Miss Bravan,
My name is Jim McGrath, my wife and I are Volunteers at the Slidell Animal
Shelter and your name and e-mail address were given to me by Damian Anti
the Shelter Director.
We (my wife and I) work at he shelter everyday to exercise, play with and
socialize the adoptable animals. We are volunteers through the Shelter's
Animal Assistance League. Through this work we became involved with
Miles, a young adult German Shepherd. Miles was placed in the shelter
because he had killed a small dog and after Miles' legal hold was up
remained at the shelter. It was at his time we became involved with
Miles. Miles has never shown any signs of aggression towards me, my wife
or any of the other staff members; however, he does not care for smaller
dogs.
At the shelter we have a large fenced in compound shaded by trees and
contains a Lilly edged pound. This is our exercise yard for the animals.
We also have three outdoor 10' by 10' kennels located in this compound.
We usually put the smaller dogs in the kennel to exercise, stimulate and
evaluate them for pet adoption days. The larger dogs we will let run free
to their hearts content and many of them will dive into the pond. Miles
loves the water; however when he is out we cannot have any of the smaller
dogs in the exercise kennels. He will become aggressive towards the other
dogs; however he did not jump over the kennel fence which he could easily
have done.
When we first started exercising Miles he was very difficult to handle on
a lease as he wanted to get out of his kennel. The walk from his kennel
run to the exercise yard was a test of wills. After he had been out and
spent some of his energy he became much more calmer and easier to handle
with the exception of putting him back into his kennel run. It would take
two people to put him back in. One would have to pick him up and push him
forward while the other would close the door. At no time during this
handling would Miles show any signs of aggression towards us. He was just
letting us know he did not want to be placed back into his kennel run.
Over time Miles has changed considerably. He now knows he will be
exercised daily and has changed his attitude completely. He will sit
while attaching a leash to him and will walk out to the exercise
compound. After he has taken care of his business and of course been in
the pound a few times, he wants his loving. He is a very loving dog. He
loves to be talked to as well as have his ears and head scratched. He is
very good when getting a bath as he stands still the whole time. He also
loves to have his coast brushed. He gives lots of licks and obeys voice
commands very well to come and sit. I now gently walk him back to his
kennel by myself and he will sit while I remove the leash.
He still gets excited when he see small dogs; however I have not attempted
to put him near or around them. Miles I believe would make a great pet
for anyone who has no other dogs and understands German Shepherds. He
would also need a place to run to stay in the condition he is now in.
Miles is beautiful and a work of art when he is running.
I am sorry if I ran on too long but as you can tell I do love this dog and
want him out of the shelter. I do not know the circumstances of his
killing the small dog. All I can tell you, this is a great dog and needs
a chance at having a good life. He might even make a great working dog as
he is still young, trainable and very loyal once he understands his
handler.
Once I receive your information as to where and when you would like
Miles transported to your location I will try form this end to set up a
pet transport chain. I heard the best way is to check through Yahoo
Groups for the best results. Please let me know when and where.
Jim and Gwen McGrath
(985) 645-0872 (h)
(985) 788-1293 (c)
