Samson was found as a stray in Prince William County and he was at the shelter for approximately two weeks before we had the privilege of rescuing him. He is a wonderful dog. He is intelligent, loyal, friendly, handsome and loves nothing more than stretching out on a nice cool kitchen floor or resting on his orthopedic bed in our family room. He enjoys food as you can tell by his size but he is not food aggressive. He lets the other dogs steal from his bowl and even sadly watched our cat sniff around his food. Samson is a special needs dog as he has bad hips and suffers from arthritis as well as joint disease. He shows no outward signs of pain He really cant run well or do stairs more than once a day or so but he sure likes to trot and chase the other dogs (all females) to show them whos boss. His condition is under control through the use of medicines (not particularly expensive) as well as regular exercise. Samson loves short walks and he is slowly improving his stamina. We have seen great improvement in the few weeks that we have had him. He is otherwise in excellent health and has many good years left. We love Samson dearly he is everything a German Shepherd dog should be and we hope to find him a loving and caring home where he can enjoy his retirement years. Please consider him when thinking about adopting a new family member. Samson has lots of love to give and really needs a home where he can be the center of attention. Please check out our web site at www.shepherdrescue.org for more information about our dogs, our adoption process and to download an application. You must have a fully approved application on file prior to privately meeting our dogs. We do not have a facility, all our dogs are housed in private foster homes throughout MD/DC/VA areas. More information available on our web site, so please read through our web site before emailing questions, as it might save us both some time!

VGSR can only adopt dogs out in the Virginia/Maryland/DC area, no exceptions.

Although donations of all types are needed, our primary need is foster homes for our lovely dogs while they wait for their new family to find them. Fostering is an extremely rewarding experience. Vet care is paid for by our rescue, and we can even provide you with food. All YOU need to add is love and security.

The adoption process starts with the applicant filling out the adoption application. This can happen at any time during the process, before or after having met a GSD that might be the ideal companion. (It's an advantage to have a pre-approved application on file with VGSR. It should be stressed here that being pre-approved does not mean that any potential adopter can select any available dog at will and take that dog home immediately. VGSR will exercise its best judgement as to which GSD will be the best match for that specific adopter based on a number of qualifying criteria. Many GSDs that come to us are matched up with their new people very quickly because their people have been pre-approved.) The applicant then submits the application form with a non-refundable $10.00 processing fee. VGSR reviews the application, then schedules an interview and home visit during which a number of questions are asked and the home is reviewed to be sure there is a contained/safe yard, and to meet the family involved. Once the application is approved, the applicant is asked to submit a $250.00 donation to VGSR, and the adoption is completed.

© 2025 VGSR