Abby

GERMAN SHEPHERD

• From: Sacramento, California

• Adopted: April 21, 2023

In our many years of rescue experience, we have taken in numerous dogs with all sorts of medical ailments. From blindness to skin conditions to a neurological issue...we have seen it all. Besides her initial diagnosis of giardiasis, Abby is a healthy 1 year old German Shepherd. Her true trauma and injury lies deep within her mentally.

She was caught as an aggressive stray in Sacramento at the end of January 2023. Within days of her capture, Abby began to become stressed out at the noisy shelter. The shelter vet put her on a 2 week prescription of Trazadone to chill her out. After finishing her prescription, Abby fought with her kennel mate. Both dogs were injured and separated.

By the end of February, the shelter vet put her back on Trazadone and added Prozac. Her fearful and aggressive behavior had become amplified in the shelter setting. Without someone rescuing Abby, humane euthanasia was suggested by the shelter vet.

Fortunately, Abby was pulled out by another rescue organization before she was euthanized. The Utah based rescue had no local support, so we stepped in to transport Abby from the shelter to a local boarding facility. We took it upon ourselves to be Abby's advocates... to visit and to watch over her while she awaited transport to Utah.

We visited her 5 times at the kennel over a 2 week period. Every time, we noticed that Abby had diarrhea. We pushed for her to get a vet exam. By then, Abby's reservation at the kennel could not be extended and she literally had no place to go. We ended up taking her directly to the vet and then ultimately brought her to the ranch. Our speculation of giardiasis was later confirmed. Abby had Giardia and needed immediate treatment.

We offered to foster her because we were apprehensive about Abby's uncertain future. She was going to be boarded at a kennel in Utah indefinitely, as the other rescue did not have a foster for her. We had Abby evaluated by two very experienced dog trainers. Both independently agreed that Abby should not be adopted out to a regular household. Her fear aggressive behavior, wariness of strangers and anything new would be daunting for inexperienced person to handle.

Our hopes of fostering her to become adoptable was no longer an option. Abby needs intensive training and exposure to overcome her fears. She has made tremendous progress in the last 4 weeks. She still has lots of issues to overcome, but underneath all that fear is a happy and loving girl wanting to live her best life with us. So, we have made the decision to make Abby a permanent Lucky One.