GEMMA – Finds Her New Family

When we first met Gemma at Newark Shelter we were immediately drawn to her.  How could we not be?  Much like Sedona, Gemma was a frightened white German Shepherd and we knew from speaking with volunteers at the shelter that there was no interest in anyone adopting Gemma.  She was curled up in her run and it took effort and coaxing to bring her out of her run.  Once Gemma was outside, she began to cautiously check out her surroundings and warm up to people.

Gemma settled in nicely to her foster home the first evening.  However, after a day, her foster mom, who is a veterinarian, realized that there was something medically wrong.  Even after a number of baths, Gemma had an odd odor and she suddenly became very defensive around the other dogs in the house.   Upon further investigation, it appeared that Gemma most likely had a litter a few months prior to entering our program and had a dangerous infection in her uterus.

Gemma was a trooper during her stay at American Animal Hospital for treatment and surgery.  For the first week her hormones were out of whack and while she was super friendly to the staff, she did not want to be bothered with other animals.  As we prepared her to return to a foster home, she began to again show a lack of interest in other dogs.

An experienced German Shepherd owner, who had a Shepherd of her own and four cats was moved Gemma’s story and her pictures.  When her soon to be new family first met Gemma, everyone knew right away that it would be good fit.  Gemma would finally have a family that would truly care for her and a new pack of her own to make her feel safe and secure.