German Shepherd Rescue Scotland - 2025
- Sarah Livingstone
- Jul 28
- 8 min read
A little bit about German Shepherd Rescue Scotland.
The Rescue was established in 2008 to re-home GSDs throughout Scotland. Being a registered charity, they rely solely on donations to cover the cost of rescuing dogs. This includes kennelling, transportation, and all required vet bills. This need to rescue these beautiful dogs doesn't come from dog trainers or trained behaviourists, but amazing people who have a love for the breed.
They aim to ensure that all the dogs they rescue are rehomed, safe, secure, and well-loved. Making sure that the right dog goes to the right home is not an easy task. The process entails a complete assessment of each dog that comes through their doors by their experienced volunteers, and a call to the veterinary practice that the dog is registered with to gather as much information on the dog as possible.
Once they have got a good file on the dog, the best-suited home is then selected. Once you apply to adopt a dog, they will conduct a home check and require a vet reference to ensure that it is the best match. They also offer a follow-up check and advice on all aspects of dog care and behaviour.
Want to know more information on German Shepherd Rescue Scotland and how you can support? The link is:
I would like to take this time to say a massive thank you to Carolyn and Dorothy, as well as all the amazing and caring volunteers who help these dogs in need and still have the time to plan an amazing day out for all the dog lovers out there!
The morning.
I live in Livingston, so we left at 09:30 to get there within a reasonable time. On the ride there, I am mentally checking off my list of things that I should have brought, Dogs? Yep, Myself? Yep, not wearing my Crocs? Nope, I have my docs on (I have gone to work with my Crocs on before), dog treats? Bugger, left the dog treats. Fantastic start to the day. Never mind, due to my experience here last year, I know that there are dog treat stalls, so I will just pick up some treats.
09:50, parked up, dogs are going insane in the boot. I get out of the car and walk round to the boot, open it up, and start to look for the dog collars/leads. Bugger. Left them in the house. As I am about to pack everything back up and head home to rot away on the couch because it isn't meant to be, Jackie, my mum, makes a quick run to the charity stall run by GSRS themselves, and there, on top of a massive box, are the two perfect red collars. The smaller one, 50p, the bigger one £1. Rushing them back to me and the dogs, who now have completely thrown any amount of sanity out the window because they know they are going somewhere and they want to be there, yesterday. The little collar, the perfect size for Pepe, and the big collar, perfect for Luna, and with the addition of the spare leads that Jackie had in the van, we are now ready to get into the park.
Rogue and Skye
After walking around about half of the stalls, we stopped to watch the agility. Currently running around the course is a young girl, who I later found out was Skye, and a full-grown, short-haired German Shepherd, Rogue. They both made the course look effortless. Skye was guiding Rogue as if they were linked. Skye was in control of every single one of Rogue's movements, and he followed her lead with that unavering loyalty that the GSDs have. It was so impressive to watch them ace the agility course, and I had to stop them to chat.
Skye was there with her dad, who was watching his little girl with such a proud look in his eye. Asking a few questions, I found out that Skye was 10 years old and Rogue was 5 years old. Rogue was an American rescue, and Skye has been training him since the first day that they got him. They had both been at the charity show last year and won best in show and best rescue, so the stakes were high this time around. I asked Skye why she decided this was something she wanted to do, and she said that she saw a video of someone else and their dog doing it and thought it was cool.
Well, Skye, I think that you are the coolest 10 (Almost 11)-year-old I have ever met, and thank you so much for spending the time chatting to me about your deep bond with Rogue.
Lola, Ash, and Scott
Venturing around the area a bit more, I ran into Lola, who was sporting a bright orange jacket, and Scott. What drew my attention to Lola and Scott was the side of Lola's jacket and the little badge on her collar, which said "Search and Rescue". Chatting away to Scott and getting all the cuddles from Lola, I learned that Lola is an Air scent search and rescue dog. She works alongside Scott and the K9 Manhunt and Scentwork Scotland team to help find missing persons.
Scott covers the Livingston and West Lothian area as an instructor working under Simon, the owner of K9 Manhunt and Scentwork Scotland. Scott helps teach classes on how to get started on scent work. He got Lola and needed something for her to do, and this came up, and very much like most dog-related things, it slowly becomes your full life.
Lola, being an air scent dog, means that she is trained to find any human person. This is especially handy in quiet, remote areas where there will not be many people around. Lola has passed her practical exam to allow her to get out into the field and start work; however, the training does not stop there. Between the quarterly training sessions held in Annan and having to resit the exam the year after and then every 2 years, Scott takes Lola into the areas around his house, and gets his son to "disappear" and allows Lola to track him.
