Barney Is Adopted!
Sherri and her husband applied a while back and patiently waited while we identified the right candidate for them to meet. They drove several hours even staying over night in order to meet Barney and one other dog who we thought could be a nice match for their senior GSP Coco. They came down to meet the two dogs and to our surprise they left without either. However, they realized when they arrived home that Barney was a fit for them and were willing to make this trip yet one more time in order to bring home a new family member.
“We were looking for a companion for our female 12-year-old GSP and drove several hours to come to CA GSP Rescue. We met Rocky (rescue name was Barney) and another dog, and Barney ended up being the dog for us. Rocky, or “Rockstar,” as we sometimes call him (among many other endearing nicknames), serendipitously was mentioned and when they let him into the yard, we connected immediately. He leaned up against us and put his head in our laps. Those eyes! After getting some lovin’, he kissed Coco and they walked around together, with him checking in with us frequently for hugs and pets. He was such a love bug!
He may be a GSP mix and as much as we liked him, we weren’t sure about the unknown behavior of the “mixed” part. We are older and neither up for nor capable of taking on a “project dog.” Sadly, we ultimately drove home without a new family member.
I couldn’t stop thinking about him and his sweet, affectionate heart. I couldn’t stand it. Five days later, we drove the 400 miles back down there to pick him up!
He is much younger than we originally thought, which has made it a little challenging on our 12 year old GSP, Coco. She has accepted and tolerates him, and is slowly starting to form more of a bond with him. He is so happy to see her each morning, and dances around her when she wakes up in the morning (so cute!), and she sometimes plays with him a little. She has taught him a lot of things, like how to rattle the door when he wants out, how to paw softly at our legs when he wants attention, how to dive under the covers at bedtime, how to decline one cookie for a more preferred treat, and even how to fake the other one out with a toy to get them to get down from the couch so he can jump up to sit in that spot!
He is such a foodie! He is ALWAYS hungry and will eat almost anything. His favorites so far are chicken, bananas and apples. His appetite seems to have worn off on Coco, whose appetite has improved (she had become a picky, inconsistent eater since her former “brother” died a couple years ago). She has also been more active since his arrival, which makes us happy.
In keeping with the GSP breed, he needs regular, vigorous exercise. His favorite thing to do is chase the ball and will do this nonstop for as long and as far as we can fling them. He also enjoys playing gentle ball in the house and can frequently be found carrying a ball around with him. He also loves the beach. We hope he’ll like our pool once it gets warm.
Also, in keeping with the breed, he loves everybody he sees, and welcomes them into his circle with glee. We have had a bit of a challenge with other dogs, though, which we have never experienced with our 3 previous GSP’s. Sometimes he’s fine around other dogs, other times he does not care for another dog for no apparent reason. We will continue working on this, and hope, with time and training, he’ll become consistently calm, secure, and confident enough to enjoy our many 4-legged neighbors.
He truly is a “velcro dog,” which has been common among our other GSP’s. He is rarely without one of us by his side and follows us around when he’s not sitting or sleeping with one of us. He can be stubborn, which we have indeed noticed with our other GSP’s. He would like to rule this roost. We need to be consistent with him, which is important with this breed.
All in all, he is settling well into his forever home and we are so happy we returned for our little Rockstar!
For those who are considering adopting a GSP: know you’ll be getting a loyal, loving, good looking member of your pack, but you must be committed to provide daily activity/exercise. These guys need to run and chase stuff. If you have an active lifestyle and a lot of love to give to – and get from - a new 4-legged friend, a GSP is a great choice!”
