Tagging Party

by: Diane D.

We all arrived, unloaded our cars, and then chatted for 30 minutes or so while having a few snacks. Then everyone went to their assigned rooms and got to work on our specific jobs to get everything ready for the Big Show or Auction as we all know it! Every room had a different task: Yellow Auction, Blue Auction, Live Auction and, of course, the photographers were kept busy, taking pictures of everything that is going into the Live Auction which will also be on our website.

We concentrated on our work while having nice conversations, mostly about past and present dogs.  Around noon, we broke for lunch with Remy's killer brownies for dessert, then finished up strong. It was a collaboration of years of experience, sprinkled with some fresh eyes. We are all looking forward to the auction! 

Thank you all so much for participating today and every day, it truly takes a village. We all do so much for the sake of the dogs, and in the end, that's what matters! It is an honor to be welcomed into the GSRNE family. Thanks again, Jim & Tracy, for opening your home to us. Now let’s get our groove on to "Bid high & bid often"! Regards, Diane D.

Here are some comments from our “Busy Bees”!

*Thank you everyone. And the food was great too! - Kathy

*Thank you to all...it was great seeing you. And I also send thanks to Diane, who did an amazing job keeping us all organized and on track, and to Jim, Tracey, and Keira for letting us take over their house once again! - Remy

*Hello, I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank everyone who came to the Tagging Party today. It was so nice to see everyone and catch up. An extra shout-out to Diane D for all her organization and planning to make the day a success, and to Jim and Tracey for opening up your home to us. Have a great night! - Tina 

*I second that! Diane had all the materials and information we needed and kept things moving along...we were all finished by 3:00, which is a new record! Jim and Tracey are amazing hosts, and their dogs, Sable and Tucker, as well. Their daughter, Keira, helped with everything, as she has been doing for years. - Karen

Auction Excitement!

by: GSRNE Staff

Our Annual Auction is being held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, 11 am to 4:30 pm at the Springhill Suites by Marriott, 43 Newbury Street, Peabody, MA 01960. Springhill Suites is close to I-95 and I-93, with a comfortable venue and fantastic staff.

The Auction is open to the public, so please invite your family and friends and come enjoy the day with us. We have received so many great items for the Auction, and there is sure to be something that catches your eye. The catalog and photos of items in the Live Auction and a listing of items in the Silent Blue and Silent Yellow Auctions will be available on the website prior to the Auction. We can't wait to share them with you!

Auction excitement is building, and we hope you will all come join in the fun. We can also use your help! We are looking for volunteers to come early on Auction Day to help us set up. We have three auctions to prepare in a very short time. At 9:30 am, we start unpacking the items and getting them displayed on the tables. If you want to help set up and/or clean up before/after the Auction, please contact Diane D at: auction@gsrne.org.

GSRNE supporters come from all parts of New England to attend the Auction, so it is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and to meet new volunteers. People start arriving around 11:00 am, and the first step is the registration table, where you sign up for a paddle and receive an Auction Catalog. Even if you are not sure you are bidding, it is nice to have a free catalog and paddle, just in case! After registration, most people walk around to see the Auction items and check off their favorites. And, of course, there are lots of homemade goodies at the food sales table to tempt you.

The Silent Blue and Silent Yellow Auctions start bidding at 11:30 am. Bidders write down their paddle number and their bid on the sheet for each item they hope to take home with them. It is always fun. 

At 12:00 noon, our Auctioneer Extraordinaire, Lauralee D, takes the podium to begin the Live Auction! You'll hear, "It's all for the dogs..." and "Just five dollars more..." as Lauralee whips the crowd into a bidding frenzy. This year, we have a surprise in store! So, be sure to bring your seat belts, so you can buckle them up when the Auctioning starts! 

At the end of the day, even if you didn't win the item you wanted, everyone is a winner for coming out to help support GSRNE. Your support makes a difference!

If you wish to come prior to the auction, the Springhill Suites is now dog friendly. We will have a special rate (around $169 +tax and a $50 charge for a dog) which will be quoted later, please let auction@gsrne.org know if you are thinking of a room. The more people, the lower the rate!! 

We really want this to be the best year ever!!! 

GSRNE St. Patricks's 50/50 Raffle

by: GSRNE Staff

Congratulations!!!! 

The pot of gold totaled $3,300.46 with $1,650.23 going to both the winner and GSRNE. This is a huge success! We raised about $1,000 more than last year with more than double the amount of participants. Wow! Our dogs may be German, but they certainly have the Luck of the Irish having friends, family, and volunteers like you.  

