Still never received our puppy back or a reason why our reapplication was rejected. Paid the a $20 fee plus donated $200. Have sent numerous emails and left voice mails. NOTHING. We have no idea what they have done with our 7 month old German Shepherd Raven. Something is going on here. DO NOT ADOPT A DOG FROM THEM !!!!! read more

We've had a very positive experience with the VGSR. They have a fantastic group of volunteers who are super responsive, thorough and courteous in processing and checking your application. (And it wasn't totally issue free for us. But the rescue worked with us and ultimately, we were approved.) Immediately we started scanning the VGSR website for possible matches. Both the VGSR website and their social media outlets will indicate whether a particular dog will be at an event in Virginia which provides a very easy way to meet many of the dogs. We attended a local event and met the dog that caught our eye on the website. We followed up with that dogs foster via email which is provided on the VGSR website. Then we set up a relaxed meet and greet with the foster and the dog. We expressed are desire to adopt the dog. The particular foster we worked with was spot on with breed knowledge and pairing dogs with proper individuals and families. The foster felt we were a good match - we complete the adoption paperwork & paid the adoption fee and now we have a wonderful new addition to our household. I felt the application/approval process was in line with other reputable rescues in our Northern Virginia area. We love are new dog and would 100% return to the VGSR to adopt again! read more

Once we were approved, I contacted one of the fosters. The information online said that the dog was crate trained. She is 5 months old. I asked him about house training and his response, " She is 5 months old, she might have some accidents". He NEVER let me know how long the so called crate trained dog could be in the crate. Not a problem. We are NOT new owners. Get this, WE are willing to drive 4 hours ONE way to meet the dog and his response, " I don't want to drive that far if it is work out". I emailed another foster with the same organization about a different dog. I just asked him if the dog was affectionate. The response, "There are other approved people interested in the dog. Let me know what you want to do ". If you DON'T live in VA, you may not want to consider VGSR. read more

We adopted Jaeger in early November and have had nothing but a wonderful experience. Our family keeps talking about how he is the perfect dog for us and how lucky we were to get him. Personally, I found VGSR to be more than careful about which dogs to give to which potential adopters. There were a couple dogs that we thought were beautiful and would suit our needs, but the fosters were very firm when they thought a dog would be a bad fit for a family with children. Instead, they paired us with Jaeger and he has been an absolute dream. You should know, German Shepherds are a lot of dog, so if you haven't had a dog before it may not be the right choice for a first-time dog owner. I grew up with a very large Lab (nearly 100 lb) and was used to the typical puppy behavior. If you're just starting out, I would recommend a Lab or a Golden. But otherwise, GSDs rule!! read more

Virginia German Shepherd Rescue - Animal Shelters Near Me

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These people aren't interested in letting you adopt a dog, The adoption process is incredibly intrusive and a invasion of privacy. It is incredibly arrogant of them to think that this is OK, Instead of rescuing German shepherds they should go find and HOA to run. read more

I put a 5 star review simply to counter the reviews from Emily M and Suzannah S. Those people clearly need counseling and should be nowhere near animals. Typical "Karens"...Ugh read more

DANGEROUS PRACTICES!! We adopted an older shepherd (2 years maybe?) from the rescue. We were told that he was given up because he showed some aggression towards the couples wife once she became pregnant. They claimed they never saw any signs of aggression from him. After several sessions with the dog and no signs of aggression towards me we decided to adopt. Two days later the dog tried to attack my husband unprovoked (he was trying to give him a treat). We called the rescue and were asked to work with the dog and given tips and suggestions on how to work with him. Not wanting to give up we tried for a few more days. The dog tried to attack my husband again. This wasnt a small dog. He was over 100lbs. We called and said we can't keep this dog. They then expected me to put this aggressive dog in my car to drive him over an hour away to his old foster home. When the dog went after me while trying to get in the car I had to call and threaten to have animal control pick it up before they agreed to send someone to my house. After all of this we still wanted to consider getting a dog through them until they informed us that because we had the dog more than 3 days they wouldn't refund our $300 adoption fee. This was the worst adoption experience ever. They even put this dog back on their adoption page and did not disclose his aggression. They are going to get someone killed. read more

