Smart, Loyal, Energetic TRAINING IS KEY TO KEEPING GERMAN SHEPHERDS OUT OF SHELTERS
W
alk through the county’s animal shelter on Bradshaw Road. The highceiling entryway opens to a spacious roundabout surrounded with glasswalled condos, each holding one or two large dogs, many pit bulls and German shepherds, and their mixed counterparts.
CR By Cathryn Rakich Animals & Their Allies
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Stroll through the back door to an open-air corridor. Large windows allow visitors to view groups of small dogs housed together. Chihuahua and chihuahua mixes run back and forth, yelping with excitement. Further down are hallways lined with kennels housing medium and large dogs. Again, pit bulls and German shepherds dominate. When did German shepherds start keeping pace with pit bulls and chihuahuas, which have been the prevailing breeds in shelters for years? “There is definitely an increase in German shepherds up and down the state,” says Bradshaw’s director, Annette Bedsworth.
Last year, the Bradshaw Animal Shelter took in 452 German shepherds and German shepherd mixes. The Sacramento SPCA took in 420. German shepherds ranked No. 2, behind pit bulls, at the city’s Front Street Animal Shelter, which took in 466. “Unaltered German shepherds can give birth to up to 15 puppies—with eight puppies the average litter size,” says Dawn Foster, SSPCA marketing and communications director. “This means the population can grow very quickly if they are not spayed or neutered, overwhelming families and shelters.” German shepherds are often used as guard dogs to protect property.
“In many cases they are primarily outdoor dogs in yards that are not properly secured or they are living on a property that is not inhabited and their owners are unaware they are loose,” says Allison Harris, Sacramento County public information officer. For Cindy Williams, founder of El Dorado County German Shepherd Rescue, the reason for the increase is threefold: popular movies, COVID and lack of training. For example, the 2015 movie “Max” stars a military dog that helps American Marines in Afghanistan. The 2021 movie “Dog” takes viewers on a road trip with an Army ranger and his mischievous canine. In