Thank you to everyone who participated. We hope you had some fun and will join us again next year!

Sincerely,

The 50/50 Raffle team

Save The Date - Looking For Volunteers For Upcoming Auction

by: GSRNE Staff

GSRNE’s biggest fundraiser, our AUCTION,

Is almost here!!

Our date is

Saturday

April 22, 2023

Why come out, you ask? Because it is how we get ready for the Annual Auction and the gavel and the shouts of "It's For the Dogs"! It’s a great day of fun, friends and good food: what a great combination! Come join the fun!

The AUCTION, Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 11am-4:30pm, will again be held at the Springhill Suites by Marriott, 43 Newbury St, Peabody, MA 01960.

If you would like to help with setting up, cleaning up or even manning an event, please let us know by emailing us at  auction@gsrne.org. This is a great event and a great way to meet a lot of other seasoned and new volunteers. We hope you can get involved!

More details are on our website at gsrne.org.

Save the Date!!

by: GSRNE Staff

GSRNE’s biggest fundraiser, our Auction,

is coming soon!!

Our new date is Saturday,

April 22, 2023

Why come out, you ask? Because it's the Annual Auction and the gavel and the shouts of, "It's For The Dogs!"

It's a great day of fun, friends and good food. What a great combination!

Come join the fun!!

The AUCTION, Saturday, April 22, 2023, from 11am-4:30pm, will again be held at the Springhill Suites by Marriott, 43 Newbury St, Peabody, MA 01960.

If you'd like to help with setting up, cleaning up or even manning the event, please let us know by emailing us at

auction@gsrne.org.

This event is a great way to meet a lot of other seasoned and new volunteers. We hope you can get involved!

More details are on our website at gsrne.org.

--- New GSRNE Store !! ---

by: GSRNE Staff

Have you had a chance to check out our new online store yet? With more merchandise to be added in the next week, including GSRNE embroidered hoodies and some long sleeve tees in many colors, you can choose from... And 100% of the proceeds go directly to the care of our wonderful foster dogs!  https://gsrne.org/shop/

Brave's Update

by: GSRNE Staff

From her foster mom:

“Brave is alert, happy and stronger every day. She looks and feels less bony. She plays nicely, and has not guarded her food despite always being hungry. Her G.I. situation now has been good for a few days, and she can go for longer times between BMs, and it has been formed. She is really good around the house and in her crate, and every day seems to be learning new things. Now instead of multiple meals, she is doing well with three meals a day. She still eats more than normal total per day, which makes sense as she is slowly catching up.”

A lot of GSRNE is based on the Starfish Story, as we go about helping German shepherd dogs find safe and loving homes. Fellow GSRNE member, Deb S, was quick to point out, regarding Brave’s story, that we certainly made a difference in that one!

Happy Tails: Aries #550

by: GSRNE Staff

Aries (GSRNE #550) was adopted by Michael and Danielle and their family in 2021 when he was seven years old. They had been looking for a dog to adopt and after some Google searching, came across GSRNE and Aries. The adoption went smoothly and Aries settled into a nice, new life. Despite being a little bit on the older side, Aries loves to play. In fact, he will do a lot of pouting if he doesn’t get enough ball playing in! 

Luckily, Michael and Danielle both spend a lot of time with him. Danielle works from home, so he gets a lot of frisbee time with her. Some days, Aries goes into work with Michael. He enjoys the car ride and then will play fetch with Michael (and a chuckit) in the huge field beside Michael’s work. He can’t get enough of it! They both take Aries for walks as well, which is another activity he enjoys.

The kids love Aries too, and he gets a lot of attention from Michael’s son. He is perhaps not a typical German shepherd in some ways – when they visit Michael’s extended family and parents, Aries is a little terrified of the families’ mixed-breed dogs and will run behind Michael’s truck or look to find Michael whenever he sees them. It’s all fun though for Aries in his new home – he found a good one!

Take Me Home: Myla

by: GSRNE Staff

Myla is a beautiful 4-year-old female GSD. Her previous owner had her since puppyhood, and all was well until the fiancé moved in with his 7-year-old female Pitbull; fights began, and he was hurt breaking them up. Before that, Myla would get along well with a relative’s two male dogs, a Pitbull and a Catahoula Hound.

Myla is smart and learns quickly, but needs time to build her confidence. Her owners said she started showing anxiety after her tail was caught in a car door when she was 1-year-old. Myla is now in a foster home with a male GSD, and she is doing well with him.

