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Read
Our Success Stories!
Hi Aunt Kari,
I'm Angel Girl & I've been living in LaGrange since February,
2004. My brother is Kodiak & we met in November, 2005. Brie
fell in love with him right away when he'd only been with us a
couple weeks. They slept together when she was home from school & he'd
always wake her with a gentle smack of his "stinky paw" as
she called it. When she is home they are inseparable.
I'm always busily watching over my family & all the foster
dogs who've been thru our home over the years. Mama's real baby
girl left for college when I arrived & I did my best to comfort
her. She agreed that I was the only "human" that could
replace Brianne. I sleep at the side of her bed & watch over
her every night. I'm truly blessed to have such a great Mom.
Now about my brother, Kodiak. He is a human in a dog suit. He
is the "guardian of the backyard." He knows when to be fierce & also
when to love. He is one big soft cuddly dawg! His latest activity
has been eating cicadas. I tried a few & didn't really like
them much but Kodiak would eat every one of them on the block
if he was allowed to!
Over the years both of us have become very perceptive of the
emotions in the house & we know when to support our people when they're
down or celebrate & be silly when they are silly. We have also
hosted numerous dogs thru the rescue & patiently "explained" manners & such
to them. We're glad that we could help our brethren on their
travel to a forever home that would treasure them as much as
we are now.
We love to stroll Downtown LaGrange & go to Caribou for coffee
(even tho' we don't get any) We sit in town & people watch,
just like humans do. We sniff the flowers & visit with some
of the senior guys at an apt building near there. We listen patiently
to stories about GSD's they had in the past.
GSDRNI has our everlasting thanks for bring us here to live with
Marge, Terry, Eric & Brianne.
More Pictures:
1, 2, 3
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Hi,
 An update on my wonderful rescue puppies from GSDRNI.
Lucca (Noble) is a wonderful dog. He came to us as a foster and
I knew he
would adopt me about 10 seconds after I saw him. He's a 115 lb
Sable bundle
of energy who has made our lives so rich with his personality
and kindness.
He is also Emperor of the Pool. Riley (Aria) came to us as a
puppy and we
have watched her grow into a burst of high-energy who keeps us
all on our
toes. She is a 70 lb streak of lightning in our lives. She is
also a
Princess who likes her stuff just so. The two puppies (now about
1 1/2
years old) are Frisbee catching, wildlife chasing, water loving,
barking to
the neighbors dogs, smiling, plant stomping, destroyed my backyard
but I
don't care, walk loving members of my family. I can't imagine
life without
them. Thank you so much for bringing me into the lives of these
terrific
dogs.
Linda Breault
More Pictures: 1, 2, 3
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Dear Kari,
We just wanted to let you know how pleased and delighted we are
with our precious gifts, Uma and Henry. It wasn’t long ago
that I thought I would ever have a German Shepherd in the house
and now I could NEVER imagine our house without one or two! Uma
and Henry have brought so much joy, love, and laughter. Uma has
chosen Steve and watches him constantly. She follows him around
wherever he may be. She is so intelligent, intuitive, and loving.
She truly amazes me daily. Henry is the clown. He is also the herding
dog, herding the terriers we have, making sure they are doing the
right thing. He also likes to the clean the barn, bring all the
tools, shoes, and whatever else he can find out in the middle of
the yard much to everyone’s delight.
We are so grateful for all that you do.
With much appreciation,
Steve, Linda, and Ashley Thomas
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 Hi Patti,
I wanted to give you an update on Chance, the white German Shepherd we adopted.
He has gained some weight so his ribs are not so evident. He likes the food we
give him and definitely likes treats!! He scratched a lot when we first got him
so we had him bathed with an oatmeal shampoo and are adding fish oil to his food
so his scratching is much reduced.
Chance has learned the invisible fence so he has freedom in the yard when we're
outside. He likes our older shepherd Cody who tolerates his playing very well.
We are in our 3rd week of obedience classes at Northwest Obedience Club. If Chance
and I do well we are thinking about enrolling him in agility classes for something
to do.
We take Chance and Cody to our dog park and he has learned to stay with us on
our walks and he plays well with the other dogs. He also goes to Petsmart. He
loves car rides.
He is getting much better at accepting guests at our house, he is a little apprehensive
with new people but not aggressive.
We do need to crate him when we leave the house as he has gotten into some things,
mostly of food interest. He is a counter surfer. He is fine when we are home
and he voluntarily goes into his open crate to sleep at night then gets us up
at 5:30 in the morning to go out and start his day. I think we need to teach
him how to read time so he gets up at 7:00.
