Where do Brightstar's German Shepherds come from?

If you are one of the hundreds of people who think our US pet overpopulation problem only concerns mixed breeds or inferior bred dogs..... YOU ARE DEFINITELY WRONG. Thousands of German Shepherd dogs end up in shelters, the current estimate is 21,598 - 28,798 EVERY YEAR. AND 4,560 to 7, 054 will not make it up ALIVE.

IF you are a person thinking of producing MORE German Shepherds.....PLEASE RECONSIDER. Over 95 % of breeders DO NOT make money at breeding German Shepherd dogs; your children DO not need to see puppies come into the world; and no matter how nice your current German Shepherd is! (UNLESS your dog is among the very few champions of champions ) he/she does not need to produce more German Shepherds!

Another scary fact is that most of the dogs dieing in the shelters were intentionally produced by people that are thinking the same way! Many of these "breeders" have dumped their puppies in shelters because there were just TOO many puppies to sell and could afford to keep all of them. In addition, many high quality breeding stock are dumped in shelters when they get too old to produce puppies. Some of these dogs sold for very HIGH prices, and yes have the "registration papers" and "titles" in their family history.

Rescued German Shepherds make some of the greatest companions available, plus, these are dogs that need a good home now. Many who do not find a home in time face an uncertainties deadly, fate.

Brightstar dogs are purebred or nearly purebred German Shepherds (with very young puppies or digital pictures --it's sometimes an "educated" guess), who posses all the wonderful characteristics we love about the breed. Many happy rescue dog owners say even more! due the dog's losing one owner and longing for a new home. When you adopt a homeless Shepherd you not only save a life, you get in return a noble, endlessly thankful friend. AND YES an adult dog is capable of bonding just as much as a puppy......many say even MORE! due to many of their sad history. The majority of these GSDS do not end up in the shelter for "being bad " dogs! Very few of these shelter dogs are problem "children"; most are just victims on a family move or break up, a breeder who produced TOO many puppies or someone who "just did not have the time or knowledge of this breed" to make that long term commitment . With some love, commitment and some support along the way; these dogs are just as "good" or even better! as being a loving family pet as any other GSDS out there. In addition, Brightstar and most reputable shelters will not offer the few "bad" ones.

Brightstar is operated by people with in-depth knowledge of the German Shepherd breed. Our dogs live in loving foster homes until they can be placed in permanent homes. Our dogs come from many places. Most are given up by their owners who are moving, no longer have time for them, who develop allergies to them, who get divorced, or develop financial hardships that preclude dog ownership, by breeders that produce TOO many puppies, and varies other reasons. By far the number one reason for private owner to surrender their German Shepherd to Brightstar is they are moving to another place. This move is usually cause by a job change, a financial hardship or family breakup.

84 % of BrightStar dogs come from NY shelters or NY private owners. 9% come for other rescues (within NY or out of state) and 7% from out-of -state shelters that do not have a German Shepherd rescue in their area to assist them. Many of these dogs are posted on one of the popular German Shepherd rescue boards, such as germanshepherds.com

Brightstar is a "placement partner" with many of the Buffalo and Rochester area shelters. These strong relationships help our community rehome German Shepherd dogs. WE do not compete with our shelter partners .....we SUPPORT them. The placement partner shelters will contact us, if they have a German Shepherd that needs help. If the shelter has room and the dog passes the shelters temperament requirements, we list the shelter's German Shepherds on our shelter page. Many times a Brightstar applicant will find their dog though our shelter or private adoption pages.

Before a dog can join the Brighstar family, the dog's temperament is evaluated and must meet strict guidelines for acceptance into our program. All Brightstar dogs are medically examined, cleared of any internal and external parasites, spayed or neutered, treated for any illness, if necessary, and have all their vaccinations updated.

Some of our rescue dogs have a known history; some do not. While in foster care, we get to know our dogs quite well and get a handle on each dogs unique personality. When you adopt a Brighstar dog over 6 months , what you see is what you get after the period of transition. Unlike puppies you know what you are getting with an older dog...the good, the bad, and the beautiful!

In addition, when you adopt from Brightstar you receive the support of a very large and experience network of 78 + German Shepherd owners, trainers, behaviorists, groomers, veterinarians, etc. to help your dog in the transition. Each dogs foster home can tell you whether that dog will be good with children, other dogs, cats, etc.  This is essential for successful placement in the right kind of home. We not only support you with the transition, AND if the dog is not the right fit and you have truly given the dog a fair shake..bring him/her back into our program.

Adopting from Brighstar is like becoming a volunteer of the team. Matter-of-fact, many adopters do join the Brightstar team to help others! Over 50% of the team has adopted at least one Brightstar German Shepherd; many how adopted two or more!

Preview 2004 's "Easy to say No" SlideShow! This will take a minute to load if you are on a dial -up connection!

Saving one dog at a time......... A young boy walked along the beach tossing starfish back into the sea. A man passing by stopped and asked, "My son, what are you doing?" "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen." "I understand," my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?" The young boy smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "I made a difference to that one!"