My name is Redford!

*************************************************** ADOPTION PENDING ********************************

Redford, affectionately known as Red, came to German Shepherd Rescue of Central Texas in bad shape. He was owner surrendered to a shelter near Dallas. He has been treated for sarcoptic mange, as well as a fungal infection. The mange has caused most of his fur to drop off. With time, his fur will slowly grow back.

He is severely emaciated and is currently eating puppy food to regain some weight. At his proper weight, Red should weigh around 80 pounds. Red is also heartworm positive. His nails are so long that they must hurt him to walk. He often holds one paw in the air when he stands. He cannot stand on his feet properly.

Red absolutely loves food and treats. He knows “sit” and “give paw” and will ever so delicately take food from your fingertips. He is learning how to play with toys; he doesn’t seem to know what they are for. Red loves a soft, warm bed and will snuggle up when he gets the chance. He rides beautifully in a car, just lies down and hangs out. He is sweet and kind and just wants to please. He has been starved for attention and just wants a gentle pat on his head and the reassurance of a “good boy.”

Update Week 10: It has been a while since Redford’s last update, but he is still doing wonderfully. His growth has been astounding. He came to his foster home as a sad, exhausted dog. He looked forlorn and could barely stand to eat. In ten weeks all that has changed. Now Red is a happy dog that loves to play. He runs as fast as he can when chasing squirrels in the yard and loves exploring with his foster siblings. He knows that he can play with toys and have treats whenever he wants. He will never again have to wonder where his next meal is coming from, and even though he knows that, he prances around excitedly when it is time to eat.



Red is like a big puppy. He’s got huge paws and a big head, and they flop all over the place when he runs and plays. He loves to play and would love to have a 4-legged companion in his forever home. He loves toys that are tough and rubbery. His favorite orange ball is perfect for him. He also likes his newly found Kong toy. Red likes to chew on these toys, and because they are a little tougher than some other toys, he cannot easily destroy them. He loves tennis balls, and will chase them, but his favorite thing to do with a tennis ball is shred it.



He is a smart boy and enjoys learning new commands. He knows Sit, Give Paw, Come and Down. He also knows “All Gone,” a term his foster family uses to tell him the treats are all gone and he can go back to what he was doing before. He is not pushy with treats and never begs at the table. He walks well on a leash and is currently working on Stay. He knows the basic concept, but doesn’t want to let his foster mom out of his sight. His forever family will have a 90 pound shadow wherever they go. Red will get into the bathtub when asked, as long as cheese is provided. [His favorite treat is cheese.] He does very well in the tub, he doesn’t like to have his face washed, but he will put up with it without too much objection.



Red went to the local PetCo and had a great time exploring the new smells. He was inquisitive about the birds, ferrets and hamsters, but never became aggressive or pushy to get to see them. He just sat down and watched. Red walked by the cat cages and met a few of the kitties. He did not seem too interested in them until one of the cats hissed and scratched at him through the cage. Only then did he run up to the cage to see what was going on. He never acted aggressively, only curious about the cats, and when called away he came without any fuss. This was his first experience with cats since being at his foster home, so more experiences may be necessary in order to give a definitive yes or no on whether he is good with cats. He also met the male employees, and although he was unsure at first, he eventually took the treats that they offered him.



Redford is unsure about men coming down the stairs or into the room from around a corner. Noises, such as a door banging shut or loud footsteps on the stairs will startle him and cause him to bark. He will calm down fairly quickly if the person allows Red to sniff their hand and tells him that it is okay. We are not sure what his previous life was like, so we are helping him to understand that new people, and men in particular, are not always going to bring bad things. It is a slow process, but he is learning. We hope that Red’s forever home will be committed to showing him only the good things in life.



Red will hopefully be able to have heartworm treatment in mid-April. This will have given him ample time to recover from his unfortunate neutering swelling. After that he will be ready to find his forever home and start his life of happiness with his forever family.

Update Week 2: In the past week, Red has kept improving. He took his last anti-fungal pill this morning, and he now smells like a normal dog! He had a bath yesterday and was once again absolutely amazing. Red saw that I had treats for him and he hopped right into the tub – without being asked!