All in all I think Chance is happy and so are we. I have attached a couple of
pictures of Chance with Cody.
Thanks for helping all the dogs!!
Pat Davidson and Ken Heindl
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HELLO EVERYONE AT GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG RESCUE
OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS, 
WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON REESE. SHE HAS MADE A WONDERFUL
ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY AND SHE HAS SETTLED IN BEAUTIFULLY. THERE
IS NOT A DAY THAT GOES BY THAT WE GRATEFUL THAT WE ADOPTED HER.
SHE SPENDS MOST OF DAYS GOING FOR WALKS, LAYING ON THE COUCH, BASKING
IN THE SUN IN THE BACK YARD AND PICKING ON HER BIG BROTHER BOSLEY.
SHE HAS DEFINITELY BECOME A PRINCESS, WITH A PINK COLLAR, PINK
DISHES AND A BIG PINK BED. SHE IS SPOILED ROTTEN.
WE ARE SO THANKFUL TO GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG RESCUE OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS
FOR ALLOWING US TO MAKE OUR HOME REESE'S NEW HOME.
SINCERELY,
STEFAN, JACKIE, BOSLEY AND REESE
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 Dear Aunt Kari:
When I first met you in January of 2004, I was a very frightened
dog. My former home did not understand me and often punished
me for just being a puppy. I was glad when Stephanie and Rob
came and took me away from them.
You started to train me and helped me learn not to be scared
of everything. Then you brought me to meet Ed and Mary Hiller.
I liked their big yard and I took to Ed right away, but I was
not so sure of Mary. She scared me. But she came to visit me
everyday at my boarding facility. She never yelled at me or hit
me and she always had treats for me when she came.
When Ed and Mom (that's what I call her) brought me home, they
had a big bed, a big-carpeted crate and toys for me. I even started
training to learn how to be with people and other dogs. It is
still hard for me to be around people, but I will not bark at
them if they stay sitting. I still get scared at people who come
to visit and stand.
This past September, Mom brought home a guest for the weekend.
At first, I was scared of her, but I soon learned that Lucy was
fun to play with. She would play ball with me and roughhouse
in the yard and we even went on walks together. Lucy only stayed
for the weekend but I missed her. I could tell Mom missed her
to. She kept asking for Ed to bring Lucy home.
As a surprise to Mom, Ed brought Lucy back to live with us.
He said that Lucy was only going to stay for a little while but
Mom and I knew that Lucy found her forever home just like I did.
Since Lucy has come to live with me, I am starting to be more
and more comfortable with people.
I have even let the vet stand over me without being scared.
Lucy has taught me not to be so scared. Lucy loves everyone.
There is only one problem I have with Lucy; she is constantly
licking every body, including me.
So thanks again for finding me a great home and a playmate too.
Oh I forgot Lucy says Thank you too.
Love,
Zane and Lucy
Ed and Mary Hiller say thanks as well.
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Dear Kari, Brenda, Marcy, Mary, Dee, Becky,
Laurie, Gina, Patti,
Zetta loves chasing the squirrels up the trees in our backyard.
She watches through the living room window and goes to the backdoor
to be let out and chase them up the trees. It is so cute. Now
of course, Mingo who in his 10 years of life has never really
paid any attention to squirrels is now interested too. He chases
and barks at them along with Zetta. I came home for lunch today
and let Mingo and Zetta outside and she started to scoop up the
snow in her mouth and would roll over on her back and make snow
angels. I wish I had a picture of that.
Zetta is doing quite well and feels right at home here.
Take care,
Bonnie Kortes
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| Hi Kari,
Thought you might like another success story (from Wrigley's
point of view!) 
I arrived at my new home last December - my new
mom and I hit it off right away. With my encouragement, mom
decided she
needed
obedience training, so off we went to school once a week -- private
lessons I might add -- she did quite well considering she's been
a "cat purrson" for 40 years! She learned how to be
the leader which made me feel secure - I walk beautifully on
a leash (well, except for those couple of times..........), I
obey commands (well, there was that one time I ran after the
neighbor's cat and forgot "come"!), I get along with
the other dogs in the neighborhood (well, Cassie annoys me and
I let her know it!....). I really like my cat family - even though
I never see TC and Patch. I want to play with Boo, but all she
does is hiss and swat - I love her anyway. Every day when Mom
leaves for work she reminds me of my job -- take care of the
house and your kitties. Mom says I do a very good job. I get
so excited when it's time to feed them - I run up the stairs
and bark at the door to tell them it's coming. When mom gets
part way up the steps, I sniff their food and take one lick ---
only to be sure it's not spoiled!!! As you can see, I have a
very important job.
