We have some news that may not be a surprise to you who have followed Heidi’s story.   She’s decided her foster home is going to be her forever home with her foster parents, the Broady family.  

Here’s a story about Heidi that is a bit long, but worth the read.  From her new mom, Amy:
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“The moment I saw Heidi’s photo on the local shelter’s website I knew that I wanted to meet her. The moment I met her the next day at the shelter, I knew that she was an extraordinary dog. Incredibly striking with her sleek coat and muscular presence; at 72 lbs., Heidi would have been overwhelmingly intimidating if I hadn’t also sensed her gentle, sweet temperament. Wow. It was obvious that this was one very special dog. I knew that I wanted to get to know her better; I knew I wanted to help her leave the shelter behind; she didn’t belong there. (Not that any of the dogs there do.) I knew that I wanted my husband to meet her, which was problematic because he was thousands of miles away and would not be home from Alaska for another month. I knew that I wanted to be a part of Heidi’s story . . . to be a helping hand in getting Heidi to a safe future in a loving home with her forever family. If I could help this dog, that would make me very happy. I spent an hour walking her around the shelter grounds despite her relentless pulling. I was enchanted with this dog. Yet I was not in a position to take her home with me that day.  I was not going to adopt a dog without my husband; we were looking forward to starting the find-our-next-dog quest this fall, once he had returned… He is the runner in the family, and I knew that Heidi or any GSP would need strenuous exercise to help harness her GSP energy. So, if I couldn’t offer her a home that day, what could I do? I did the only thing that I was confident would give Heidi the best chance of landing in an ideal situation: I called Mandy White, SEGSP’s TN state coordinator.  I left a voicemail, followed up with an email with Heidi’s listing as well as some photos I had taken, and begged her to look into Heidi’s situation and see if she could bring Heidi into the SEGSP Rescue network. 

Sure enough, Mandy worked her magic and lined up a temp foster to get Heidi out of the shelter. But this situation could only be short-term; a longer-term foster home would need to be lined up to evaluate Heidi before she could be listed for adoption, of course. I asked Mandy to keep me posted so I could follow Heidi’s story.  As in all good stories, there was a plot twist. There weren’t any longer-term fosters stepping up at the time when Heidi needed one. I ended up filling out the foster application, “just in case.” I was sure there’d be a foster home out there for her. When one didn’t volunteer, knowing I’d have the support of the SEGSP Rescue volunteers in the area, I accepted the privilege of caring for Heidi until she was adopted. I did have one week when I would be traveling… But Heidi’s temporary foster very graciously agreed to keep her again during that time. Thank you, Gigi! 

Leaving Heidi for a week nearly broke my heart, even though I knew she was in excellent hands. I had a great time but couldn’t wait to get home to Heidi. But once I was home with her again, I had to be very patient for him to return... He hastened his return with long driving days and arrived late on a Sat night. The moment I’d been waiting for since I met Heidi a month earlier was finally at hand. I knew the first time I saw Heidi and him interacting that this was going to work. Yet I needed to give both of them time to get used to each other.  I never had the heart to promote Heidi as a foster dog because I knew I wanted her to be OUR Great Foster Fail. So many others in the GSP community have their fabulous foster fail stories; there is such a tender sweetness to each of them. And I had a feeling that our story was going that way. 

This summary glosses over so many beautiful details of my time with Heidi... I never meant to find our next dog on my own, while my husband was away. But it happened. You can’t stop kismet! Heidi settled into our home and hearts so quickly and easily. She has adjusted to our eclectic schedule and offers us such great love in the cutest ways. She greets us with her adorable wiggle-butt prancey-dance and a toy (or dirty sock if that’s what’s convenient). Nose boops are a thing; I’m so happy to have a dog that boops her velvety nose to mine multiple times a day! Heidi uses her power stare though the window to keep us safe from lizards in our courtyard and on our deck. She has different voices for different situations: a low growl and deep bark, a singing howl that she uses to rally us into play, a high-pitched plea when she is out and wants in or is in and needs out to chase a lizard. A gentle lead leash is all that it took to tame her from her pulling habit, and now she walks beside me on our walks. (She’d love to take the lead, I can tell but respects the short leash with minimal effort on my part.) She runs with my husband and hikes with both of us. She will jump in the car with great enthusiasm any chance she gets to go on an adventure. Our grown-and-flown adult children have both had the chance to meet her and are thrilled that she is now one of us. I could not be any happier to announce that it’s official. Heidi has her forever family.”

And we couldn’t be happier that Heidi found her home with the Broady family!   What a beautiful story.  Congratulations!

