ADOPTED

Duke... Wait a minute, that doesn't look like a Golden Retriever! There must be some mistake! No mistake-meet Duke, an adorable German Shepherd pup with a true Golden personality. Every now and then, when we find a Golden and another dog who have clearly strayed together, we take in both of them.  It's our "companion dog" clause. And that's just how young Duke came to us.

He and his Golden buddy Maxx were a pair of skinny young strays turned into the shelter after roaming a neighborhood together for a week or more. Maxx found a home fast (so quickly he didn't show up on our site), and now Duke is waiting for a family ready to love a Golden heart in German Shepherd's clothing.

Duke is about 10 months old, and he loves people and other dogs. (He DOES bark at ducks, goats, and the big black horse on the farm where he is staying-well, what puppy could resist a little curious chatter when he sees all those strange animals?) He is good on his lead and knows "sit" and "come," and he recognizes his name.  He is crate-trained and housebroken. He's a little goofy, like every dog his age, and will need a family ready to give him plenty of exercise along with working on basic training.

Sometimes when you go out looking for one thing, you come home with something else that's not exactly what you had in mind, but it's absolutely perfect anyway! Maybe that will describe the lucky family who ends up with Duke, GRR's honorary Golden Retriever.

  -----Original Message-----
From: Delia
To:  Gold Ribbon Rescue
Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 10:58 PM
Subject: update on Duke

I just wanted to thank all of you at GRR for finding a wonderful family dog for us. Duke is the most wonderful Golden in a German Shepherd's clothing. When we began the process of adopting a Golden, we were convinced that it was the only breed for our family. We saw Duke's picture and I read his bio out of curiosity, but didn't even give him any consideration because of his breed. We met our first adoptable golden, who was very beautiful, but during our visit with him and his foster family, we (the foster parents, matchmaker and us) found him to be too aggressive with my daughter.

 We left that meet and greet empty handed. We didn't hear anything for about a week, then called the matchmaker to see if she had any other dogs for us to meet, unfortunately, none of the Goldens matched our requirements at that time. I asked how Duke was doing only because he had been on the website for so long. She said that no one interested in him was willing to allow him to live inside, then suggested that we meet him. At first I was not interested because I was afraid he would be too aggressive with Sydney (my daughter). With some gentle encouragement and lots of information from the foster, I finally agreed to make the trip out to meet him. I am so glad we did!!

Duke is the most wonderful family pet. He is every bit the love muffin we wanted from a golden and he is wonderfully protective of his family. He has full run of the house and is very well behaved, even standing guard all night just outside our bedroom door. He is exceedingly patient with Sydney, is great on a leash, fetches a ball like the best trained retriever and is so handsome. We could not have asked for a better dog. Having lived with 10 Goldens in foster care must have convinced him that he was one. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

View Pictures Here