I've found my furever family!

Duke ~5-6 years old. Good with dogs. Kids and cats TBD.GSRA adopts to residents of VA NC and SC only.Duke is an exceptionally handsome five-year-old male German Shepherd who was liberated" from a puppy mill over 2 years ago. It has taken a long time and lots of patience and love to get him to the point where he is ready for adoption but nevertheless we do believe he is ready to make the next step in his journey. That said please understand that we are going to be even MORE selective than usual about who we consider for his forever home. Owing to his size and his ongoing emotional recovery Duke is not the GSD for just anyone. He is going to need someone well-versed in GSD behavior patient and realistic about the work it will take to care for a dog like him. Duke will never be a social butterfly a dog-park dog or a guy that can handle an ever-changing schedule. What he WILL be is a dog who is 200% loyal to his human funny in a goofy kind of way and so incredibly grateful for the chance to be loved by someone who will never l et him down. Duke is a large and lovely dude of approximately 81-90 Pounds. He has a gorgeous thick coat and a long fluffy tail. He is quite literally a show stopper. Duke is fairly social with other dogs but seems to prefer female dogs over males. Duke subscribes to the "live and let live" policy of dog socialization - he does well with playful dogs mellow dogs and small dogs but if a dog is overly dominant or gets in his face he will have something to say about it. Duke will interact playfully to some degree with other dogs but seems to prefer to watch from the sidelines. Duke's past has given him no reason to trust humans. Despite this it is very clear that Duke does indeed want to have a relationship with people. However five years of neglect and abuse are not easy or quick to overcome. Therefore Duke needs time to warm up to new people. He is very open to making new friends especially if those friends offer him food! Once Duke has learned to trust someone he is very loving affectionate and goofy. He is also exceptionally well mannered both in the house and outside on leash. Duke is crate trained housebroken and nondestructive. Duke knows several commands including sit stay down and paw. Once you are his friend Duke will eagerly come when called and has no problem rolling over for a belly rub. That said like any GSD Duke needs to recognize and accept you as the leader of the pack before he will happily settle into the #2 position! Duke is a mature boy and he is happy to trot around in the yard for 15-20 minutes at a time but is also quite comfortable being a couch potatoe in the house!! He is not an overly energetic dog. He likes to do "perimeter check" in yard and once he determines all is clear it is time to relax! Because we believe that Duke deserves every chance to succeed and to find a loving forever family of his own we sought the help of a professional trainer who has worked extensively on socializing him. According to her Duke is a good boy who has a lot of potential. She noted that Duke can be fearful around new people (especially heavy-set men for some reason) and tends to be quite protective of his people once he is comfortable. However once he gets to know and trust you and forms a bond with you he is an absolutely fantastic dog. With "his" people he is a gentle giant. This trainer believes so strongly in Duke's potential that she has offered to continue her work with Duke and his adoptive family free of charge (location dependent). If you wish to be considered as a potential forever family for Duke you will need to be willing to jump through a few extra hoops in addition to our normal adoption process. Because Duke takes time to warm up to new people his potential adopter will need to meet with him several times before taking him on trial. Duke is not the kind of dog that you can meet once or twice and then put in the car to take to a new home. Simply put Duke is not the dog for a first time German Shepherd owner. His past has left him with a lot of emotional scars. Many have healed but some will remain with him forever. Duke needs someone willing to understand his past yet help him see the way to a new future. Do you think you might be that someone that Duke has been waiting for?"