Meet Lenny! A Sweet, Energetic Young Shepherd - Knows Commands & Is Ready to Learn More!

 

I have been fostering a sweet, energetic male shepherd named Leonard, aka Lenny, from a very high kill shelter. I committed to saving him before I even met him, about a month ago, after seeing his sweet face listed on the shelter's website. This is the info that was written about him:

Leonard 

💖friendly

🐕‍🦺walks on leash

2/22/26- No MC. DH***** AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION NOW ***** Intact male, 2 yrs old, 71 pounds. Vaccines given 2-24-26. No microchip. ALT ID# 2-22-26 42/28/26 friendly with women, was afraid of male ACO, can jump out of our kennels at the shelter, has some anxiety and may need some training, walks on leash*****

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Please note, i was able to get him fixed. He is still very very energetic and a bit rambunctious, but he has calmed down a LOT, and i'm able to let him mingle with my other dogs 🥰. He is social and clearly wants to play with other dogs.

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You can see it bunch of videos of Lenny by clicking here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHkTUxxTMmXo&si=u6l_eb5mGQCuYY1X

Lenny's story:

Several months ago, I was looking for a shepherd with a personality like my male shepherd Titus, who passed away in March (I"m working on a post about him). His "girlfriend" Shelby missed him terribly, and so did I. It felt weird not to have him around.... Titus had such a strong presence, I felt like I had the rug pulled out from under me. I was still getting over the loss of him AND my older female shepherd, Kali, who died in the fall after an aggressive tumor (that showed up right after getting the rabies vaccine) took her life. You can read more about that on this page. I am working on tribute posts for both Kali and Titus -- two of the best dogs in the world - it's just taking a while to get them done, as I'm juggling a lot. 

Anyway.... sorry, I digress.....

The silence of Titus' absence was unbearable. And when he was no longer around, the vibe in my shepherd pack felt very "off." I love all of the 3 female shepherds I have now, but something about having one male in the group somehow kept things in balance. All my girls adored him. Titus was also a protector, who was able to keep my Shepherd / Husky Fafi from bullying my docile Shepherd / Goldie, Shelby (something she often did, partly because she's a herder and very alpha female). You could see the sadness and and anxiety in Shelby's eyes, and it was eating away at me.

I wasn't necessarily ready for another dog just yet, but one day I decided to just have a look and see what shepherds were available at the shelter where I'd gotten Titus, back in 2022. Me and my boyfriend had rescued four shepherds - all great dogs - on the same day, in the fall of 2022. So naturally, I checked that same shelter, first, to see what shepherds were available. And that's when I saw Lenny's picture. This is the only picture that was on the shelter site:

I knew if I did get another shepherd, I'd want one that was strong and had a strong presence, but was also mellow, and also not an alpha, or he might butt heads with one of the other very large dogs I am fostering (who is an alpha). 

I should note that Titus was an alpha male - but sadly, that is what cost him his life. One evening when I was at work, he got in a fight with my foster husky Rocky, who is usually pretty mellow,, and would tend to retreat with his tail between his legs when Titus would pick a fight with him (usually it was related to territory). But Rocky had a secret weapon in his back pocket, that he eventually used to keep Titus from going after him..... a very strong bite. I discovered, too late, that while I was at work and no one else was around, Rocky bit Titus' ear so hard that it caused excessive bleeding. And he died of blood loss, before I got home.  

I spent about a week bawling my eyes out. Losing Titus hurt about as badly as I imagine it would hurt to lose a son. But I knew there was nothing I could do to bring him back, and I just needed to do what I could to make sure me and my other shepherds would get through this. 

I began browsing - juuuuust looking - through the shelter's pages, and when I saw Lenny's face, he immediately captured my heart. Something about his eyes.... he looked so sweet. There wasn't much about him in the description, other than the fact that he was a "jumper" and was able to scale the shelter's 6 foot fence. He was also afraid of the male Animal Control Officer (ACO).

