Once your application has been submitted, a small team of approved volunteers will begin processing. This includes vet/reference calls, home visits, and meet and greets. Once you have been approved as an adopter, you will be paired with a potential dog. We conduct a series of meet and greets (at minimum one) to determine whether or not it’s the right fit. Once a match has been made, our volunteers drop off your new pup in person to ensure a safe and effective transition into their new home.

Yes! Our team works hard to match dogs with the right families. Some of our pups have prior experience with children, and have been temperamentally assessed accordingly.

Our rescue currently operates in the coastal PNW region, meaning that we operate in Washington, Oregon, and California. Other states are considered on a case-by-case basis.

We specialize in German Shepherds. Occasionally, we have German Shepherd mixes as well as other breeds, that are considered and accepted on a case-by-case basis.

All applications are reviewed and considered on an individual basis, as with other details of our application process. Please submit an application and let us know how you plan to accommodate your potential rescue dog.

We respect and utilize all methods of training. Our rescue does not subscribe to or promote one specific method over another. All adopters are required to enroll in basic obedience after adopting from our rescue. We believe that training is essential to bonding with your new dog and should be viewed as a fun, engaging activity with your new family member.

Yes! German Shepherds can live in apartments. However, our rescue only adopts to apartment residents on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your living situation and incorporating a working breed into your home.

You can apply to volunteer via our applications page. We are always looking for new volunteers, from fosters to photographers and application processors!

All potential intakes must submit a surrender form, where our team reviews each and every unique situation. We receive hundreds of surrender applications each year, and are able to temperamentally assess only a select number of them. Once a dog has been approved for our rescue, they will either remain with their owner until adoption, or are transferred to one of our foster homes, depending on the situation.

Yes! You can visit our donations page and choose a way that works for you. We have several different ways for you to donate to our rescue.

Yes! We have regular meet-ups with volunteers and their foster pups for play time. This gives the pups in our rescue a chance to be extra social and have playtime with other dogs outside of their home with monitoring from multiple experienced handlers. We also thost morale events to keep our rescue’s community alive and thriving.

We believe that open discussion and continuous communication is the best way to foster a strong and healthy community of fosters and volunteers. Throughout your time as a foster and volunteer, you will not only have a great time with likeminded people, you’ll also be fully supported by other experienced volunteers/fosters within our rescue.

On average, most German Shepherds require a medium to high level of exercise. This can come in many forms, such as general conditioning (like ball play or training) to daily walks to brain games. You should anticipate that they will need higher levels of exercise and stimulation.

We require that all of our adopters have previous German Shepherd or similar working breed experience. While some German Shepherds can be very good for first-time dog owners, we have a policy that our adopters must have prior experience to receive a dog from our rescue.

There are many different colors of German Shepherds, but the most common are black and tan, black and red, black and silver, bi-color, black, and sable. Other colors can include white, liver, panda, and blue.

German Shepherds typically blow their undercoat twice a year, while shedding additionally throughout the year. This is completely normal, but coats vary from dog to dog. We often recommend brushing your pup at least once a week to keep their skin and fur healthy and looking great!