King 1645
6 years old · Adopted
King is an absolutely adorable one-ear-up, one-ear-flopped German Shepherd, nearing 5 years old (DOB 10/18/2018). He weighs about 100 pounds and is a dignified and affectionate guy. This handsome boy is housetrained, and is a "deep soul" kind of dog. He develops friendships with his toys and loves to bring them with him on adventures, tours around the house, and to bed (preferably YOUR bed, he says). King has a very strong prey drive and must not live with chickens, cats, or small furries. He does get along with some similarly sized dogs (both males and females), so if you have an existing dog, we'll ask you to bring them to the shelter for a meeting with King prior to adoption. King is extremely intelligent and deeply affectionate - he will be a wonderful companion for someone looking for a right-hand-dog as an adventure buddy. He adores all sorts of people. As is common with German Shepherds from less-than-ideal breeding backgrounds, King arrived with some painful hip issues. Thanks to our donors, we were able to give King femoral head ostomy surgery in February 2023. He has spent time in a couple of different temporary foster homes post-surgery, and is healing well. We are very hopeful that his surgery will greatly reduce his pain and give him many years when he can still do stairs and long walks and adventures. He will do best where the family can adapt their hiking/walking to his comfort, going farther on his good days and less far on his stiff days. Just like with humans, moving some every day is important to keep the joints fluid. King seems to love water, he leaps into the little pools and troughs we fill up for the dogs on hot days. That doesn't mean he knows how to swim - we can't test that - but if he DOES (or can learn), that is excellent exercise and physical therapy for any dog with joint challenges, and could help to extend his pain-free years with you. His temporary foster families have reported that King did really well visiting with people and other dogs at our local brewery; he plays well with foster dog friend Mikey; he enjoys being vacuumed with the dust-buster (which could be SO HELPFUL during those German Shepherd "coat blowing days" every year). He also LOVES car rides, and since his surgery he can get in and out of the car with no more than a little extra lift of his hindquarters when getting in. He takes cosequin for joint mobility and should continue that for life. Right now, he is taking carprofen for pain management, and may be able to give that up when his surgery is fully healed and all swelling has gone down. In King's perfect world, he'd be a best friend to someone who likes to get out and walk and play a little bit, but who also likes to stay in and snuggle by the wood stove. If you've been looking for that wonderful new companion to go on walks through the woods, play a little fetch in the backyard, then hang out in the shade with some lemonade and a good chew-toy, King may be perfect for you! He is a big, powerful dog who would benefit from an experienced dog person, and a fenced yard if he will ever be outside unsupervised. April 22, 2023 marked ONE YEAR that King has been at Forget Me Not waiting to find his new home; he is very hopeful that his turn is coming soon. All pets arrive spayed/neutered, dewormed, microchipped and vaccinated. Adoption fee for King is a suggested minimum of $125 (more gratefully accepted). All pets are placed with a 30-day money-back trial period, to give pet and family enough time to discover any unknown allergies or other conflicts. Can't come to Republic? Don't let that stop you! We have monthly transports to the Seattle area, delivering adopted pets to their new owners. If you can add a little to your donation to help us cover our volunteer driver's expenses, that would be great!