Meet Rocket! At just 10 weeks old, this adorable puppy has traveled by car from the shelter with his two littermates. Frankie caught a Pilots and Paws flight from a San Jose-area airport to Sacramento, and Coraline stayed in the San Jose area, like Rocket. &nbsp;Like his littermates, Rocket adores people, loves toys, and is being gently guided by the resident shepherd, one of our alums, on all things dog to help him settle in comfortably.&nbsp;Rocket is so handsome with those floppy ear tips, but he needs some nutritious groceries to gain weight and help his coat shine, like his littermates&#39;. &nbsp;We&rsquo;re so excited to watch him blossom as he explores his foster home and yard and gets some well-deserved sleep after life on the streets and in the shelter. We can&rsquo;t wait to share more about Rocket and his littermates (Coraline and Frankie).Rocket is sleeping through the night and making significant progress on his potty training. When he&#39;s not shadowing his BFF, the resident shepherd, he&#39;s available for snuggles and kisses with his humans, as Rocket loves attention. &nbsp;He&#39;s had a few accident-free days and loves hearing his own voice as he shares opinions in typical shepherd fashion.Interested in learning more? Keep an eye on his bio, as we&#39;ll update it soon.&nbsp;Have you checked out our&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;channel? We would greatly appreciate your support; please subscribe, like, and comment on the videos we share of our adoptable shepherds in action. You can also follow us on&nbsp;Instagram, &nbsp;Facebook, and our newest&nbsp;Threads&nbsp;account, where we post plenty of news and updates about our shepherds.As a foster-based rescue, ShepHeroes always needs fosters. An overwhelming number of shepherds in our local shelters need our help to get a fresh start. Would you share your home and part of your life to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we&#39;ll provide everything else! Saying &quot;yes&quot; today truly saves a life. Complete this &nbsp;https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we&#39;ll be in touch ASAP! We appreciate your consideration.&nbsp;