I saw Lenny's post and profile in mid-March. I thought maybe he'd get adopted, since there weren't a lot of shepherds in the shelter (or at least, there weren't as many as there were when I got the 4 shepherds in 2022). But Lenny was in a back kennel (an enclosed one so he couldn't jump out).  Apparently, he'd been able to scale the shelter's six foot wall, so they had to move him to a kennel in the back. But he was getting almost no exposure or publicity, there. There was just one photo and no videos of him.  

I meant to visit Lenny on a different trip to Southern California, a few weeks after Titus died. There was a different shepherd I learned about in a facebook post. She was found injured in a field, and was set to be euthanized since no one had claimed her.  So I drove down to get her, but ran out of time to visit Lenny while in Southern California. The shelter closed and I had to get back to my own dogs at home. I just had to hope Lenny woould find a good home. 

After about a month, I saw in a facebook post created by networkers, that Lenny was on the URGENT list. He was just days away from being euthanized, and for whatever reason, he was getting almost no exposure and no pledges. I was really worried about him. 

I knew basically nothing about Lenny's personality, because I live far away from the shelter and wasn't able to go down and visit him beforehand. I knew that going to get him would be an 8 hour trip, but I couldn't bear the thought of hearing later, that he'd been euthanized. Like I said, this is a VERY high kill shelter, and sadly.... I did, later, find out that all the dogs (except Lenny) who were in this picture collage with him, were, indeed, put to sleep. Lenny was the only one that made it out (and I had to do a lot of talking and pleading with shelter staff to hold him long enough for me to get there). I had to pay extra money for them to hold him a few days until I could get down there. 

There are just too many dogs and not enough space, resources, fosters and adopters right now.

Lenny would be a great guard dog and I feel VERY safe walking him at night. He is always alert and looking around us to see what's going on. He is smart and eager to learn. Already knows commands for sit, stay, lay down and shake a paw, and could learn much more!

He has a beautiful reddish colored coat!

You can see a video of him here. Please note that I am purposely using a very SWEET voice with him, as he seems to respond well to it. I heard he was afraid of the male animal control officer who found him, so I think he had a bad experience but he was fine with my friend who is a guy (though it helped that he fed him rotisserie chicken. Here's the link for a video.   

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qkUf-2wp7G8

Here he is on a walk:

https://youtu.be/9fKdZa7cpX4?si=KBuuC7mLjnBBy4W2

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yciTuK9ViW0

I would ask for a small rehoming fee just to ensure he doesn't end up being used as a fighting dog, and might use a formal rescue for his adoption, but could be flexible with the right person or family.

Lenny also LOVES to play with water spray from a hose!!! Doing this has become a really fun part of the day.

I think he would love to be with a young man or woman or who is willing to walk him daily and give him more training. He would make a great running partner!! He could possibly be a companion for another dog. 

 

For a while, I kept him separated from my other dogs, but my boyfriend was able to calmly get them all to hang out from the same area. Sometimes they can be a little intimidated by his energy, but overall he is a good, sweet dog who wants to be loved like everyone else.

I would keep him if I didn't already have my own shepherds plus 3 foster huskies! You can see his pictures in this post. 

He's also recently neutered so I think he will calm down a bit over the next 2 months. He would make an excellent running companion. 

You can see another video of Lenny, here: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tZa9X58Njue9kjTN7

If for some reason it didn't work out with someone I'd gladly take him back, he is a sweet boy who deserves a good life! I might also be willing to provide a training course for someone who might be willing to give him extra training. Just let me know if you have any questions.... click on the contact form on the right side of this blog. Thanks!!!

Laura

Meet Rocky, Jet and Frannie! ❤️

This is just a page I am making to share information about the 3 dogs I rescued from a park in Stockton, California, a few weeks ago. 

I am still looking for homes for them. If you or someone you know may be interested, please get in touch via the contact form on the right side of this page. Thank you!

Laura

Rocky:

https://theshepherdpeople.blogspot.com/2025/11/very-handsome-silly-white-husky.html

Jet:

https://theshepherdpeople.blogspot.com/2025/11/httpsyoutube.html

Frannie:

https://theshepherdpeople.blogspot.com/2025/11/suuuuuper-sweet-sweet-young-husky.html

Suuuuuper sweet sweet young husky shepherd female, lots of kisses to give

I plan to add more details to this later, but I just wanted to put a quick post up about a suuuuper sweet Shepherd Husky female that has been in need of rescue for over a month. I'm calling her Francis (or Frannie)... after St. Francis of Assisi).

