Jules

Jules is looking for a forever home. I wanted to take a minute to tell her story. Jules was brought to us because she was found as a stray by Stanly County Animal Protective Services. She was in horrendous shape, starved, and wasn't adoptable in her current condition. <br/><br/>My wife, my amazing amazing wife, and veterinarian sent me a picture of this poor little dog. "No, no no no no! Nope. No! We're not doing it! I already have a dog that thinks I'm her world and I can't do another!.... but... umm... I'll be glad to work with her and get her in better shape so someone can adopt her."<br/><br/>That's how it started. My wife spent much of the following weeks getting Jules all better. Massive skin infection, no fur, no manners, starving to death, and all the worms.... oh boy did she have all the worms! If there was a kind of worm, she had it!<br/><br/>I got the easy part... take care of her, feed her enormous meals four times a day until she gets some body mass back, and get her socialized.<br/><br/>Jules LOVES people. Let me be clear about that. I haven't seen her bark or be agressive at anyone of any age. Young, old, big, small, doesn't matter. She loves humans and she loves attention!<br/><br/>Dogs were another matter at first.... that's where her name came from. It's a funny story so I'll tell it.<br/><br/>We spent days trying to come up with a name for her. I'm a firm believer that a dog's name has to be a reflection of them, not just something you throw on them to have something to call them.<br/><br/>Well, on about day 4, I let Ghost in the house to meet Jules. Ghost is "my" dog.... or more appropriately, I'm her human. She thinks it's her job to defend me against anything and everything under the sun. She'll threaten to kill just about anything if she thinks I'm in danger.... <br/><br/>So imagine my surprise when Ghost walks in the garage all uppity and prepares to let everyone know who's boss..... she takes ONE LOOK at this bedraggled, starved, hairless, hyena-looking monster in her garage and says "Oh hell naw! Nuh-uh! Ain't doin' it! Get my ass outta here! No way Jose! I'm not tangling with that monster!"<br/><br/>Ya know, I know it's not right to anthropomorphize dogs, but I tried to see it from her perspective. Knowing what kind of life Ghost has and she looks at this bedraggled ragamuffin in her house - I feel like she's thinking "I don't know what this monster killed to get here, but she doesn't look like she's afraid of prison at all! Get me the hell outta hyah!"<br/><br/>I joked that night that Ghost must have thought this was one mean junk yard dog. The military acronym for that would be J-Y-D, Juliet, Yankee, Delta!<br/><br/>Well it was basically over from that point. After every name we could think of was tossed aside by one or the other of us, it came down to my wife saying we should just stick with Juliet. I personally HATE that name, so I agreed but said I was calling her "Jules" instead. And now, finally, the "pup" had a name.<br/><br/>As of the posting of these pictures, Jules has been here with us for 51 days. She's almost completely doubled her body weight. All her fur has come back. She's sweet as can be to humans, and she's ready for a home.<br/><br/>As far as the kind of person that Jules needs in her life, here's my thoughts after living with Jules for two months.<br/><br/>First off, she's literally the MOST loving dog you could ever ask for. If she sees you available, she's going to come over and try to place her head on your knee to get your attention. She just wants to be touched. Rub her head, stroke between her eyes a minute, and she's happy as can be. <br/><br/>She's never going to get enough by the way. She's never said "that's enough lovin' I'm done." But, if you just turn away and go back to what you were doing, she'll take the hint and just circle you and curl up next to your feet. If she has her kennel nearby or a bed, she'll go lie down near that and hang out near you. That's literally all she wants to do- just to be near her human.<br/><br/>Fetch? Playing?<br/>Never. <br/><br/>She has no idea how fetch works. She's never been played with that way I think. I've worked with her for weeks on trying to get her attention. She chases our dogs when THEY go fetch a ball or stick or rope, but she has no natural toy-driven tendencies. She's not going to be a dog that plays fetch. It's just not a drive she has.<br/><br/>Food is her drive. If you want her attention, a treat, piece of dog food, etc is her thing. You've got her UNDIVIDED attention with a piece of food. I've worked with her long enough that she won't try to take it out of your hand, but if you DID put your plate down for a moment and walk away to get a drink..... you'd have a plate of food on the floor when you got back. <br/><br/>More training and some patience will cure that. Once she knows she's not getting any, she'll curl up nearby and hope that you drop something.<br/><br/>She DOES take treats and food very gracefully and carefully. She's not one that's going to bite your fingers if you try to feed her a piece of your biscuit... she's very gentle.<br/><br/>Other dogs:<br/>This is the thing with Jules. She has no issue playing with other dogs. I can leave her out in the yard with Ghost and Drei and they'll play all day long. However, resource guarding is a thing with her, and it's ONLY about people. <br/><br/>I want to be sure to explain this because her future owner needs to know this and understand it.<br/><br/>Jules sees humans as her source of food and affection. She's been denied it so long that she most likely has the feeling that any other animal will try to take it away. <br/><br/>This manifests as resource guarding. She will physically place herself between any other dog and you. If they get close, she'll posture and even snap. She's not mean about it. She doesn't really attack anything. She just snaps and growls as if to say "Hey, the humans are mine! Back off!"<br/><br/>She's not going to be great with someone that already has an established pack unless you're a darned good trainer and and can spend the time it takes to work with her on that. If you've already got a dog that loves you, then Jules isn't going to want that dog near you. (In her mind, they'll steal you away and she gets no more food and no more affection.)<br/><br/>As long as they're not trying to get your affection, she's fine. I can feed them all together. We can play outside together. But when we're indoors, Jules will ALWAYS keep the humans protected and apart from the other dogs.<br/><br/>So... in all seriousness, this isn't a dog for someone that isn't an experienced trainer and has other pets. <br/><br/>How does she react to cats, rabbits, other pets? No idea. I've never exposed her to them.<br/><br/>What Jules needs is a family that wants one great companion dog. She's totally amazing, amazingly sweet, rotten as can be, and loving like no other dog I've seen. Once her initial spastic energy is run down (which only takes about 5 minutes when you come home) she's content to sit with you, get rubbed, or just lie nearby.<br/><br/>Amy and I want her to find a home that's all her own. We both have dogs of our own and as for me specifically - giving Jules the attention she deserves messes up Ghost. My dog feels replaced. And my dog is too amazing and loves me too much for me to do that to her forever. Jules needs a great home that's all hers just like Ghost wants me all to herself.<br/><br/>If that person is you, we've got a great little dog for you to come meet! Karen (at SC APS) has officially fostered her out to us, so I'm sure there's some paperwork to be done. No one is on the hook for her medical treatments, or her spay surgery. Amy took care of all that. There are no outstanding bills that come attached - just a commitment to give this dog an amazing life! She deserves some man or woman that can take her for a ride (she loves to ride in the truck by the way), or spend time just going for a walk with her. She's not needy in the ways German shepherds traditionally are. She's a working breed, but she seems content to have her "job" be spending time with you.<br/><br/>Left alone, she hasn't chewed things (which can be an issue with GSDs sometimes), she doesn't get destructive, and she's pretty much content. She stays in my workshop sometimes 4-5 hours with room to run around and water bucket and she's always curled up in her kennel napping when I come in back from a job. <br/><br/>Neither Amy nor I are going to let her just to go anyone. We're totally open to someone coming by to just spend some time with her, get to know her, and see if she's a fit for your family. But please.... whomever you are out there... give this girl a GREAT LIFE. She deserves it. She's an absolute perfect companion animal for someone!