Rocket

Meet Otti &mdash; Our Special Little Girl with a Whole Lot of Shepherd Love! Some dogs come into your life and steal your heart. Others come along and teach you that a little extra love, patience, and understanding can make all the difference. Our sweet Otti has done both! Otti&rsquo;s journey with us began when we picked her up from the shelter at an estimated 4 weeks old. She was so tiny she could fit in the palm of your hand, with barely enough ears to see! She looked more like a baby otter than a German Shepherd puppy, and just like that, our little Otti got her name.From those first tiny puppy days, we&rsquo;ve loved watching her grow, learn, play, and develop into a sweet, silly, affectionate girl with a personality all her own.By about 4 months old, we started to realize Otti was going to be a little different. She developed a fascination with chasing her tail that went well beyond the adorable puppy-spinning phase. And when I say spinning, I mean this girl looked like a load of laundry on the spin cycle! Knowing she might need some extra help, we worked with the wonderful behavioral team at UC Davis to better understand her needs and learn how to give her the happiest, most fulfilling life possible.With their guidance, daily medication, consistency, and positive redirection, we&rsquo;ve learned ways to help Otti settle and refocus. She still thinks her tail is pretty fascinating, but a yummy treat, a good bone to chew, or a little distraction can help her redirect that energy.And here&rsquo;s the beautiful thing about Otti: her extra needs are only one small piece of who she is.This girl has SO much love to give!She&rsquo;s a true German Shepherd in every sense of the word. A loyal, loving, Velcro girl who wants to be wherever her people are. If you&rsquo;re moving from room to room, you can bet Otti isn&rsquo;t far behind. She likes to keep her people within eyesight because, heaven forbid, something exciting happens without her! She absolutely loves visitors and welcomes opportunities for attention and affection. She enjoys playing with our pack, chasing after our dogs during fetch, and turning a simple game into a full-blown case of the zoomies!And when the excitement settles? She&rsquo;s more than happy to curl up next to you for a good snuggle and nap.A few more things that make Otti pretty darn wonderful: Walks nicely on a leash and enjoys exploring with her people. Crate trained and sleeps through the night. Loves her nighttime cuddles and will happily take every extra minute of snuggle time you&rsquo;re willing to give before heading to bed. Enjoys an occasional car ride and being included in life&rsquo;s little adventures. Loves playing fetch, romping with other dogs, and spending time with her people. Has a sweet, affectionate personality and a whole lot of enthusiasm for life!Around 7 months old, we noticed something else about our girl. She seemed to have stopped growing. At first, we thought she might just be a petite little Shepherd, but when her weight also stopped increasing, we wanted to make sure nothing more was going on.We requested bloodwork and discovered Otti has a pancreatic disorder that prevents her body from properly absorbing the nutrients from her food. The good news? We had an answer and a way to help her!Otti now receives a digestive enzyme powder mixed into her meals to help her absorb the nutrients she needs. And WOW, what a difference we&rsquo;ve already seen!In just over a month, she&rsquo;s gained more than 10 pounds, grown a couple of inches taller, and her coat is becoming beautifully shiny. Watching her little body finally get the nutrients it needs has been such a wonderful part of her journey. Our sweet girl may require lifelong medication, enzyme supplements, and a little extra understanding, but those things don&rsquo;t define her. They&rsquo;re simply part of the care that helps her thrive.Now, let&rsquo;s talk about Otti&rsquo;s forever family. We&rsquo;re looking for someone who sees the amazing dog beyond her extra needs. An adopter with experience with German Shepherds who understands their intelligence, energy, loyalty, and sometimes quirky personalities, and has the patience and commitment to support&nbsp;Otti&rsquo;s behavioral and medical needs.She deserves a family that celebrates her progress, understands that some days may require a little more patience, and finds joy in all the wonderful things she brings to everyday life.Because what Otti gives in return is pretty special.She gives you that beautiful Shepherd loyalty, the excitement of seeing her favorite people, the silly antics that make you laugh out loud, the companionship of a dog who wants nothing more than to be part of your world, and the kind of unconditional love that makes all the extra effort worthwhile.For nearly 10 months, we&rsquo;ve had the privilege of watching this tiny, otter-looking puppy blossom into a beautiful young Shepherd. We&rsquo;ve celebrated her milestones, learned alongside her, laughed at her antics, and given her all the love and tools we can to help her succeed.Otti doesn&rsquo;t need a perfect family. She needs the right family. One that understands that sometimes the most special dogs come with a few extra instructions, but also bring some of the biggest rewards.She&rsquo;s sweet. She&rsquo;s silly. She&rsquo;s loyal. She&rsquo;s a snuggle bug. She&rsquo;s a spinning little goofball. And she&rsquo;s got a heart overflowing with love just waiting for her forever people.Somewhere out there is Otti&rsquo;s person, the one who will look at this beautiful girl and see not the challenges, but all the possibilities.When that person finds her, they&rsquo;ll discover this little girl has a whole lot of love to give. Please help us share Otti&rsquo;s story so we can find that special forever home where she can keep growing, thriving, and being her wonderfully unique self! Have you checked out our&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;channel? We would greatly appreciate your support by subscribing, liking, and commenting on the videos we share of our adoptable shepherds in action. You can also follow us on&nbsp;Instagram, &nbsp;Facebook, and our newest&nbsp;Threads&nbsp;account, where we post plenty of news and updates about our shepherds.As a foster-based rescue, ShepHeroes always needs fosters. An overwhelming number of shepherds in our local shelters need our help for a fresh start. Would you share your home and part of your life to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we&#39;ll provide everything else! Saying &quot;yes&quot; today truly saves a life.&nbsp;Complete this &nbsp;https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we&#39;ll be in touch ASAP! We appreciate your consideration.