She was finally caught yesterday, and I agreed to take her temporarily.

You can see a video of her (and her sweet nature) while she was living at this park in Stockton, CA. She went missing for a while, so I made this video in an effort to try to see if anyone had seen her.

Her story: she was abandoned about five weeks ago, in a park in Stockton, with several other dogs, a total of five, and we don't know their full backstory. One by one, all 4 of her buddies found places to stay... except her. Until yesterday when I finally took her in.

The story I heard is that when she was first seen in the park with four other dogs, she was pregnant. She went off somewhere and apparently had the puppies, but it seems that none of them survived (or someone took them) because she came back without them and her milk was all dried up 😢.

This girl has been through so much and I feel so bad for her. I'm not really in a place to keep her, but I just could not bear to let her stay on the street.In the cold all alone, after all she had been through. I really don't want to have to take her to the pound, so I thought I would just let people know about her because honestly, I have never seen such a sweet and affectionate dog. 

I really misjudged this dog a few weeks ago, when I saw a picture of her. It's obvious she is a shepherd husky mix, and because I have a shepherd husky mix (who's very neurotic) and a friend of mine has a dog that looks just like this dog (and that dog is even more crazy than mine), I had it in my head that huskies and shepherds should never mix. The last thing I need in my life right now is more drama or chaos, so I was very wary of taking her in as a foster.

But I've recently seen that that is not the case with all husky shepherd mixes. Earlier this week I did a post about a husky shepherd mix that is so mellow and sweet. So really you just never know. And I should not have judged this poor dog, just be based on the way she looked. I was reminded of the fact that one of the best cats I have ever had, who was super sweet and mellow, looked exactly like one of his litter mates, who was extremely aggressive and kinda nuts. So you really can't just judge a book by its cover. 

Anyway, this poor girl had to watch her friends all disappear, one by one until she was all alone in the park. One dog went missing and we think someone may have taken her as a pet. There was a large husky that found a home. The third dog (whom i'm calling  Rocky) is one that I took because he was injured, and I thought I could help him heal his injuries fairly quickly, with stuff that works well on my own dogs. I could tell he is the type of dog I could get adopted quickly because he is very handsome, walks easily on a leash, and is also mellow and sweet. 

This is not an ideal time for me. to have more than one foster right now, but I started feeling extremely guilty because Rocky seemed very lonely without his best friend. And the woman who has been feeding them for the last month, Sylvia, said the other two dogs seemed very lonely at the park without him. I definitely get the feeling Rocky was the pack leader.

So, I agreed to take Rocky's buddy, whom I am calling Jet. They were soooo happy to be reunited. Sylvia is only able to transport one dog at a time, and she had to drive all the way from Stockton to Redwood City to bring them to me. She told me she was going to go back and get the last dog, Frannie, but it was raining really heavily that night, and Frannie disappeared. Sylvia couldn't find her for days.

I was wracked with guilt over the fact that she had been left all alone in the park, especially because the area where they slept had been washed out and it was super muddy.. It was bad enough that she seemed really lonely when she was just left alone with Jet, but then, to be the only dog left, after she had been through so much... i just felt horrible. 

I kept asking Sylvia every day if she had seen her, and she hadn't. So I did a post on craigslist in the hopes that someone might find her. I didn't need to take her, I just wanted to know that she was safe somewhere. 

Well, wouldn't you know it right after I did that post, Sylvia let me know she had finally seen Frannie! She was hanging out with another smaller dog, so I was happy at least to hear that she had some company. I think there's a chance the smaller dog may belong to one of the homeless people that lives in the area.

Sylvia told me that she was able to catch her. But when she brought her to her house, her landlord freaked out, and not only said the dog needs to go, but she's getting ready to kick her out because she has too many fosters. 