The Missus and I spent last fall searching for a companion for our aging Lab/Shepherd. A buddy to keep him active and entertained as well as learn from him in all ways of being a great dog. We dealt with a number of dog rescue organizations, and even adopted one dog that turned into a disaster. Hint: never adopt a un-socialized hound, they do nothing but figure out how to run away and chase ... well anything until they can't walk anymore and require animal hospital visits. One weekend at a exposition for all the local animal rescue orgs, we got to meed the folks from VGSR. They were very friendly and talkative. Not at all exhibiting the snobbishness we received from a number of other rescue orgs. After talking it over later, we decided to get in contact with them and run through the approval process. Forms were filled out, home visits were made (by very nice folks, I might add) and we were finally approved to adopt from them. After perusing their web site for a few days, we settled on a White Shepherd mix male who's twin sister had already been adopted. This started a process wherein the folks fostering the dog brought the dog to our house to make sure that he got along with our current dog, as well as for the foster parents to make their decision on if they think we were ok to be the pup's new parents. Yuki (the Shepherd), got along well with Archie after the usual growling and tangling. And the foster mom was satisfied with us, so we scheduled what they term as a "sleep over". This is where we took Yuki for a weekend just to see how we all got along together. If you don't, there's no pressure, you just return the dog to the foster parents and keep looking. That's the nice part about this whole process, there was no pressure. They didn't make you feel like parents abandoning a baby if you decided you didn't like a particular dog. Lucky for us, Yuki was a perfect fit and his "sleep over" has yet to end. A VGSR representative kept in touch with us throughout the entire process and made sure all was well. They are a great organization run by great caring folks. If you're looking to adopt, I recommend you give them a call. read more

I have been blessed with two German Shepard Dogs from VGSR. From the day I met the team at an event at the Sterling Petsmart, through the home visit(s) and the interview process: they have all been kind and had the best interest of their fosters, and of the families looking for a new family member. They were patient, and willing to bring dogs to our home to watch interactions with my kids and the dogs. If it wasn't a perfect fit: they were kind, and knew that our refusal of a dog, didn't mean we didn't love that dog. (Often, they would determine early on in the process that certain dogs would not be a fit for us.) Both times we DID choose a dog, (or more they chose US,) they were perfect for our family. read more

******STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESCUE****** Go to a reputable rescue instead. There are plenty in the region that do not operate under suspicious policies. Long story short: my husband and I were approved adopters trying to adopt a specific dog. When we FINALLY got the "foster" to allow us to meet her, we were completely smitten, and she got along beautifully with our german shepherd. We were ultimately rejected by the foster, but he would not tell us why. It was clear he was incredibly attached to her, and had no interest in adopting her to another family. This "foster" has 7 (!!) dogs on his property, and has had this dog for about 8 months. He seemed incredibly attached to this dog. He refused to let us adopt her that weekend because supposedly there were more families scheduled to meet her. (Why continue introducing a dog to new families if an approved family that gets along great with the dog is standing in front of you??) He said he'd make a decision within the week. When a week had passed, and he still hadn't given us an answer, we pressed him for a decision. He told us she was being adopted by another family. (((SPOILER ALERT: she wasnt!))) It's hearbreaking that this man is stringing families along, and prolonging placing dogs in their forever homes. (We got the impression from other volunteers at the event that this is not uncommon behavior for this particular foster.) When I brought my concerns to the president of the rescue, nothing was done about it. That dog is with that foster, and listed as available for adoption on the rescue's website. Long story long: after going through the extensive process of becoming approved adopters (home inspection, vet checks, references contacted, etc.), the final say is left to the foster. This "foster" Tom, consistently gave us contradicting information on his "policies". E.g., he would not allow us to come to him (despite our willingness to travel), but insisted any interested adopters attend an adoption event for the initial meet, then meet a second time with all pets and family members at his home. When we finally got him to commit to an event, we traveled 4 hours and rented a dog friendly Airbnb in the area. We ended up bringing out dog to the event, and he got along beautifully with the dog we wanted to adopt. We spent several hours there, and at the end of the event spent a few hours getting with her, and she got along great with our german shepherd. The "foster" Tom, had been giving us the runaround for the MONTHS, making it incredibly difficult for us to meet Cookie (despite our willingness to come to them). The other volunteers at the event were surprised he wasn't letting us adopt her that day, since it was clearly a great fit. Tom insisted she was scheduled to meet other families that weekend, but he'd let us know his decision within a week. When I finally pressed him for an answer, he told me she was being adopted by a family in Richmond. Now, more than a week after that, she is still attending adoption events and listed as available on the website. It was clear Tom was very attached to her, and told us how she sleeps in his bed with her. I believe he has had her since September, which is ridiculous. There is no reason a dog as well-mannered and beautiful as Cookie shouldn't have been adopted immediately. It's obvious he wants to keep that dog. This is completely unacceptable. I'm not sure how it's possible to provide that many gsds with the proper care they deserve. It cannot possibly be within a rescue organization's mission to allow a foster situation in which the foster refuses adopt to qualified families. read more