Myla enjoys walks and being close to her people. Her favorite toy is a Frisbee! She is doing well with her training and responds nicely to minor leash or verbal corrections. Her foster parents have been working on desensitizing her to some anxiety she has shown with diesel engines. They live near a school, and Myla is getting used to the sounds of buses arriving and departing.

Her foster parents say Myla is sweet and loving, a great companion and well worth the time and effort to help her build some confidence! Could you be the perfect match for Mayla?

Adoption News: Luna #3

by: GSRNE Staff

Date Adopted: February 18, 2023.

Three year old Luna loves her toys and is good at meeting people, but sometimes she can be excitable and jumpy. She lived with a senior Chihuahua in the home and both dogs got along well.

Her owner purchased her when she was a puppy from a Pet Store that was eventually shut down based on previous fines and complaints.



When her owner recently needed to move out of the family home due to domestic violence, she was able to find an apartment out of state but was unable to take Luna with her. She asked the trainer she was working with who is one of our volunteers to help her find a new home.

We recently had an applicant who applied to adopt and was working with the same trainer as Luna’s previous owner, so we asked her to introduce Luna to see if she thought it would be a good match, and it was ♥. Luna is learning to meet people without jumping on them in excitement; she's doing regular walks in addition to playing fetch in a large fenced yard, and the additional exercise is helping her to be much calmer and more relaxed. Her adopter is retired and active and appreciates the companionship of this sweet and loving girl. Luna # 3 is GSRNE # 627!

Volunteer Spotlight: Lauralee

by: GSRNE Staff

Name & Hometown: Lauralee, Stoughton, Massachusetts

How long have you been a GSRNE volunteer? I have been involved with our rescue close to 25 years! 

What do you do for GSRNE and what does the job entail? I have done almost every volunteer position within our rescue.

Now I’m more involved with the fundraising aspects of GSRNE. I started the GSRNE Calendar Raffle well over 10 years ago to help raise money, awareness of the rescue and to bring people to our website (before social media was as popular as it is now) during the difficult months of low activity like June & July. I engage our amazing GSRNE community to sponsor a square in honor or in memory of a loved one (two-or four-legged) and occasionally can get a corporate sponsorship, too. (BTW, as you’re reading this, it’s that time again, and we have spots to fill!!)Then I arrange the squares within the month to reflect specific dates people ask for while trying to keep the money, gift cards or gift items diverse and exciting throughout, and also honoring those the calendar is celebrating. It sounds simple but is actually very challenging.

I have a wonderful team of volunteers who set things up in those little squares and proofread it for me. I send it out to print, then sort, record, set up envelopes and mail to our sellers and work with another volunteer who takes care of our website sales. Then we track the selling, the sold tickets, check all numbers, prepare them to be drawn, set up the drawings, draw our winners and, finally, announce them. It takes so many volunteers to make this happen!

I also am involved in preparation for the auction as well as the auctioneer! I love helping raise money for our dogs, and I have so much fun doing it. I also do home visits, foster & event tables when I can.

Do you have a GSRNE dog? Not currently. My beloved Kingston (GSRNE#470) passed away a few years ago. I miss him every day. I have a small dog, Blossom, who is a GSD/Chihuahua mix (she’s been DNA’d). She has raised many GSD puppies in her 12 years, including several GSRNE dogs and puppies -- Misha & the M litter puppies, Ginger and others.

How did you get interested in GSRNE?

A friend of mine’s neighbor mentioned the rescue to me and invited me to the auction. I’ve been involved ever since. I had a German Shepherd with some difficulties at the time, and I thought being involved would benefit both of us and other GSDs.

What is it about the organization that interests you? I have always loved working with the dogs as well as raising money to help them. The friendships I have made in our group over the years have been a blessing to me and one of the highlights of my life. When you work so closely with our volunteers, especially during difficult circumstances, you become emotionally invested not only with our dogs but also with each other. 

What would you say to prospective volunteers? 

If you love German Shepherds, there are so many opportunities within our rescue to help them. The need becomes greater every year. ‘If not you, who? If not now, when?’ is one of my favorite quotes! It always spoke to me and may speak to others as well. 

Become a GSRNE Volunteer!

If you would like to learn more about our volunteer programs, visit:

https://gsrne.org/volunteer/

The 2023 GSRNE Calendar is Selling Fast!!

by: GSRNE Staff

Get your calendar before they are all gone.

https://gsrne.org/product/2023-gsrne-calendar-shop/