Ruger is a full-blooded German Shepherd who was picked up as a stray last Summer. The tips of his ears were eaten away by biting flies, he had some missing teeth, he was so skinny that you could see every rib and his toenails were the longest we had ever seen, but otherwise, he was a beautiful dog with a good temperament. We contacted German Shepherd Rescue in Raleigh, NC and were told that their foster homes were full, but they would put us in contact with a lady in West Virginia who wanted a mostly black shepherd. We communicated long distance, and she agreed to adopt him sight unseen. The problem was that she lived about 12 hours away. She agreed that if I would drive 3 hours, she would drive the other 9, so I put Ruger in a kennel in the back of our Blazer and off we went to Raleigh! We met at a McDonald's and it was love at first sight. Ruger's new Mom squatted down and threw her arms around him, and he commenced licking her in the face immediately! Ruger now lives on a 150 acre farm in West Virginia with his new Mom, Dad and "brother"--an elkhound named Ted. He has filled out now and loves to run and explore everything. His new Mom says it does a heart good just to watch him.