We adopted our Ramsey from VGSR. The process was thorough as I would expect it to be. They take as long as necessary to ensure the dog's forever home is the right match. Ramseys foster was very helpful and VGSR was very honest about his temperament. The follow up support was outstanding. We couldn't be happier. Highly recommend them. read more

We adopted our Zoe (formerly Daisy Lynn III) back in 2006 and couldn't have been happier with our experience! We are happy to promote the Virginia German Shepherd Rescue every chance we get. The process was handled in a respectful manner and it is so obvious how much this group cares about this wonderful breed. When the time comes to adopt again, we will surely be back to adopt from VGSR! read more

We have adopted 2 dogs from this organization and things went well for the most part. The first baby we met at an adoption event. He lived with us as a joy for almost 4 years until he succumbed to spinal stenosis. Our second baby is still living with our family after adopting him at age 5ish 3 years ago. He is incredible too. One must understand that the rescue is not perfect. It is hard work and emotions run high when it comes to the kinds of sad and angering things that the adoption workers experience when they rescue and foster dogs who have been abandoned, abused, sick or are just lonely and need a great family. If the foster didn't let you adopt, I k ow it has to hurt, but let's just look at as it wasnt meant to be and find s different sweetheart of dog with a different foster that you can work with. It may take time and it may hurt like hell that you didnt get that one specific baby, but understand that the organization does fantastic things overall and try to work around these kinds of irritants. We adore our dogs and if it weren't for vgsr and the warm hearts and generosity we would never have been so blessed. read more

I am a new adopter to VGSR and I can't say enough about this organization. I adopted a year-old male to join my canine family of an 8-year-old Lab and a 12-year-old Jack Russell. In addition, my prospective GSD would have to get along with barn cats, get acclimated to horses and I also have chickens. I spotted my boy on FB and contacted the foster mom immediately. At the time, my references had been checked, but my home visit had not been done yet. Teddy's (Buddy) foster mom told me he would be at a PetsMart Adopt-a-day, but he wasn't available yet. I went to see him and fell in love. My home visit was that Monday. My caseworker, who also did my home evaluation, knew I fell in love with him and contacted Teddy's foster mom. Teddy's foster mom has been outstanding, and I now consider her a friend. My caseworker was also incredible! I continue to inundate Teddy's foster mom with pictures of my beloved boy. I feel that once you adopt from VGSR, they remain a constant support structure for you and your pet. Everyone wants you to succeed! I am so impressed. If I ever had any issues or concerns or special interests, I know I could get valuable help and support from them all. read more

I totally agree.we adopted an 8 year old female GSD after both her owners had died.That was 2 years ago and we could not have asked for a better dog.It did take some adjusting for her but it would for any dog.This group was great to work with and reliable,not pushy.I also agree with other review that in our search we found many groups to be down right unfriendly and snobbish,more interested in talking to each other than people coming to see the dogs.At the event in petsamrt where we first went to see some shepherds they were very relaxed and happy to talk to people.Also,they knew about the dogs they had and how they would be in your home.I would not hesitate to work with them again and highly recommend this rescue group. read more

We adopted from VGSR February 2011. We just adore our Boy and love his VGSR Fosters. We have kept in touch with them, updating them about Gilli's progress. We found VGSR to be an incredible rescue. It is more than obvious that they deeply care about the dogs that come into their care. They take what they do very seriously. We appreciated the care that Gilli received from his fosters, Pam & Jeff, their detailed overview about "Gilli", their recommendations and their obvious love for this Boy that they fostered. VGSR was very thorough in making sure that Gilli was properly placed. I'm not sure if potential adopters appreciate the care a rescue must take in order that the dog goes to the right home the first time. VGSR does the very best to make that happen. Our adoption process was seamless and we are "over the moon" with our Boy. VGSR is as good as it gets and so, certainly, is our Boy! read more