Otti

Joey&rsquo;s comeback story just keeps getting better!Joey&rsquo;s world is getting bigger, and his happy personality is shining brighter every day! Six weeks after his femur repair surgery, this resilient boy is enjoying short breaks from crate rest and rediscovering the fun of being a puppy. He loves his toys, has an impressive tug game, a wonderful recall, and an enthusiasm for treats!Joey had his first group lesson this week and also took a field trip to the feed store to check out all kinds of new smells. And he was such a good boy, taking treats and learning to shake. &nbsp;His surgical incision has healed, and he&rsquo;s said goodbye to his e-cone. He&rsquo;s also been practicing his vacation skills! Over Labor Day weekend, Joey joined his foster family for a getaway to Tahoe, where he rode beautifully in the car and enjoyed the mountain air from the deck. What a trooper!Joey&rsquo;s journey began with a serious fracture of his right femur, broken into multiple fragments, along with an infected open wound. Thanks to the quick response of Hitchcock Road Animal Services, the generosity of our friends at @UCDavisFractureProgram, and a team of dedicated volunteers who arranged transport from Salinas to Davis in just hours, Joey got the urgent medical care he needed. Two plates were used to repair his femur, and he headed to his foster home on August 29 to begin his recovery.The road to healing called for strict crate rest, but Joey has made the most of his recovery. He&rsquo;s mastered crate and potty training, discovered the joys of chew toys (especially while shedding his baby teeth!), and shown us just how much personality can shine through, even when a puppy has to take it easy.Now, as Joey continues to heal, we&rsquo;re excited for everyone to meet this wonderful boy. He&rsquo;s overcome a lot in his short life, and his future is looking brighter every day. His next big adventure? Finding a forever family who will love him as much as he deserves! Want to help Joey on his road to recovery?&nbsp;You can send toys and treats through our Chewy or Amazon wish lists, donate via Venmo at @shepheroes, or use the donate button next to his bio at&nbsp;shepheroes.org/adopt.Every bit of support helps Joey get one step closer to his happily ever after! We are very thankful for any support you can give as we just launched Ambra, aka Summer, to her forever home after 4 months with us while she healed from multiple surgeries. We continue to care for Otti, who has been with us for 9 months, has undergone two abdominal surgeries, and was recently diagnosed with EPI.Have you seen our&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;channel? We would really appreciate your support by subscribing, liking, and commenting on our videos of adoptable shepherds in action. You can also follow us on&nbsp;Instagram,&nbsp;Facebook, and our new&nbsp;Threads&nbsp;account, where we share lots of news and updates about our shepherds.Since ShepHeroes is a foster-based rescue, we always need more foster homes. Many shepherds in our local shelters need a fresh start. Would you open your home and share your life to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we will take care of everything else. Saying &quot;yes&quot; today truly saves a life. Fill out the form at&nbsp;https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we will contact you soon. Thank you for considering it.

