stockton and 200 miles of Stockon. Zilch. AC said it's common for people to just dump dogs on the street instead of bringing the dogs in. The vet I talked to said she's seen even more crowded shelters that turn dogs up for adoption in 3 days of getting them due to so many owners turning dogs in. They talked about how so many dogs never end up back home because of a lack of microchip. 

Anyways the 30 days thing still applies and it would be awesome if OP could foster temporarily. During these times, it's become way too common for people to just leave their dogs on the street and run. In the 30 minutes I was at the shelter a man turned in his very very underweight dog and a woman left a crate full of 2 week old kittens at the door and ran. It's a tough situation with everything going on.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

Fodder said:


> Get in contact with CalPaws K9 Rescue… they’re a small rescue that’s usually bursting at the seams but somehow Alex seems to work miracles. By law, in most counties he _does_ need to go to the shelter or if you can hang on to him for 30 days (and show an effort to locate his owners), he could legally be owned or placed by you or surrendered to a rescue. If your local shelter won’t take him… *CalPaws may have a foster that can keep him for the rest of his 30 days, or she may have an “in” at the shelter or one that’s neighboring you.* I never know what’s really considered “Central Valley”, but I believe as far as they work is from the Bay Area to Fresno.
> 
> Good Luck


some time has passed, hopefully Duke has found a safe place by now.
just updating my original post with a screenshot to support the suggestion… for anyone else who may happen upon this thread and is trying to keep a dog out of the shelter.








(this instance is unrelated to the dog in this thread)


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

LuvShepherds said:


> It’s very sad. Where I am GSDs are scarce in shelters and are pulled immediately by rescue groups. That dog would already be requested by a dozen people and gone once he’s cleared by AC. It’s possible he was owned for a specific reason that he did not fill and the people hoped he’d find a home. They obviously didn’t care. The first clue is that he’s not microchipped. Every decent vet now insists on it.


I tried to adopt a purebred shelter dog two years ago (you may remember I was not even considered becuase I didn't have a fenced yard) and they had over 100 applications. This was just pre-covid too.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

WNGD said:


> I tried to adopt a purebred shelter dog two years ago (you may remember I was not even considered becuase I didn't have a fenced yard) and they had over 100 applications. This was just pre-covid too.


When they have that many applications you have less than a 1% chance of getting a dog. It’s not personal but they need some ways to weed people out. I also found the perfect rescued dog twice when I was adopting and each time the dog was gone in minutes after being posted


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

LuvShepherds said:


> When they have that many applications you have less than a 1% chance of getting a dog. It’s not personal but they need some ways to weed people out. I also found the perfect rescued dog twice when I was adopting and each time the dog was gone in minutes after being posted


speaking as a recipient of one of those dogs… he didn’t even make it into the rescues hands since i also volunteered to transport him - it’s worth it to be pre approved and have a standing relationship with the rescue. you see it suggested all the time for breeders.

i’ve also visited a dog at the shelter that wasn’t yet available. she had stickers showing that there were 3 other interested parties…. while discouraged and talking to the shelter staff, they let me know the same interested parties were also all interested in another younger purebred and to come back anyway. next day, while the others were awaiting the “lottery” results with the other dog - i produced a drivers license and credit card and walked out with mine.

i don’t discount the hoops others have had to jump thru or the disappointment they experienced, but somehow, despite lots of the typical cards stacked against me - i’ve been able to avoid it and pretty much always get the dogs i’ve wanted.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

@Fodder I wasn’t preapproved at the one rescue yet and the other is very difficult to deal with even if they like you. I agree, once I went through the screening and home inspection and was approved, I got the one I wanted the following Saturday.


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