6th Annual Homeward Bound 5K Run & Walk by Coastal K9 German Shepherd Rescue of San Diego

Thank you for supporting Coastal German Shepherd Rescue of San Diego’s 6th Annual Homeward Bound 5K!  Our goal this year is to raise $15,000 which will go to help our abandoned rescues with boarding, vet visits, dog training, dog playtime, and other well-being outings as they prepare to be Homeward Bound. Every rescue dog has a story to tell. We may never know where they've been or why they ended up at the shelter, but all are looking for their second chance at a good life. This year we are grateful to have been able to play a role in boarding many Shepherds on the Freedom Train, but there are still so many waiting to taste that freedom! It is with those dogs in mind that we are calling this month a "Sheptember to Remember"! with the goal of raising funds to go back and punch their ticket to freedom. 

One of the dogs who had his ticket punched this year was Alaska. When CGSR got the call about Alaska, this poor deaf, neglected white German Shepherd was hanging onto life by a thread. He had been left at a County Shelter overnight drop box and by the time he went through the shelter system, he found himself scared, very sick and days away from being euthanized. His time was quickly running out.

CGSR answered the call and rescued Alaska. This severely malnourished little guy had escaped one death sentence, but now was facing another. We immediately took him in for treatment. The Vet confirmed he was still in a battle for his life against pneumonia. With loving, patient care, Alaska slowly gained strength and won!

CGSR’s next mission was to find the right home for such a special and unique dog. Alaska's life story of abandonment and uncertainty left him with severe separation anxiety and the challenge of navigating life without the ability to hear. But time and opportunity crossed at CGSR for one very lucky Alaska and one very lucky former CGSR Adopter. Sonia, had just lost both her dogs. She was heartbroken and the void in her house was overwhelming, so she reached out to us once again to find the perfect dog for her.

There is a certain amount of love, patience, understanding and persistence needed to lead a dog through severe separation anxiety. Sonia’s years of GSD experience has certainly helped her, but it has been her ability to make a heart connection with Alaska on an intuitive level that has allowed him the space to slowly find a sense of balance and stability. And Alaska has brought healing to her broken heart. It’s been said that, “one doesn’t find a dog, a dog finds you.” We believe this match was one made in heaven. 

Fundraising is easy with our Homeward Bound 5K. Determine your goal, set up your own fundraising page, and send out requests for donations all via this website. When you set up your fundraising page, you'll automatically create a URL that you can use to cut/paste into an email or use on your Facebook/Instagram/Twitter pages.  You can even get your friends together and set up a Fundraising Team with a few clicks of a button~it’s that easy! AND when you raise $100, your individual registration is FREE!

There is no amount too big or too small for our rescues. Your $40 registration fee already goes to the fundraiser but of course we would love to have additional help meeting our $15,000 goal. Alaska and all of our rescues give you sloppy kisses and big woofs to say THANK YOU for REMEMBERING them and helping them get their ticket punched on the Freedom Train!