Adopt/Foster
To start the adoption process, please fill out the TSGSR Adoption Questionnaire. Similarly, you can apply to become a foster by filling out the TSGSR Foster Questionnaire. You can find more about the Thulani dogs currently in need of homes on the AVAILABLE DOGS tab. Please also read the information below and contact us directly at info@ThulaniSeniorGSR.org if you have questions.
ADOPTING A THULANI DOG IS FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT than adopting almost any other rescue dog, at least in a few important ways. First, we commit to providing medical coverage for the dog for the rest of its life. Second, it takes a very special kind of person to adopt a Thulani dog, one emotionally strong enough to maintain a calm perspective under circumstances that eventually will become very difficult. Third, at adoption, we will provide a lot of essentials, including a pad, food, toys, medications, a crate if needed, and more. And, of course, we always take our dogs back and find them other homes if the adopters cannot keep them.
Adoptions are critical to the making the Thulani effort succeed. We only have limited facilities for keeping dogs with us, and we always have more requests to take in dogs than we can accommodate, so moving dogs into adoptive homes is the primary way of making room for new dogs coming into the program. Each dog adopted means another dog can be saved. Thulani dogs simply cannot be placed in kennels to live out their lives. That would fly in the face of our mission to provide warm, loving homes for these very special dogs.
Adopting a Thulani dog can be an intimidating prospect, but one that often results in an incredibly fulfilling experience. More than 60% of our adopters have returned to adopt a second Thulani dog, or even more in some cases
“Abandoned because he was old, sick and hurt, Bailey was a survivor. Taking care of him the last couple months he had left was my way of saying “Thanks” for the loyalty and devotion he had in spades. It was also one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve been fortunate enough to have.”
Commander Pat Skora, USN
It should be obvious that not everyone is suited emotionally to adopt a Thulani dog, but the personal rewards are amazing. I have had countless people tell me they could never adopt a Thulani dog because of the emotional strain, only to have them reconsider when I explain to them that dogs live in the moment and don’t know that they are terminal, that even six months of additional quality life is a significant part of an average German Shepherd’s total lifespan (equivalent to 3-4 years of human life), and that as a Thulani adopter they personally are the difference between a dog living out its natural life in comfort and love rather than dying alone and afraid on a stainless steel table at the shelter.
“I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision. We had a quiet home, just my GSD and me. But somehow I needed to help make a difference. Two days into our new adventure when Katie grabbed Marie’s (now called Kassidy) lead from me and pranced her off around the yard as her new best friend, I knew I’d made the right decision to bring a Thulani foster into our home. Two weeks later when I got my first kiss, my heart melted and I was sure.”
Sharron Daniel
Fostering a Thulani dog is like fostering any animal in a rescue program. But for Thulani, it perhaps is more important because each dog we can put in a foster home after we have determined what kind of a permanent home it should go to, instantly frees up a space for us to bring in another Thulani dog. And there are so many of them waiting at all times.
For fostering, we pay all the expenses, the foster provides the warmth and love. Typical foster periods are between two weeks and a month. And the dogs are so appreciative.
Although providing a home for a Thulani dog will be an emotional rollercoaster, people who have experienced it almost uniformly look back on that time as one of great satisfaction and fulfillment.
“George is my fifth Thulani foster dog, and as all the others he has been a joy to have around. They have all come to us with that look of uncertainty about their future and within days they are happier, look healthier and have that look of contentment. When I see George run to greet my husband and make his little happy sound it reminds me why I do this.”
Brigitte Donner
We are developing an adoptive and foster home network for Thulani dogs that will hopefully overlap our area of coverage, all of California and Nevada. For now, our network covers mostly coastal and central California. We are actively working to expand into a wider area.
Providing homes for the Thulani Program dog is difficult but incredibly rewarding. Please read the comments of some of our caring people below.
If you would like more information about providing a home for a Thulani dog, please contact Bob directly at Info@ThulaniSeniorGSR.org
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“I can’t thank you enough for all the opportunities you have given me in rescue. The things I have been blessed to experience make me feel so fortunate. These animals have given me so much unconditional love and a true perspective check. Aren’t we lucky.”
