Owner surrender

I went to meet Heiland on Saturday afternoon.  His owner had called the VGSR hotline while we were in NYC last week.  He's about 5 years old, neutered male, black sable, AKC papers, and pics of his parents, both of whom are beauties.  He's also said to be very "protective." 


I went to meet him not knowing if I'd see a German Shepherd Dog or a mutt with a hint of shepherd flavor.  But as you can see, he's a big, gorgeous, handsome, black sable.  His favorite, and maybe only toy, is half of a tire.  We haven't had a dog who played with a tire since our first rottie, Jack, who used to carry it around his head like a collar.


The owner's health is bad and he's not able to handle the dog really or give him any kind of activity.   But, he's neutered, in good health, current on vaccines, and is on heartworm preventative and frontline.  He's had an issue with allergies but has been a vet.  He has lived indoors as a house dog.  This was all much better than I expected for a Fluvanna County owner surrender. 

I'm just not sure about his temperament and I don't think I'll be able to really assess him until he's out of his current environment because he's not a dog I'm going to push myself on until we get acquainted.  I had the owner put a leash on him and then I walked him without any problem.  He brought me his tire to play with but he didn't really want to give it up. 


The owner has to go out of town and his immediate problem is what to do with the dog for Monday and Tuesday.  I don't really want to be a boarding service, but a couple days with Heiland here would probably tell me what I need to know and it would help the owner out as well.  That's why after meeting him on Saturday I'm going back to pick him up on Sunday to spend a few days here so I can see what he's like.  Jack's tire is still around and will finally see some action again.