​It’s a happy day - JoJo has found her forever home!
Her foster mom Kristen said, “JoJo was just the cutest foster puppy, and we loved every minute that we got to foster her. Thankfully she received so many applications and it was a very hard decision for us because there are so many incredible GSP owners out there! But one of the first applications really stood out and after meeting the family we knew it was exactly what we had in mind for JoJo. JoJo took to the whole family right away and she is now living her best life with her furever Mom Emily, Dad David and sister Scout in Birmingham. We know she will have a life full of fun and love. We will never forget you JoJo and we wish you and your family lots of GSP adventures!”

Thank you Kristen and David, for fostering JoJo and spending the time to search and choose the right home for her!

YAY – Belle has found her forever home! Dedication and Love is when you are willing to schedule a transport during a Cat 4 hurricane just to get a foster dog to their forever home where they can be loved and cherished for the rest of their lives! This is the type of dedication and love that all the volunteers at SEGSP have for this breed. Foster Belle has been Adopted and made her way from Monroe, NC to Miami, Florida on Saturday.
 
Her foster mom Vicki said, “Thank you to each and every volunteer that made this happen at such a chaotic time. Belle you are already missed here by all your doggie friends especially SEGSP Alum JJ. You were my very first teenager and I’m pretty sure you taught me way more than I taught you little girl. You taught me to always have my hair in a bun because your vertical jump was impressive when you see a tug rope (my ponytail) swaying in the wind. You taught me to always stand braced for impact as you tried to sail into my arms from a distance like we were reenacting the famous scene from dirty dancing, which by the way, came in handy with the winds from the hurricane. You were the most energetic GSP I’ve ever encountered but you were also the happiest. It was a pleasure to have a dog with zero trauma, zero anxiety and absolutely no fear for the first time since I’ve been volunteering. You made me cry, laugh, pull my hair out and laugh some more and everyone that knows this breed understands that this is just how you teenagers roll. I’m beyond grateful for the patience you taught me and for all the laughter and fun you brought into our home. It’s now your turn to shine little girl, enjoy the pool, your new brother and don’t forget to terrorize some seagulls while you’re there but be nice to the manatees and dolphins - they are the good guys. We all love and miss you and the house is a tad bit quiet without you, but you deserve this more than anyone because no one should have to spend their puppy years in rescue.”
 
Congratulations to Belle and the Lang family!  And thank you Vicki for all you did for Belle along her journey!
 

Maverick is home - FOREVER with the Nix family!

 
Maverick loves to swim, so his new family took him to the beach on the way home and Maverick couldn’t have been happier.  He now has three canine siblings to play with and they welcomed him with friendly sniffs and cuddles.
 
His foster mom Kharis said, “I can tell you that Maverick is going to be very happy with his new family. It was a pleasure to meet the Nix family and they already love Maverick so much. Thank you to the group for helping Maverick connect him with his new furever Family.”
 
Thank YOU, Kharis, for fostering Maverick and carefully going through applications to find the perfect home for Maverick!  And congratulations to the entire Nix family, including Maverick!

Molly has made it official… she is staying with her foster, now forever, family! 

Lisa and Chris fostered Molly through heartworm treatment, and fostering for many months tends to make you bond with your foster dog (and vice versa), and it sure did.  And Molly has grown accustomed to fishing with Chris, boating, hanging at the beach with her humans and helping them check for mail (and so many more adventures).
 
Molly came to rescue last year with her sister, Marni, and Marni was also a “foster fail” with her own foster family.  We’re super happy for Molly, Lisa and Chris joining the “foster fail” club. Congrats everyone!

Nova Rae has found her forever home with the Bundy family!  To say Nova Rae’s rescue life has been exciting is an understatement. 
When she came to rescue, she changed foster homes because she was startled easily, and needed a tall fence.  She was transported to Rincon, where she started a 5-month stay with her foster mom Denise and family.  Five months seems like a long time, but Nova Rae was scared and nervous.  She needed to get to know her area and develop trust.  She found her safe place in her foster mom Denise's office, where she would sit in the bed next to her or in her foster dad’s armchair. 
After a tense escape from the backyard, the fence was fixed and she settled in, playing with her foster pup sibling and enjoying life.  New sounds still scared her, but it was a large 1-acre fence so plenty of room to run and lots of places to hide.
Nova Rae was matched with the Bundy’s, and they met her in Macon. When Nova Rae arrived at her new home, on a lease walk in her new yard, she was startled, slipped her collar and went over their 6-foot fence.  The Bundy's opened their gate, watched her on the camera's feed, contacted everyone and finally set a trap for her.  After 5 stressful days the trap was sprung and she was finally back with her new family who love her and are creating the safe space that she needs. 
Thank you, Denise and family, for fostering this crazy, sweet girl and finding her forever home.  Congrats Nova Rae and the Bundy family!