Ever since I was a boy I had always wanted a dog. But for the past 30 years I have always lived in rental apartments moving from place to place.

When I came back to India and built my own house, I knew I wanted a dog. But my mother was very ill and she needed a lot of care. In early 2009 my mom passed away and it was just me , my grandpa and a big house. One fine day some petty thief jumped into my house, and stole a few brass water taps (worth a few dollars max). My overhead tank leaked and it took 2 days for us to get it fixed.

I decided to get dogs and decided that I had to get mongrels/indian breeds. So I got Bommi and Kari (Indian breeds) . Then one day I went to meet my friend who is a surgeon and he had a frustratd little Rottie puppy in his home, I could not belive the energy and enthusiasm it had.

At that moment I knew I had to get a working dog. I wanted a GSD. But all GSDs in India have an awful back and legs that look like they have had polio. I could not bear to see a dog like that. So I had to settle for doberman. It has a short coat (suitable for heat) but I heard that they are a bit jumpy.

Decided to go check them out anyway. I did some basic tempermant test and fell in love with this one puppy which the breeded said was not of good quality because he did not have good bone structure. I got him cheaper than the price of the other puppies.He was 35 days old then. 7 months later the bad quality puppy won his obedience class trial and is the apple of my eye.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXx4__iiPwc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDN4A6Uyw6s&NR=1

Garrett had a Corgi for about a month when he was younger. The breeder demanded she be returned because one of the littermates was overly fearful. Their pup was too but it wasn't anything they couldn't manage. She was his favorite dog ever, though.

So when he got older and got his own place he wanted a Corgi. Went online, found a breeder with a litter on the ground, put down a deposit, and 8 weeks later we picked up Conan.

Growing up I always wanted a heart dog. A dog I can do everything with. Go to the store, go camping, bike with, run with, play with, sleep with, you name it. I remembered hearing something about Schutzhund years ago from who knows where. I Googled it. Found this website. Fell in love with working line German Shepherds and decided that I would one day have my own. Time passed, I got into Mondio Ring, people pressured me into a Malinois. But I knew better. When I finished college, I was getting my GSD. Through this site I found an amazing breeder and an incredible little family brought together by their dogs. I wasn't planning on getting a puppy until after the new year, but Danni was offered to me. I originally wanted an older puppy but every breeder had turned me down when I was interviewing them. When Betty offered me Danni, I knew it was meant to be.

So last week I went to Florida, had a blast with the Mathenhaus family, and here i am at home with my very first working line German Shepherd Dog. And she is no doubt everything I've ever wanted in a dog since I was a child.

Thank you Katie.

You have no idea how much your post means to both Russ and I.

I always knew I wanted a GSD- when I was a kid I watched the movie "K9" on a daily basis. I made my parents crazy.... over and over! I LOVED police dogs, but never had the desire to become a cop though my grandfather was the chief of police in our small town and sometimes our house felt like a police station.

I met a K9 handler a few years ago and since I was a manager at Petco, I had the opportunity to do a lot of fundraisers for the city's K9 fund. The town had never had a K9 unit before and this was their first and only dog. The cop humored me and answered every single dumb question I had. He let me touch the dog, watch him do some exercises, and was just great to me. I LOVE his dog to this day! I wanted one just like him! He gave me the name of the kennel that imported him and I set off on a crazy stalker email and phonecall frenzy!

I got let down a lot. Not a lot of people took me seriously. Mosy breeders referred me to other breeders, who referred me to other breeders. Before I knew it, people were throwing out names and numbers of backyard breeders just to shut me up. Finally..... someone gave me the number for a campus cop that used to import and breed. He got out of it because his wife took everything in a divorce. It just so happened that he was starting to get back into breeding! His police dog had just been neutered (darn it!) but he started using a stud out of an east german kennel. I looove east germans! As luck had it, he had ONE puppy left that he was selling to a guy to use in a breeding program. He wasn't too happy with the pups that came out of that kennel so he decided to let me take him. He was the only breeder that was happy to answer my questions and took me seriously. Its a shame some are like that!

And thats how I got my Dom! When I got out of the truck to pick him up, he was tottering around the yard, following the breeder around as he did his chores. I was so in love!

Couldn't ask for a better dog!

All of mine are rescues. We will go in order of picture .

Bear was purchased by a man who only seemed to like puppies. He spent about $2000 on him because of his breeding. He was kept on a 6ft by 6ft porch and never received any real attention. The guys wife began to get nervous have 2 pit bulls at this point with their kids (both males, both wanting to be dominant). So he seeked out my cousin Mike who in my neck of the woods (or city streets) is the only "underground" pit bull rescue and finds homes for at least 15-20 animals every month on his own (such a good guy ). At the time lived in a townhome with 2 other dogs and could not keep him. He always sent pics of dogs to my family but this time was different. This time he was a keeper! We went over and picked him up and that was that.

Maggie is a little different. I was working at a local Pet Daycare and they started to work with this rescue group. She has a story video on YouTube talking about her life and foster home. She came in because the woman who ran the rescue decided to put her up for adoption after keeping her for almost a year since her foster/adopter became allergic. When she came into my work I immediately fell in love and she fell in love with me. We were practically inseparable. I then adopted her .

Shrek my little one... my husband and I had moved into our first place and rented a condo (way before maggie came along). We could not take Bear because of course he is a pitbull and most condos are not to happy about them. Plus their policy was 15lbs or lighter and their were all types of condo comandos so there was not even sneaking a 20 pounder in...lol. I could not live without a dog so we went in search for a rescue that was 15 lbs or lighter and not a mini chihuaha..lol . Well after a month of searching and rescue after rescue and shelter after shelter we finally found one who carried "little" dogs. It was there we found this little timid creature that we jokingly called Shrek and it stuck...now he is my little monster and my husband's baby.

After this website I'm not sure what I would get next...maybe a Mal, GSD, or just a helpless pup that needs a good home... but no matter what I am sure it will be a rescue unless I start getting the itch to join a competition.

Wanted a Doberman throughout my childhood (many many years ago LOL). Loved Zeus and Apollo, the Doberman Gang, etc. While I was in college I found an ad in the paper for unregistered Dobe pups, called the "breeder" and asked him to hold onto the biggest black male pup until I could get there that weekend to pick him up. That was Dante's Inferno, the name behind Dantero, and the dog that got me started in competition training. Prior to that I trained dogs, but for personal protection.

Most of my current dogs, all Malinois, are from my own breeding program. My oldest Malinois is Cali, my youngest is her granddaughter Vali. I also have Cali's great-granddaughter Kita, but she's older then Vali. And I have a couple of adults that I purchased, imports from France and Belgium, and I co-own a number of dogs. Kita is actually the great-great-grandaughter of my foundation girl Ping, who recently passed at 16.5 years old.

My last non-Malinois was Zoey, a rescue JRT who we had for a few years, then lost to an obstruction. Eventually I'd like to get another Terrier, probably another rescue.

There is photos of everyone on my website, URL in my signature.