He plays all the time now that he’s feeling so much better. His favorite game is “squeak a squeaky ball for a few minutes and then rip it to pieces.” He’s done it to every ball he’s found! Red has also found that he likes to run around the yard with his foster sister, Zuri. He’s learned to share his toys with his foster siblings too. His other favorite thing to do is going for walks with his much older foster sister, Mollie. They get along so well and have a great time sniffing and exploring together. We do short walks so that Red can slowly build up his muscle strength. Red walks so well on a leash. He’s super excited to go for walks, but doesn’t pull on the leash – even though he could pull me over if he wanted to.

Mr. Redford is growing back more fur each day. The hair on his muzzle is coming back slowly and his rump area is almost completely covered in fluff. Also, the hair that he does have looks healthier, the color of his fur is richer and he is just so soft now! His skin isn’t flaky anymore either. He loves his food and still takes his medication ever so delicately from my fingers.

Red is gaining weight by the day and his ribs are now hardly visible. He knows where the kitchen is and loves to hang out close by when we are cooking. He’s so tall he can see over the table, but he never begs for food, he usually just lays down in the living room to watch us eat. He really enjoys hanging out with everyone in the living room at the end of the day. He knows “sit,” “paw,” and “come.” He’s grasped the basic concept of “stay” and it will only take a little bit of reinforcing it for him to be a star!

We’ve decided that Red’s signature pose is with him sitting down with one raised paw. He does it all the time! Right now he’s working on getting in some more beauty sleep. He’s doing so well; I can’t wait to see what improvements the next week brings!

Week 3 Update: Red has been doing so well this week. He had a second Ivomec injection last Friday, as directed by his vet, to ensure that all of the mange is gone. He didn’t like it, but took it very well.
Red still plays with Zuri every time we go outside, and also in the house since it has been so cold! They are wonderful and love to play together. Red loves toys now, and loves to sleep close to all of them. He and Zuri love to share and steal each other’s toys!

Red still enjoys going for a nice walk with Mollie and his muscle strength is getting to where it should be. He has put on a lot of weight since he has been here, so now he has switched to adult dog food, instead of the delicious puppy food he had been eating.

Red has trained me so well, he knows when he needs to get in his crate and walks as if he’s going to get in, then he stops and waits for me to throw a treat in for him. He loves his treats!

Red has been so happy to be inside during this recent freeze. He goes outside to do his business and then scampers back to the door to come inside! Red learned about the stairs this week. He now knows where people go when we walk up and down them, and he's started following me upstairs when he can. He thinks he's a lap dog and always tries to clumsily climb into my lap. He's so sweet about it, it can be hard to say no to him!

We've also discovered that he likes to watch Animal Cops - he likes watching other doggies get saved!

His fur is still growing back, and getting some color to it, but it will take some time for all of it to grow back. Red has settled in to his foster home and is excellent with the daily routine. His only problem is that he wants attention all the time - even when it is bed time - and he sometimes cries a bit in the night, but will usually quiet down with a correction.

Red has finished his second round of antibiotics and is slowly being weaned off the steroids he was given. Once that is done he will hopefully be all ready to be neutered and start his heartworm treatment. Red is such a good boy and he deserves a wonderful home to call his own.

Quick Stats
* Name: Redford
* Age: Estimated 4 years
* Gender: Male
* Mix/Purebred:  Pure
* Housetrained: Yes
* Crate trained: Yes
* Heartworm Negative/Positive: Positive, will be treated before adoption
* Spayed/Neutered:  Yes
* Micro chipped: Will be micro-chipped before adoption
* Good with other dogs: Yes
* Good with cats: Yes
* Good with children: Unknown

After all he has been through, he is a beautiful dog on the inside, and soon his outward appearance will reflect his inner beauty. It will take a while for his fur to grow back, and for his strength to be fully regained; but he is a one-of-a-kind gem.

If you are interested in adopting Redford, please go to our website, copy, paste and complete our adoption application and email it to gsdrescuectx@yahoo.com.