Reunion 2010, part 3 of 3

I get to see Buddy fairly often.  He was adopted by one of our volunteers who often brings Buddy along to adoption events together with his current foster.  Buddy will not let Steve out of his sight and he will not go anywhere without Steve.  I tried to take Buddy's leash to get my picture taken with him on Sunday, but Buddy wouldn't walk with me even two steps away from Steve.  He pulled me back and climbed into Steve's lap, which would have been a better picture anyway.  I never had Buddy for long, I'm not sure he spent more than a night at my house, if that.  When he came in, I contacted Steve, drove him up there and they've been joined at the hip ever since.  Buddy prefers to share his home with female fosters and that's fine.  There are not a lot of other limitations on the type of dog they will accept as a foster and Steve always asks me first when he's ready to take on a new one.  He has gotten the idea in his head that I get great dogs, and Buddy is a big part of that.  These are pics taken of Buddy when he and Steve came down to my house to pick up a female foster, Lexi. 

Colby is just cute.  We think she's a dutch shepherd mix of some sort, but no one really knows, or cares.  She's a great little dog.  She has worked out very well in her new home where she has two kids of her own for entertainment and for shepherding.  They are a great age and size for her too, big enough and old enough to enjoy having a dog and young enough that they will be around for a while for her.  I was glad to see that they had an Easy Walk harness on her at the reunion on Sunday.

Justin (left) is another one of my fosters that was adopted to another VGSR foster home/volunteer.  Justin's home had adopted a senior dog from me named Malcolm (right).  In the hierarchy of things that impress me, adopting a senior dog ranks above walking on water.  So, when Malcolm passed away and their Loki was needing a new companion, the next great, cat-friendly shepherd I came across went to these folks. Justin is great, he has one lazy ear, but even it can be held erect and pointed when he is sufficiently interested in something.  It's probably a good way to judge the dog's reaction.  Justin was at the reunion on Sunday but he wasn't happy being there until they went for a walk, then he settled down.  As far as he's concerned, if he gets hauled somewhere in the car there had better be walk involved.  Justin and Loki and a couple of cats now share their beautiful home with a foster dog most of the time too, most recently it was my girl Sadie. 

I got to see Sadie again on Sunday and I got to meet the two young guys who adopted her.  They said that she's adjusted very well to city life, but they also take her hiking a lot.  They live near Meridian Hill Park in DC and there's Rock Creek Park, Roosevelt Island, and other places around the city to interest a dog.  It hadn't been that long since I had her, so I'm sure she remembered me, but it was clear that her loyalty now belonged to those two guys and that's how it should be.  They are first-time dog owners, so they dote on her, which is something I'm sure she's never had, and may not even understand.  She will get used to it and will love it.  I couldn't be happier about where she ended up.  Pics:  at left, the tough to photograph Sadie at an adoption event; at right, Sadie meets her new family.

Sunday was a beautiful day for the reunion and I really enjoyed it.  I pondered over which dog to take along myself.  Gypsy was adopted from VGSR's predecessor organization, but Gypsy is not a party dog.  She doesn't like crowds of people and dogs that she can't control.  Plus, the old girl is just not getting around very well anymore.  Zachary is sociable enough and certainly fit enough to come, and is a German Shepherd Dog for sure, but he doesn't like anyone but Clay.  Last year I took Emmylou, who dearly loved that sort of thing, and I shed a few tears on the drive home thinking about her.  I decided to take Cabell, who likes people almost as much as Emmylou did and is good with other dogs so I wouldn't have worry about him meeting the former fosters.  He's not a shepherd at all, but I like being a non-conformist. 

Here's the group photo from the reunion, over 100 German Shepherds and assorted other dogs.  (Double click on the photo below, or any photo, and you'll see it full sized.)