German Shepherd Rescue of O.C. in need of rescuing

Surrenders are way up while adoptions and donations plummet. 'We're the safety net.'

- BY GABRIEL SAN ROMÁN

Photographs by DON LEACH Daily Pilot MIKE MURPHY with Nala, whose owner lost her home. The rescue is overloaded, as are shelters nationwide.

Nala, a German shepherd, returned from a leashed walk around the neighborhood back to a kennel for her breed at the end of a cul-de-sac in Newport Beach. She enjoyed the shade from the summer sun before being led back into the kennel.

The German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County took the 4-year-old dog in as a recent arrival.

"She was the beloved pet of a woman who lost her job, then lost her home and had nowhere for her to go," said Maria Dales, the rescue's founder and executive director. "It's a very sad story."

It is also becoming an increasingly common one.

Dales shared a recent outreach email from Brea Regional Animal Hospital about a 3-year-old German shepherd named Zya. Her owners couldn't afford the medical costs any more. A representative from the animal hospital contacted the rescue in hopes of finding an adopter or foster caretaker.

For Dales, the big, lovable dogs at her kennel are also proverbial canaries in the coal mine.

"Pets being surrendered because of their owners losing their job or income has tripled this year," she said while seated on a shaded bench outside the kennel. "We get requests every single day and the animal shelters are telling people to call the rescues because they're full. Shelters being so oversaturated is something we've never seen before."

At the same time, donations are drying up, imperiling the rescue’s ability to keep up with rising costs.