She asked if I would be able to take Frannie if she could drop her off yesterday, and I just couldn't say no. I could not bear the thought of this poor dog who had been through so much, still having to live on the street. At the very least, I could try to see if I could get any interest in her from people on next door or craigslist, before I have to think about taking her to the pound. (Just a note on the other little dog, I thought Sylvia was going to bring him also, but she was worried I was going to get in trouble for having too many fosters, so he is still in Stockton, and I believe she is feeding him... if you have any interest, please let me know, and I will contact Sylvia).

To say Frannie was overjoyed to see her buddies again would be an understatement. She was sooooo relieved!!!

I can say with all sincerity that Frannie is the sweetest dog I have ever fostered. She is super affectionate, and also pretty docile. At first I was a little scared of her because something about her size and shape reminds me of a coyote. So she's pretty unique. But she wags her tail a lot and is super friendly. Of course she has been through some trauma, so i'm trying to take it slow with her, and keep in mind that she might be sensitive to loud sounds or sudden movements or being pet in the wrong way. I haven't even had her for twenty four hours, but so far, things are going well, and I can't help thinking somebody out there would absolutely love this dog. 

She does absolutely need to be spayed, and soon. Sylvia has an appointment for her to be spayed in about five weeks. But if I can get it done sooner than that, I think that would be better. I thought about separating her from the boys, but she is enjoying their company so much and I think she'd be pretty sad without them right now while she's recuperating from all she's been through. Since they were already alone with her for the better part of the last two weeks, what's done is done. I might as well just let them hang out and be happy and get her fixed as soon as possible.

I think if you meet Frannie you will see what a sweet dog she is. If you have any questions about her, please let me know. Thank you!!

Laura

Looking for Sweet Shepherd Husky that went Missing from Stribley Park in Stockton, CA

We are looking for this very sweet female shepherd husky dog, who was last seen in Stribley park in Stockton, California, around 11-15-25. She went missing right around the time the heavy rain started. Apparently the area where she and the other dogs she was seen with, got washed out.

Stribley Park address: (there are two addresses listed online. Google maps says it is 502 Della St, Stockton, CA 95205. Chat GPT says it is 1760 East Sonora Street.  I think they're both correct because the park is so big. If you live in Stockton, you probably know where it is!

She was hanging out at the party of the park where there is a kids playground and a mural. You can see the spot in one of the pictures below.

The back story: Last week I learned about a group of five dogs that were abandoned at Stribley Park in Stockton, CA. There is a very sweet woman who was kindly feeding the dogs every day and looking after them for several weeks, trying to find homes for them. I learned about this story from a facebook friend who is in dog rescue. 

You can see a facebook post she did about tge dogs, here. It has some pictures and video of this poor husky girl who went missing. Sorry.I can't make this a clickable link, but you can copy it and paste it into your browser to view it on facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/827871936838995/?mibextid=9drbnH&s=yWDuG2&fs=e

The story about these dogs popped up on my news feed. I live an hour and a half away, in Redwood City, and I offered to temporarily take one of the dogs if he could be transported to me, because my van is not in the best shape. I took the injured white husky shepherd, because I have a lot of healing equipment at home and thought I could help him with his injury. But he seemed very lonely without his buddy, so I offered to take his friend as well. 

I really did not want to leave just one last dog alone, but the woman who was catching the dogs could only take one at a time. Sadly, when she went back to try to get her, she was gone. She told me the dog looked very lonely and sad without her buddies. I feel terrible about this. She was last seen with a smaller dog, but then they both disappeared. 

Originally there were five dogs. One dog, a small white husky mix, disappeared (we think & hope she may have been taken by someone who wanted her). A second dog, a large tan and brown husky, found a temporary home during the reign. This sweet husky/shepherd girl was the only 1 of the 5 that was left. She's been through so much. I heard that she may have been pregnant when she was first seen in the park, but then she disappeared for a while, and her babies were nowhere to be found 😭

If you or anyone you know of has seen this dog, we would appreciate it so much if you would let us know where she is or how she is doing. If she's found a home, we will be overjoyed. We just want to know that she's safe. If you see her and she is in distress, our friend who lives in stockton, might be able to go and help her if you just tell us where she is.

