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10/31/2024 1:27 PM
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German Shepherd Dog : : Male (neutered) : : Senior
~7 years old. Good with large and small dogs; good with considerate children; good with cats Reintroducing Ripp! In many ways, Ripp is a completely different dog than the one who entered our rescue in late May, so a relaunch seems in order. Ripp is a large-boned, handsome guy who came into our rescue as a cruelty/neglect case due to long-term, untreated ear infections that had left him deaf. His journey to ear health and a pain-free life is chronicled here, in our Pack Leader Blog: http://gsrapackleader.blogspot.com/ Ripp was a sweetheart from day 1, even though he must surely have perceived the world through a cloud of ear and head pain. After exhausting all other medical options, we turned to surgery by specialists at the NCSU vet school as the best way to permanently fix his chronically infected ears. This surgery occurred on August 1, and the 6 weeks that followed were a time of healing/recovery from the surgery. Well, Ripp would like the world to know that he is DONE WITH THAT and ready to get on with life! We expected him to become a bit livelier once he was finally living without the burden of oppressive pain, and boy howdy, we are seeing that now! He is SO obviously feeling better that he seems to be going through a second puppy-hood at the ripe old age of 7. ;-) He has turned into the silliest, most joyous of dogs, truly transformed from what he was a few months ago. Seeing that big galoot sling his stuffed animals around makes me laugh every day, especially since I know how quiet (almost lethargic, sometimes) the “old” Ripp was. Ripp lives easily in my house with two other male shepherds and has been perfectly appropriate with all other dogs I’ve introduced him to—including very small dogs who jumped around and barked excitedly at him. He finds kitties most interesting, but only to look at, not to chase. Ripp is a low-energy boy whose exercise needs are satisfied by two moderate walks per day. He gets incredibly excited when the leash comes out, full of happy anticipation of the impending walk, and one could easily think that the person on the other end of that leash was about to be pulled all over the neighborhood. Not so! Once out the door, he settles right down and walks along nicely at whatever pace you set; he’s truly one of the easiest walking fosters I’ve had. Now, Ripp IS deaf, the life-changing ear surgery couldn’t change that. But he compensates incredibly well by keeping a close watch on what’s going on around him and attuning himself to the rhythms of the household. I’ve taught him a few basic hand signals (sit, wait, come, enough!), but a lot more could be done in this area. Ripp would probably enjoy having another dog in the house to cue off of, but he’s WAY more focused on people than other animals, so he could also live happily as an only dog. Now that his ears are healed, Ripp’s next hurdle is to go through heartworm treatment. That will happen in early/mid October, and he’ll need to stay quiet for a few weeks afterward. But after THAT he’ll have a clean bill of health and will be looking for his forever home. He’s already scouting for someone interested in having an extra family member at the Thanksgiving table. Might that someone be you? If so, get your application in now for the Rippster. More about RippGood with Dogs, Good with Cats, Good with Older/Considerate Kids Only, Good with Adults, Does Good in the Car, Leashtrained, Needs special care, Gentle Special Needs: Deaf, but compensates well. Current Scheduled Events:
Videos of Ripp:
  Other Pictures of Ripp (click to see larger version):
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