I am fostering 4 German Shepherds, and Norah is the most beautiful dog, with a gorgeous, thick coat. She would also likely be the most loyal guard dog, of all the dogs I am fostering.
People often stop and stare at her and comment on how beautiful her coat is. I agree!
Norah is the dog I always want to hug as soon as I see her, because she has these very deep, dark eyes that sometime express a heavy inner sadness that I can't figure out. So as soon as I see her smiling, it brings me great joy. I wish I could know what it is she went through, before she went into the shelter I rescued her from. I get the feeling she experienced some kind of deep loss, whether it was losing her babies or losing her owners. Sometimes she gets anxious, and she spends a LOT of time chewing on her giant Kong. When I see her, all I want to do is make her happy and get her to smile : ).
One thing that ALWAYS makes Norah smile is riding in a car. This girl LOVES being in the car... to the point where I wonder if at some point she ever lived in a car. When I first got her, she'd jump up on cars to see who was inside, almost as if she was looking for a previous owner. When I take her for walks, she immediately goes up to the car, hoping we're going to get to go for a ride. It's kind of cute how she just likes to chill out in the car and sit there, even when the other dogs go inside after a ride, it's like she gets a really comforting feeling from just sitting in a car or van.
She also LOVES to go Urban Dog Mushing. All my foster shepherds LOVE it. As I probably don't have to mention, Shepherds tend to be high-energy, strong dogs that greatly benefit from exercise, so this has been a really great sport for them, and it's just as much fun for me (first sport in my adult life that I actually looked forward to doing).
You can see a video of Norah going mushing with Titus, below. She typically likes to do maybe a lap or maybe even two, around Pacific Shores Center, but then she likes to just sit in the car or van and chill while the other dogs continue mushing. Even when we get home, she likes to sit in the car.
I sometimes wonder if maybe she has a tiny little bit of Wolf Dog in her, because she has such a pointy snout and big, bushy tail. I don't know her exact age, but I am guessing she is at least 5, because she has some gray hair on her snout and chin. It's so cute how she has one little gray whisker on each side of her face : ). The rest of her whiskers are black, but you can't see them as well.
Norah and Titus were very bonded when I first got them. Someone who worked for a German Shepherd rescue organization, who came over to see the dogs, even commented on how bonded they were, when we all went for a walk. They always seemed to be looking out for each other.
I was never 100% clear on whether they lived in the same house before they arrived at the shelter, or if they just hit it off on the ride home. The people at the shelter didn't tell us much about where they came from (I just know Titus was a stray). I know they arrived at the shelter on the same day, and one of the women who helped me with the rescue said it was likely that they came in together, but even she didn't know for sure.
They seemed like they were already "boyfriend - girlfriend" when I got them, and because they were unaltered, I decided to give them their "last hurrah" and allowed them to stay in the same room together. I figured, why not let 'em "live it up" while they still had a chance.
But for some reason, after I got them fixed, I felt really guilty, because it changed their personalities. I am one of those people who is REALLY BIG on getting pets spayed and neutered. I hate seeing irresponsible pet owners letting their animals breed, and letting them run loose, only to wind up in shelters or get injured on the streets.
So there was no question I would get all the dogs fixed. I didn't even have a choice, as it was a requirement of their adoption, and I had to do it within 30 days. It took a few weeks to find a good (but affordable) vet who could do all 4 dogs at a price we could afford, but luckily, I was able to get a recommendation for a great vet in San Jose who has a soft spot for Shepherds : ).
This is Norah and Titus, before they got fixed.
After the procedure, Norah and Titus seeemd confused, like they didn't understand what in the world had just happened to them. I suddenly realized that this was new territory for me. I was used to fixing cats and dogs that were younger, and not already used to mating with other animals (at least, none that were in my presence every day). For the last 2 decades, I mostly focused on cat and kitten rescue instead of dogs, and the cats I got fixed were either kittens who'd never had a mate, or they were stray males or females, and I had never seen their partners.
There was something very guilt-inducing about knowing these 2 dogs had been having a great time "going at it"... only to have all of that come to a COMPLETE HALT. When they were no longer able to (or no longer had the desire to) "get it on," They seemed kind of confused and depressed. I knew the procedure had to be done, but I still felt guilty about it, and somehow it also made me feel guilty for taking away Norah's ability to have puppies.
I realize, it's a silly thing to worry about, and I need to get over it. There are just too many dogs in this world that are euthanized in shelters! It was just a weird feeling I'd never experienced before. I guess the feeling stems from knowing she and Titus had been going through the motions of mating, and I had interfered with that process. In addition, it kind of took away some of their "spunk." Titus was really depressed for awhile (until he started Urban Dog Mushing), and Norah just kind of dismissed him and was no longer interested in him, the way she used to be (which I think was depressing for him to deal with). She would also kind of nip at him for little things, so he was a little afraid of her. I think he is several years younger than she is.
I don't know why I didn't feel so guilty about getting the other 2 female shepherds spayed. I guess it's because they didn't have "boyfriends" in the house. And it's also maybe because Norah seems to be the oldest of all my fosters, and she was the most likely to have been used as a "breeding dog" in the past. I was told my other 2 female foster shepherds did have a previous litter of puppies, and I'd never asked anyone about this with Norah (I just assumed she was used for breeding because there was a LOT of that in the area they were rescued from). But... maybe because she is older, Norah just has more of that "mother" vibe (the other 2 females are like kids, in comparison).
So, I have a tendency to call her "Mama" or "Mommy."
I should also mention that Norah also has a really strong protective streak (maybe you could call it a jealous streak). If Titus so much as looked in the direction of another dog, she'd bark or even nip at him. I thought this behavior would stop once they were fixed, but it didn't completely go away.
But to my amazement, she seems to be perfectly OK with allowing Titus to flirt and romp around with the younger females in the house. This is a HUGE improvement that just started a couple of months ago, when my boyfriend (unbeknownst to me) let them all play together in the same room. He was sure they would all be able to get along, while I was overly cautious and scared a big fight could break out, because I had seen Norah attack the other 2 dogs when they tried to get near Titus.
I'm not sure what has changed, but she no longer seems to be worried about whether Titus flirts with the other 2 girls in the house. This is a HUGE relief for us... and for Titus, who really gets along well with Shelby, who is super affectionate and gives him tons of kisses. Norah seemed to stop caring too much about Titus after she got spayed (she seems more interested in my boyfriend's attention), so I am glad Shelby is able to put a huge smile back on his face. This has made me think maybe I should try to get Titus and Shelby adopted together, or at least, try to find guardians who would allow them to play with each other once in a while.
I am still working on trying to build her confidence so she doesn't feel so insecure. She's definitely made improvements, but still has some deep insecurities that make me wonder if she might be best as a single dog (preferably one with 2 owners).
Norah in the morning.