Ash is Scott's other scent dog. Now, where Lola is an air scent dog, Ash is scent-specific. He can follow a specific scent among other scents in the area. He gets called out to emergencies where, for example, a child goes missing at Vogies Country Park, where there are loads of different scents. Different dogs, people, children, dog treats, snack vans, as well as all the scents coming in from the fields around us. Ash's training is a lot more intense than Lola's. Still managing to get his son roped into helping, they go to busy areas and again have his son "disappear" across different terrains, past different people, and down different routes. Ash is still in training and due to pass his exam soon, but from the moment Scott brought him along to the training sessions, it was destiny.
As exciting as both Lola and Ash's day jobs are, my favorite thing about them both is that they still act like goofy dogs. They spend their days being heroes but still enjoy the finer things in life, like cuddling up on the couch with mum and dad, going out for long walks with the dog walker, greeting anyone who will walk past, getting excited about other dogs, and most importantly, belly rubs.
Scott was telling me about the time that Ash chipped his tooth and was referred to the dental clinic in Haddington. A fun fact about Ash is that he doesn't like the vet, like really doesn't like the vet. He does not do well with needles or anything that he thinks will hurt him. Scott and his current vet have a system in place where they can keep everyone safe, and Ash gets the help he needs. Because he had been referred, his current vet just sent over some details and tips to help with Ash. Scott comes into the clinic with Ash, who, by this moment, is fine, excited even to be there and meet new people. The vet, on the other hand, was acting as if Scott had brought in a lion on a leash. Long story short, they manage to get Ash into the room and sort them out, and the vet still has the best story of how they worked on a suspicious collie-looking lion.
Lola and Ash's Tags
A massive thank you to Scott, Lola, and Ash for spending the time telling me all about the heroic things that they get up to and allowing me to write a little piece on them here! If you would like to learn more information on K9 Manhunt and scentwork Scotland,
Their website link is here:
All the dogs I met
Now, if you know me, you know I am going to go over to any and every dog I possibly can. Below is a breakdown of all the dogs I got to meet.
Munchie, pomeranian puppy, or cloud on legs? We will never know. I can confirm that Munchie is as soft as he looks. He gets his name from the kids in his family, and I think it is one of the best names I have ever heard.
Munchie is 6 months old, and his family picked him up at 5 months old.
Keeping with the puppy theme, this is Kali, who is 3 months old. I ran into Kali and her mum about 100 times throughout the whole event. That was only because Kali could not walk 2 feet without being stopped by someone else for cuddles.
Stella, who is 1 year old and our reigning prettiest bitch winner! With the winning title came a fabulous doggy goodie bag and bragging rights to all of her dog friends back home. As you can see, Stella is very deserving of the win, and she is also such a sweetie pie. Trying to take a photo of her was difficult because all she wanted to do was cuddle with me, no complaints here! Stella is a rescue and was adopted by her family when she was 4 months old.
As we were standing watching the ring in the middle, I felt eyes watching me, and I turned and saw little Mylo staring up at me with the biggest, sweetest eyes I have ever seen. Mylo is 6 years old but still acts like a puppy.
Want to hear a fabulous name for a dog? How about Haggis? Want to know what breed Haggis is? He is a bulldog! When I saw Haggis walking with his dad, I knew I had to take a photo of him in his little bandana. If there is ever a dog that knows how to pose its Haggis.
I mean, just look at that handsome boy!
Keeping with the bulldogs with fantastic names, we have George. George is such a sweetheart. While I was trying to take his photo, he wanted to see everything. When he wasn't trying to visit all the stalls at once, he was trying to cuddle with me, which I have no issue with!
This handsome young man was sitting calmly with his mum and dad when I spotted him. Rocko, who is 6.5 months old, had just had surgery on his front arms. This was his first day out after the recovery period, and what a day. He was so well behaved and understood he had to keep it calm and collected during his recovery period, despite all the dogs bustling around him.
All the best, Rocko, and a speedy recovery!
Corrie and her mum were standing, waiting for food, when I snapped some photos of them. Corrie's mum then noticed me and shouted, "Wait! I am an Instagram mum, let me get a good photo!" Corrie then waited so nicely while her mum ran behind me and helped me get this fabulous photo of her. If anyone knows their angles, it's Corrie and her mum.
While taking photos of Corrie, Loki, the happiest Husky I have ever met, shows up. Again, his parents get Loki to wait and run behind me to secure the best photo. Loki is just as photogenic as Corrie is.
Honourable mentions
These are all the photos of the dogs that I captured over the day, as well as some additional photos of the dogs that you have already met!
I want to just finish this off by saying a massive thank you to everyone who stopped to speak to me and allowed me to take photos and share their story!
If there are any issues with any of the paragraphs or photos, please contact me at jandspetsupplies@googlemail.com.
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