Jules is looking for a forever home. I wanted to take a minute to tell her story. Jules was brought to us because she was found as a stray by Stanly County Animal Protective Services. She was in horrendous shape, starved, and wasn't adoptable in her current condition.

My wife, my amazing amazing wife, and veterinarian sent me a picture of this poor little dog. "No, no no no no! Nope. No! We're not doing it! I already have a dog that thinks I'm her world and I can't do another!.... but... umm... I'll be glad to work with her and get her in better shape so someone can adopt her."

That's how it started. My wife spent much of the following weeks getting Jules all better. Massive skin infection, no fur, no manners, starving to death, and all the worms.... oh boy did she have all the worms! If there was a kind of worm, she had it!

I got the easy part... take care of her, feed her enormous meals four times a day until she gets some body mass back, and get her socialized.

Jules LOVES people. Let

Jules is looking for a forever home. I wanted to take a minute to tell her story. Jules was brought to us because she was found as a stray by Stanly County Animal Protective Services. She was in horrendous shape, starved, and wasn't adoptable in her current condition.

My wife, my amazing amazing wife, and veterinarian sent me a picture of this poor little dog. "No, no no no no! Nope. No! We're not doing it! I already have a dog that thinks I'm her world and I can't do another!.... but... umm... I'll be glad to work with her and get her in better shape so someone can adopt her."

That's how it started. My wife spent much of the following weeks getting Jules all better. Massive skin infection, no fur, no manners, starving to death, and all the worms.... oh boy did she have all the worms! If there was a kind of worm, she had it!

I got the easy part... take care of her, feed her enormous meals four times a day until she gets some body mass back, and get her socialized.

Jules LOVES people. Let me be clear about that. I haven't seen her bark or be agressive at anyone of any age. Young, old, big, small, doesn't matter. She loves humans and she loves attention!

Dogs were another matter at first.... that's where her name came from. It's a funny story so I'll tell it.

We spent days trying to come up with a name for her. I'm a firm believer that a dog's name has to be a ref