Well, it's time for a long walk with Mom.......she's
always so happy to see me and we spend lots of time together
-- I love
my frisbees and my treats (baby carrots are my favorite!). You
see, my story has a very happy ending......many thanks to everyone
at GSDRNI, and a special thank you to my friend, Dee, who found
my "forever home".!
Oh! I've attached a photo of myself -- mom says
I'm gorgeous and is very proud when people stop us on the street
- cars have
even stopped to say how beautiful I am - of course I give them
my prettiest "sit"!
Bye for now....
Love,
Wrigley & Mom
(Sandy)
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Hi everyone,
Just wanted to let you know that Rocky is doing really well
in his new home. He is a great dog. We love him. He fits right
in to our family. I am sending you a picture of him with my girl
Mina. I feel really sad that I am not able to foster for a while
but I am willing to do other volunteer work for the rescue. Home
visits etc.
Thanks,
Diane Lindgren
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| Aug.24.2005
Hi Kari,
We have had Dallas for a year as of Aug. 6th and we are very happy that she
has come a long way from the "wild one" that she was, to a very
polite friendly young lady. Last Sunday Animal Outreach held a dog wash and
nail trim at our local Petco, to benefit homeless animals. We have taken
her there once a month so now she considers it a social event, since she
has the opportunity to meet other dogs. This time they took her picture,
so I'm sending it to you so that you may feel good about a successful adoption.
Thanks again for our wonderful companion.
Sincerely,
Pat and Jim Tell
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Emma and Maggie are doing great for the most
part. Maggie is so bossy and then Emma just gives up and goes and
pouts somewhere in the corner. Emma finally started to go in the
river and get wet, but she won't swim. She tip toes in and just
stands there. Maggie, on the other hand, we can't keep out of the
water. Maggie is definitely a handful, but she is such a lover.
I attached some pictures of the girls on the boat. Emma loves it.
I think she feels like she is in the car.
Love Lisa, Emma, and Maggie
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Brad and I just wanted to thank you for Magic.
He is so wonderful. He very protective with everyone here, but
a little more with me. He is a momma boy. He does not like table
food and will not beg for them, but if you open a bag of chips
he will be your new best friend.
Thank for this wonderful boy.
Brad
and Dawn
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I adopted Trench (originally named Devon) in the middle of the summer of 2004. The adoption process was painless but thorough. Trench was very skinny due to his lifestyle prior to coming to GSDRNI but eventually filled out nicely. He got along fairly well with Ivan, the German Shepherd that I already have (thus the name change, too similar). Trench became attached to me right away and is normally by my side. He has become very loyal if not a little stubborn but we are working on that.
Thank you,
Bill Yezo
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I just wanted to thank you guys for helping me find Alex. He is a wonderful
dog and has quickly adjusted to life here. As you know I am training Alex
for search and rescue work. He has really taken to the training and seems to
be a natural. I am so impressed with him he has excellent drives but is calm
in the house, something I definitely didn't expect from a 9 month old pup.
For some reason he seems to think he's a lap dog, he loves to climb up for a
cuddle. He and my Siberian Husky have become fast friends, they love to
wrestle and play tug-of-war. I will keep you updated on how he's doing and
his training.
Thanks,
Jason Shipley
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Click on photos to enlarge |
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 IN
LOVING MEMORY OF
JERI LEE/JESSE 1998
to 2004
In loving
memory of dear Jeri Lee, who developed a brain tumor and could
no longer go on.....
Our first rescue. You will be very much missed by everyone. We
will never forget you little girl.
Jeri Lee was renamed Jesse by her loving family who took wonderful
care of her until the end of her time.
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Hi Kari,
It had been 4 years since we had to put down "Scout" our first German Shepard and we were not sure that we were over the heartache of losing him. Then we saw Macey at the Heritage Fest in Downers Grove and knew that she was the German Shepard for us. She was so friendly and full of life, not to mention that she was a great looking puppy.
Macey has been very easy to train and has a fantastic personality. She keeps us on the go with her daily 2-3 mile run/walk. Around the house she is a little chatter box that loves to sing. Her tail is always wagging and she is exudes happiness. She has a great appetite and weighs about 65 pounds. Macey has been a wonderful addition to our family.
Rick & Cathy |
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