In Memory of Sweet Nellie

Sadly, we bring you the news that sweet Nellie has passed away. Nellie was adopted on Mother's Day, 2013. Volunteer Cindy met her soon-to-be Dad, Pierre, and declared it the best way ever to start her Mother's Day - with Nellie's adoption! The CA GSP Rescue had Nellie for awhile before the right family was finally found. Nellie was a big GSP mix, not what a lot of people were looking for. Fortunately, she was exactly what Sigrid and Pierre were looking for! They provided her with an amazing 5+ years as a treasured member of their family. We are so happy she was loved for so many years and thank her family for sharing these special memories of Nellie: "To say Nellie was adored by us would be an understatement.  She instantly became the queen of our household, and our family of five instantly fell in love with her, spoiled and doted on her for the wonderful five years she was with us. She loved her daily walks, playing the "Cookie Game," beach vacations, and most of all, giving and receiving lots of love and affection! She was a hugger! She would come up and rest her head on our leg to hug and be petted.  She loved being near us, and would always be laying right next to us, and even under the dinner table as we ate dinner! We were fortunate that due to our schedules, she was hardly ever home alone, as she loved being with us, and us with her! She went on every vacation with us...she was part of our family, and if we couldn't bring her with us, we didn't go!   She was not only loved by our family, but extended family and all of our friends as well, all who have grieved her loss with us. She was by far the most special and sweetest dog we have ever known. Our household is way too quiet without her.  We miss her big tail loudly flopping on the floor when one of us walked into the room (even if we had only been gone for five minutes), her ferocious bark when someone knocked on the door, and her endless love and affection. To us, she was perfect in every way, and such a good girl!We are so fortunate that we were blessed with five wonderful years with our sweet girl.  Our hearts are broken, but we take comfort in our wonderful sweet memories of her. We are so thankful for the GSP Rescue and all of the wonderful loving volunteers for bringing her into our lives!"Pierre's (Nellie's Dad's) also shared some special memories of adoption day and bringing Nellie home:"We fell in love with Nellie from her profile page on the GSP website, and our family would be the fortunate ones to be able to give Nellie a forever home. We live in Bakersfield and arrangements were made so that I would pick up Nellie from the rescue on a Sunday morning on the way home from a business trip in the San Diego area. At the rescue, I was greeted by Cindy, and I was introduced to Nellie. My first impression was… “That’s a big dog! There’s no way she’s fitting into the pet carrier I had borrowed!”  Cindy took Nellie off leash. Nellie stood up and with a giant smile landed both front paws on my chest just below my shoulders, then took off at a dead run making a lap around the field.As we prepared to depart, I opened the back hatch of our suburban, and Cindy looked at the carrier then looked back at me, yeah, not a chance. She said, “I think she is good in the car?” Cindy then guided Nellie and she hopped right in. Well Cindy was right, Nellie was great in the car. She stood for a while finally sitting down and watched out of the window. I did not know exactly what to do, so I just started talking to her. We had a long conversation the whole way home and I talked to her about anything I could think of. With about a four hour drive home from the rescue, eventually, I needed to pull off and find a restroom. But what could I do? I was traveling alone, and couldn't leave her in the car alone.  I spotted a sign for a Petco. I imagined the conversation, “Hi, I have this big dog, with lots of teeth, who I just rescued, so I really don’t know her, but can you hold her leash while I use your restroom?” I pulled off of the freeway and thankfully found a park nearby. Despite the “NO DOGS ALLOWED” signs posted all over and a police car in the parking lot, I pulled in next to a baseball field, got Nellie out of the car, and found restrooms nearby.  I love thinking about this story now. I also imagine what Nellie was probably thinking, “Here I meet this guy, and he takes on this long drive for what seems like an eternity, constantly talking about himself...boring! How’s this going to work out?”Well, our Nellie Belle was a wonderful member of our family. Her hugs, smiles, kisses and ferocious bark is like no other I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.  She was absolutely loved and is extremely missed."