Joey

At just 22&nbsp;weeks old, Cleo has already become a beloved part of her foster home and has charmed the resident shepherds with her gentle nature. Her shiny black coat, with warm brown streaks on her neck and shoulders, makes her stand out. If you love darker shepherds, Cleo could be the one for you. She is gentle, handles baths well, has moved on from her days on the street, and loves to snuggle.Cleo attended our outreach event last weekend with our ambassador Odie, along with 100s of dogs and kids at a local neighborhood Dog Show. Our trainer, Terra Ruiz of Wholistic Canine, who was also in attendance, was impressed by her solid, easy temperament.&nbsp;Cleo sleeps through the night in her crate, sleeping a solid 6 hours without a peep, and she&rsquo;s very smart. She has already learned to sit and comes running when you call her name. She also happily runs into her crate when asked and settles nicely. Like her littermate Apollo, Cleo has recovered from an upper respiratory infection she got at the shelter. Both pups were picked up by Animal Control and were not claimed by their previous owners.Cleo enjoys being with people and other dogs, and she brings playful energy to every day. As her adult teeth come in, she sometimes needs gentle reminders to chew on her toys instead of shoes, but she already listens when you say &ldquo;no.&rdquo; Squeaky toys are definitely her favorites. And she&#39;s joined the tear-up Jolly Balls Club at her relief foster home.Cleo greets everyone with a wagging tail, direct eye contact, and a wiggly body, inviting you to kneel down for some love. She&rsquo;s quick to give kisses and snuggles in return. Sometimes she naps in her crate, but she also likes sleeping on the couch or at your feet if you work from home. She&rsquo;s almost fully potty trained, with only rare accidents when she gets too excited playing with her dog friends.Cleo stayed with a relief foster family for a week this month while her regular foster family was out of town. She adjusted easily to her new home, playing and getting along well with the five shepherds there, including Ambra, whose adoption is pending final x-rays to be cleared by her orthopedics team.&nbsp;Cleo is a calm, quiet puppy who is doing really well in our care. She sometimes gets car sick, so we&rsquo;re helping her get used to car rides by doing fun activities while parked and taking short trips. The trick seems to be riding shotgun this week and eating yummy treats to avoid being car sick. We think associating car rides with fun things will be the solution.&nbsp;After weeks of ears that seem to have a mind of their own, changing direction every day, Cleo&#39;s radar is fully up to hear all the food crinkles.&nbsp;Cleo had a great visit with the vet and hung out at Pet Food Express while we checked out new treats for her. She&#39;s so ready to meet her forever family. Could that be you?&nbsp;Please help us share Cleo and Apollo&rsquo;s story. These two wonderful pups were once overlooked and homeless, and now they deserve to find the loving families they&rsquo;ve always needed.Have you checked out our&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;channel? We would greatly appreciate your support by subscribing, liking, and commenting on the videos we share of our adoptable shepherds in action. You can also follow us on&nbsp;Instagram, &nbsp;Facebook, and our newest&nbsp;Threads&nbsp;account, where we post plenty of news and updates about our shepherds.As a foster-based rescue, ShepHeroes is always in need of fosters. An overwhelming number of shepherds in our local shelters need our help for a fresh start. Would you share your home and part of your life to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we&#39;ll provide everything else! Saying &quot;yes&quot; today truly saves a life. Complete this &nbsp;https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we&#39;ll be in touch ASAP! We appreciate your consideration.

Cleo

Meet Coraline! At just 10 weeks old, this adorable puppy has traveled by car from the shelter with her two littermates, ready to find her forever family. Coraline has already settled in beautifully in her foster home, quickly winning hearts with her joyful spirit and playful energy. She&rsquo;s discovering the fun of toys, exploring her new world with curiosity and delight. We&rsquo;re so excited to watch her personality blossom and can&rsquo;t wait to share more about Coraline and her littermates&nbsp;(Frankie and Rocket).Coraline lives with a couple of resident shepherds, two cats, and three teens. She&#39;s shown us that she can hold it, which is making potty training much easier. She&#39;s on her way to being fully potty trained with supervision, given her age. Coraline is where her people are, and she loves being with them. A cuddler, she loves attention. And has been sleeping 8 hours through the night in her crate.&nbsp;&nbsp;Interested in learning more? Keep an eye on her bio, as we&#39;ll update it soon.&nbsp;Have you checked out our&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;channel? We would greatly appreciate your support by subscribing, liking, and commenting on the videos we share of our adoptable shepherds in action. You can also follow us on&nbsp;Instagram, &nbsp;Facebook, and our newest&nbsp;Threads&nbsp;account, where we post plenty of news and updates about our shepherds.As a foster-based rescue, ShepHeroes always needs fosters. An overwhelming number of shepherds in our local shelters need our help for a fresh start. Would you share your home and part of your life to help shepherds find new families? You provide the love, and we&#39;ll provide everything else! Saying &quot;yes&quot; today truly saves a life.&nbsp;Complete this &nbsp;https://www.shepheroes.org/foster-form, and we&#39;ll be in touch ASAP! We appreciate your consideration.

West Sacramento, CA

Rocket

Otti

Joey

Cleo

Coraline

Other cities in California