Ann Hetherton
“Senior dogs have earned the right to live out the rest of their life in a loving home. I was excited to participate in the Thulani program because it gave me the chance to provide a loving home to senior dogs who did not have many months left in life, but they months they did have I made sure were loving ones. It made me feel good knowing that the dogs would die knowing they were loved”
Mike Walker
“I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision. We had a quiet home, just my GSD and me. But somehow I needed to help make a difference. Two days into our new adventure when Katie grabbed Marie’s (now called Kassidy) lead from me and pranced her off around the yard as her new best friend, I knew I’d made the right decision to bring a Thulani foster into our home. Two weeks later when I got my first kiss, my heart melted and I was sure.”
Sharron Daniel
“George is my fifth Thulani foster dog, and as all the others he has been a joy to have around. They have all come to us with that look of uncertainty about their future and within days they are happier, look healthier and have that look of contentment. When I see George run to greet my husband and make his little happy sound it reminds me why I do this.”
Brigitte Donner
“I always wanted to do something more significant and more tangible to help animals. This program makes me feel like I’m really making a difference. And my foster is so wonderful, she’s worth it!”
Suzanne Wagner
“Senior dogs are often discarded after a lifetime of giving their best to their people. How can we say no to them? All they ask from us is a safe place to lay their sweet old grizzled heads. In return they give us their unconditional love and gratitude. All you have to do is look into their eyes to know you’ve done something worthwhile.”
Kelly Butler
“It is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I loved the experience of living with the dog (Blanca) and I will always love her. It was very hard to say goodbye to her, and I don’t regret one moment.”
Kathy Norman
“Abandoned because he was old, sick and hurt, Bailey was a survivor. Taking care of him the last couple months he had left was my way of saying “Thanks” for the loyalty and devotion he had in spades. It was also one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve been fortunate enough to have.”
Pat Skora
“Whose spirit touched whose more?
This love unconditional
Bittersweet challenge”
Patty Lacy
“Every day of fostering a Thulani dog is rewarding. We provide a comfortable and loving home, but it does not compare to the unconditional love and happiness we receive in return.”
Emily and Dave Leslie
“Knowing her days are fewer, makes us do every thing we can to make each one memorable and special. A good reminder for everything else in life!”
Joan Hoover and Jim Rabjohn
“To give love to an animal that has been abandoned, and knows they are loved again, is an incredible feeling. Any time you can bring happiness to an animal whose life has been confusion, loss and, in many cases mistreatment, just makes yours much better.”
Dorian Brumbaugh
“This is a story about my 2nd Thulani GS. I did have Thulani, the original, who crossed to the Rainbow Bridge early at about 4 mos. He will be forever in our hearts, and we were with him in his death. He had Aortic stenosis, which means his big outgoing valve in his heart was very narrowed, and his blood supply to the body was limited. This is a story about my second Thulani dog named Woolsey or as we call him Kramer….He also has Critical Aortic stenosis. He will be 11 mos old on Feb. 8th. What happens to him is he will run, and have what we call syncope, or passing out, and collapsing. This has happened about 20 times since we have cared for him. I feel like a kindergarten teacher, calling out NO RUNNING to a puppy. We have two other GS dogs. Bella is about 3 yrs, and had broken legs, but with swimming, can run in a sort of crooked way, and Sherpa, who RULES! Woolsey is on a medication that lowers his heart rate, so he won’t pass out as often. He is ball driven, and can carry three balls at once, and loves to go in the swimming pool. I have rescued him on several occasions, including the pool, and have fallen in love with him. He sleeps in the bedroom with the other dogs, and prefers the cool tile, as he can breathe easer. This is a labor of love, and we want more time. On another note, he has chewed my shoes, socks, sweaters, my husbands slippers, and cane, and dug up my bulbs, and my Mother’s antique chair…It is all O.K. He will have a short life, longer than the original Thulani, but no less special. Every day I pray I will come home to three wonderful rescue GS’s, and they will only know how much we love them….”
Ginger Lev
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