German Shepherd Dog Rescue Reviews 14

Hi , I have recently acquired my second GSD through GSDR and have been very pleased with the service / process. The Information on Tara was excellent and informative and I was confident that Tara was exactly what I wanted and there were no surprises when I met Tara at the pre arranged meet and ended up with one extra passenger going home.
And I still get a follow up call to see if we are all ok.

At all times I was kept up to date with information

Tara is now doing well will my other dog.

Thank you very much for two wonderful dogs

Really unhappy 0/10 ❌ - I will try to keep this short…

On the 14th of August 2024 we submitted an application. It went through just fine as we received a confirmation email. For a bit of background me and my partner are early thirties, own our home, have a massive garden, high fences, work from home and have owned rescue dogs previously, including GSD’s. So as far as an application goes we ticked all the boxes. We’ve been without a dog for nearly 4 years since our last GSD ❤️ ..and have just finished renovating our home, we’d been so excited to open our home to another dog!

Start of December - it had been 4 months and we’d heard nothing, no emails and no calls, so we decided to reach out via phone. We managed to get on to Barry, the local area manager. He promised to look into our application and get in touch, but we waited over 2 weeks and still heard nothing.

There was a black GSD advertised that we were interested in meeting so we phoned again to express our interest and were told that we would be home checked very soon.

Several weeks passed and we phoned yet again to be told the same. After phoning several area branches we were told it would be sorted very soon but we must wait to hear from them. The dog we wanted to meet spent several months in kennels and we never heard back despite chasing up multiple times.

We have since rescued a GSD from another source and would not recommend anyone getting their hopes up on adopting from here - it’s an all too familiar story with many people saying the same; they never get home checked after completing their application.

Whilst we understand that the staff are volunteers and running a rescue must be very difficult, dogs should not be advertised for adoption if they haven’t got the resources to actually get them to the people that want to adopt them.

In all honesty, we’re hoping that this feedback is taken on board by GSD rescue and we don’t just receive a similar hostile response as other people that have left negative reviews - If as much effort went into getting people home checked as it does into deleting comments and writing replies to reviews maybe more dogs would find new owners quicker.

Do not use this fly on the wall rescue go to the owners directly they want there cut of money for doing nothing how dare they call themselves a rescue a x police dog handler tested them she was refused meanwhile the poor dogs are still awaiting a home they are after a cut of the money animal rescue a bunch of stay at home bored women interfering in whether you get a yes on your genuine offer to help a dog avoid

We have recently adopted our third German Shepherd from this fantastic charity. Their process although lengthy is thorough and the volunteers we had dealings with in the South West were excellent. They have kept in touch with me and a behaviourist has been on call incase we encountered any issues. Keep up the good work girls

WARNING - DO NOT USE THIS CHARITY! Having witnessed serious shortcomings and questionable practices, I have made a formal complaint to the Charity Commission. The lack of judgment and expertise by key persons behind this Charity is truly alarming. Their unscrupulous practices caused undue distress & harm to the dogs i encountered. My initial trust in these people has cost me dearly - emotionally, physically and financially. German Shepherd dogs need expert careful handling - please choose a reputable rescue that has professional expert support.

I applied to to adopt through GSD rescue and after rigorous and excellent review professionally conducted by both my SW coordinator Hazel and volunteers who take enormous care. We were matched perfectly with a gorgeous GSD male who we are totally smitten with and fits our family make up with another dog , St Bernard , and children perfectly . I am so very grateful to all the dedicated work of the GSD SW team for making our family complete. The work of the charity is outstanding to rehome this breed . Thank you again .

We applied to adopt with GSDR back in June 2023, the process we found was very rigorous and warranted especially given how many dogs are being abandoned. We had a thorough interview, was asked to provide a video of our garden and then a home check was carried out by one of their lovely volunteers. We adopted a beautiful boy in October who is exactly as described and we couldnt be happier with the South West team for all their help and dedication.

Seems really odd when you say you haven't got a rescue centre. Either is a lia or you are hiding something. Witch would say its that you hiding something. Since the other person said the truth about you as we have had the same problem with you .and everything that been said about you is true I will more than happy to remove this feedback if you can proof that what I am saying is not true.the reason why others won't leave feedback is because they are frightened of what you say that you will do .I do hope that you have ask this person if its OK to put on your website .but yet again we know that you have not .so yes I will enjoy the popcorn and await for your nasty response. The other thing I would have done but know that you don't have any brains to think about this .would be better if you made contact with the person and sort it out. But sadly no you don't have much brains to think this way.I will be reporting you .