If you see her, we'd be very grateful if you could please email us at bayareadoggierescue@gmail.com, or text us at 650-649-9609. Thank you!!! ❤️

Laura

Meet Jet! A Striking, Sweet Husky / Pittie mix, Blue and Gold Eyes

Meet Jet! A Striking, Sweet Husky / Pittie mix, Blue and Gold Eyes (redwood city)

A friend who is in dog rescue posted on facebook that there were five dogs in a park in Stockton, CA, that were abandoned. They had been wandering around for weeks, and I just agreed to foster two of them.

This post is for the smaller of the two dogs. He is very sweet, and also very sociable. He's friendly and enjoys being around other dogs.

He also has a page on blogger... putting a link for it here, in case this one disappears. The links are clickable on that page. Sorry if this link below is not clickable, hopefully, you can just copy and paste it into your browser.

https://theshepherdpeople.blogspot.com/2025/11/meet-jet-striking-sweet-husky-pittie.html

I feel bad for him, because he gets nervous when he hears passing cars. But I've been walking him every day and he is coming around, getting a little more relaxed every day.

(Update 12/21/25) I can tell you that Jet has definitely opened up and learned how to relax quite a bit since I started bringing his sister on our walks. He and his sister are actually more bonded than he is with Rocky, clearly the leader of the pac, who is content to just hang back and make sure everyone else is okay.)

When I took Rocky (they transported him to me), to help heal his injuries, Jet really missed him a lot. They were separated for several days. Both dogs were pretty lonely without each other, so I went ahead and took Jet in as well. You can see their heartwarming reunion in the video below.

This is a video of him the other day when I took him for a walk by the bayshore. He was scared to get out of the car because it looked like he was worried about being abandoned again. Poor guy!

https://youtube.com/shorts/WZt6QSMtCtw?si=5nSWP_rc3luArzn-

He is friends with a larger white male dog that I am also planning to find a home for. He can submissive with the other dog, but he also has his own upbeat personality. It's obvious that having another dog around makes him feel good. I guess most dogs are like that!



It would be great if they could be adopted together, but I realize that would be a bit of a long shot. If they have to be separated, it would be nice if they could go to a home where people will be willing to either allow them occasional visits with each other, or if they could take them to a dog park, so they could have some social time with other dogs.

Both dogs need to be fixed. I will likely go through a rescue to handle the official adoption, but I wanted to start posting now, to see if I could find a good home for either dog. I have actually had some pretty great luck on craigslist to find pets their forever homes in the past.

I'm going to do a blog post for him, but for now you can see pictures of him here. I would say he is mid sized. Not small, not large, but midsized. Maybe the size of a collie without the long fur.

He is also in this video. He is the black dog with white paws, and husky eyes (one blue, one yellow).

https://youtube.com/shorts/oB0Jdwrk02Y?si=noOyUPibUFPU67XN

You can see a video of him being really sweet and affectionate here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/dZHS-CtFcqc?si=dMU0CFyVl1wx8i_d

If you would like to meet this sweet boy, or if you have any questions, just let me know. Thank you!!

Laura

Meet Jet! A Striking, Sweet Husky / Pittie mix, Blue and Gold Eyes

Please note, i'm not sure how I did this, ( (probably has something to do with stress and sleep deprivation) but somehow I managed to make two (duplicate) posts for Jet. I'm hesitant to delete this post because it might be the only link some people have of him. If you have arrived on this page, please note that this other page is a better one with more pictures. THANKS!

Very Handsome & Silly White Husky / Shepherd Mix for Adoption

 A friend in Foster/Rescue posted these photos on Facebook last week.... I am about to take him and his buddy for a walk, and don't have time to do a full post, but I will be adding more information, photos and videos to this page, soon. If you are SERIOUS about meeting him, please fill out THIS FORM, and I will get back to you. I am planning to work with a rescue organization to officially oversee his adoption. 

Thanks for your interest!

Laura

His guardian angel Sylvia, who fed him at the park and drove him to me, all the way from Stockton!!

The post that made me decide to try to help him...