One Sunday, weeks after having lost the second of our beloved Golden Retrievers, our family road tripped to southwest Charlotte to see some ‘tossed out’ German Shepherd dogs…the Oliver Twists of the Rin Tin Tin world.
We drove all those hours mainly to meet “Kyle”.
Kyle’s “PetFinder” photo screamed “America’s Next Top Dog Model” …he looked like perfection in a black and tan coat.
His deep brown eyes spoke to my husband.

He….who had never been a German Shepherd fan…showed the photo to Me…a GSD (German Shepherd Dog, for those in the know) lover from birth and said he thought this was the “one”.  That’s pretty much when I corralled everyone into the car to go meet this dog.
We were warned though, that Kyle was not “ready” for adoption- yet. Apparently, he needed work. I’m thinking…what rescued dog doesn’t?
Fortunately, these bright canines were being fostered by a woman schooled in German Shepherd training…so the longer they stay with her, the more well-behaved they become…lessening their chances of ever being called a “rescue” again.
We were told, that while visiting, we could meet Peko…maybe we’d consider him.  Or Luna, she might even be able to leave with us that day.
Ok…we agreed to remain open-minded.  I think we all had a feeling our “forever” dog was at this foster home.
We pull up…and 3 dogs awaited us.
There was Luna, wide-eyed and gangly, sweet and eager. Maybe a little too eager… Before I knew it I heard a panicked sort of laughter coming from across the field. Our 6 year old son had grabbed hold of Luna’s leash and she was taking him for a belly drag. That’s when we found out her name was short for ‘lunatic’.
Good boy, Peko, was lying at our feet, curled up in a comfortable, yet oddly small for a GSD, ball.  He was probably the product of illegal dog breeders, we were told. Someone trying to ‘engineer’ a smaller, more manageable breed of German Shepherd. Peko pulled at our heartstrings, but he did not speak to us.
Kyle…on the other hand, was even more breath-taking in real life. But he was spooked. He paced on the end of his leash, behind his foster-mom, like a deer who’d just been caught from the wild.  He made direct eye contact and showed an odd mix of confidence and reticence.
I took Kyle’s leash and walked him away from the group.  This is when he became mine.
You see, I grew up with German Shepherds… They are the only dogs I knew until I was a married grown-up.  They were my playmates, my pals, my companions.
But, I didn’t know that I knew German Shepherds until this very moment.
I walked, jogged, talked and commanded this dog at my side and, while he was nervous, he responded instantly. He was smart- and he was familiar to me.
When I returned to the group the GSD trainer/foster mom was commenting to my husband about my comfort with the dog. She had seen a connection.
Long story short…the rescue made the unusual decision to let us adopt Kyle that very hour.  And 6 hours after we’d left our quiet dog-less home that morning, we were heading home.  And that’s how we found…Timber!