A new dog has come into our family.  The search for just the right dog has taken me awhile.  I wanted a rescue dog and he needed to have the right temperament to blend into a household already inhabited by two male German Shepherds, two cats and a bunch of birds.  .    

I was searching for another German Shepherd to be part of my pack and it wasn’t easy.  He couldn’t be too old or too young.  If he was too young, he would require too much training and exercise.  Neither of these requirements suits my personality or couch potato lifestyle very well.    I do well with daily walks but going for runs and hikes just isn’t my cup of tea, I’m basically lazy!  Losing an older dog is difficult enough when they’ve been part of the family for many years but adopting an older dog knowing their years are limited wasn’t something I wanted to tackle since I recently lost my two older dogs. It just breaks my heart to lose one.  Each one takes a little bit of my heart when they pass away.    

I thought that because of the less alpha personalities of my two shepherds, Crosby and Riley, a female or young male would be fine.  It’s a dominance issues between the dogs.  I guess a dog whisperer would understand.  I just wanted harmony, not dog fights.        

Often Saturdays would take me to foster homes to visit potential adoptable dogs.  In my case you just don’t see the dog and take it home, end of story.  There’s another step.  Someone needs to bring the dog to my home to meet the pack and see how everyone relates on our turf.   The cats are another story too.  I had to be careful the dog wouldn’t chase the cats and could live harmoniously with them. 

So the search wasn’t easy.  Adopting through a rescue group also assumes you have satisfied the requirements of the rescue organization and each rescue group is different.  The Virginia German Shepherd Rescue (VGSR) requires home inspections, personal references and veterinarian approvals.  Let me tell you, despite working with this organization as volunteer and previously adopting dogs from the group, my adoption needed to start the entire process all over again!    

In the meantime, sometimes dogs you think will be perfect are quickly adopted. I have learned to not get my hopes up that a specific dog you see on the website will be your forever dog. 

When I learned about Maverick, he sounded like he had potential.  He was 4, already housebroken, neutered and up to date on his shots.,Sort of like a job interview, I went to see him and he was so handsome and sweet.  He had been moved to several different foster homes and was tentative with his loyalty.  You could well understand that he would need time to build up trust and come to realize ours was his forever home and not another transit stop.  Despite not particularly liking his given name, I decided he deserved to keep his name.  I didn’t have the heart to ask him to learn a new name as well as adapt to our home!     

In Maverick’s case as in other dogs in foster care, for every dog that is adopted, we helped rescue two dogs not just one.  By taking Maverick home, the foster family was now able to rescue another dog.

It takes time for the new dog to settle in and for his true personality to come out.  For now everyone is living harmoniously.  He's brought new life to my 2 older boys and its so cute watching them play.  We hope we have a long happy life with Maverick now that he has found his forever home.