We both enquired about adopting a German Sheperd about 6 months ago. The vetting process was very thorough, a volunteer asking us about our lifestyle, looking at our garden etc
About a month later, we got a call to say wether we would be interested in adopting a Puppy, so we went to meet this lovely female.
Well l was hooked and we bought her home.
We have had Luna for about 6 months now, there is still a long way to go, but she knows that this is her forever home.

These people really do care for the welfare of every Dog in there care. We had a full home inspection and interview, with an added assessment to complete. Now 10 years on, we are about to adopt another GSD from this rescue. The assessments are more in-depth and the home checks more rigorous than before. Great!! Just like the 'Dogs Trust, Blue Cross Etc. Every detail matters. This means every dog gets the best chance of a successful re-homing with the right homes, whilst avoiding those who just think they can handle a GSD or any other animal with potential issues without having the necessary experience, home environment or lifestyle. These Dogs need 100% commitment and understanding from there new owners, and the rescues do there best to fulfill that requirement. GSDR is operated by volunteers, most have full time jobs, so please respect them if they are unable to respond straight away. Our personal experience with them was fantastic, not every phone call or e-mail was replied to, but that's life, it's not personal! In the end we had the most wonderful, troublesome young Pup. Now we have the best moments of our lives to look back on, with the most loving memories of our past adventures with him. We wouldn't be going back to GSDR for a second time if they didn't care for the Dogs.

I applied to adopt. I received a text message from the local rep called Jo. I sent videos and photos of our land, I replied to the one question she came back about, and then silence. I chased and still silence.
Very rude organisation

In reply to your response:
Your rep literally ghosted me - that is very rude, so my review is not unwarranted.

I should not have to leave a negative review to receive a reply from your organisation.

Your attitude when replying to my review as well as others further shows the disdain and contempt that you hold your (would be) customers in.

I just hope you treat the dogs better.

I too urge people to be cautious about this charity and do 'due diligence'. I have had Shepherds for years and know they need plenty of space, cooped up indoors is no life for a GS dog. They came to visit but then totally ignored follow ups, mainly I think because I asked questions about where the dogs come from. What concerns me is the 'boss' lives abroad and they are actively sourcing and importing dogs from eastern Europe. I wanted to go to the kennels but was not allowed to. Odd really?

This rescue are users. South West branch. Most rescues will get a dog properly assessed before rehoming it, especially a dog which was living outdoors and unless she stood on hind legs, didn't have a view of the outside world. She had never walked on roads, and showed aggression to dogs and some people. Yet she (Sassy) was rehomed before she even went for two weeks over Christmas foster care. The fosterers wanted to adopt her, he was in the military and they had a big house on the base with lots of space to walk the dog, which was
for military personnel only. Their garden was a good size with views across the sea, big enough to allow for training, and she could see from the safety of her garden a world she never knew. Sassy loved its foster home & family, the foster mum worked from home. They were offered a different dog, so it wasn't that they didn't think they were good enough.
So Sassy went to live with an older lady who only has a small yard with no view, which were accessed down some steps. GS dogs don't do well down steps. Still they got their £350 for doing nothing, as I had done everything, I assessed the dog, collected the dog, found it a fantastic home, and I had to hand Sassy over to the new home. That's what they do nothing! They pay for nothing, They didn't even pay to get it vet checked! They don't spay, they don't deflea. The foster parents paid for vet treatment.
All they do is delegate, one living in France! And no the dogs don't come from France.
The forever home lady rang me to say the dog wasn't happy, and she felt it should return to the fosteres, but the bullies GSDR
told the new owner it would be re-homed, and also told her not to contact us again.
GSDR then contacted the Animal Team who I voluntary do home checks for to get me struck off, for speaking out. Well I still homecheck for the Animal Team, and I am still awaiting the solicitors letter, which you said would be coming. Probably because one can't be sued for telling the truth.
As for the lovely fosterers, they fostered two dogs for another rescue and have since adopted one.
But they will never forget Sassy the dog that deserved so much more, but was let down.
For the record, none of this was carried out via The Animal Team, this rescue contacted me directly, and I went out the same day, but it didn't stop GSDR trying to get me stopped, Yes it took six months to write this review thats because the other reviews on here, we're all taken down saying "Pending"

Excellent dog rescue, in fact if Carlsberg did dog rescue. Dedicated volunteers, I have adopted many dogs over the years from Jayne and the North East team and I ended up as a fosterer of older dogs I cannot see older dogs nobody wants in kennels. Super back up from rescue.