Hello everyone,

Enzo is a strikingly handsome, 4-5 year-old, Black German Shepherd male. Enzo is incredibly smart and loving, but due to his previous experiences is wary of new people at first. Enzo was a COVID puppy and once the pandemic restrictions lifted, his family had to return to work and his socialization and training essentially ended. This led to Enzo not knowing his place in the world and soon he became confused with the shifts in his family dynamics. His lack of socialization and training led to him growing physically but not socially. At no fault of his own, Enzo became fearful of the world, and because he had not been properly trained, he lacked confidence in new interactions and would do what any dog in his situation would do: bark. Like many dogs Enzo would bark to mask his own fears and unfortunately his family was unwilling to invest the time in providing the training that would help him overcome these insecurities.

Enzo came to the Rescue as a large, loud, and scared adult dog. The training that he needed as a puppy was administered tirelessly by a dedicated group of volunteers and slowly, Enzo began to realize that the world is a safe place and his “people” will be kind to him and play ball with him. Now, Enzo waits patiently for his favorite volunteers to play with him. Unlike many of the other dogs that will wander around their yards, Enzo sits at the fence waiting for his group of human friends to come spend time with him. And when that happens multiple times each day, he is so happy! He wags his tail and grunts in appreciation, oftentimes with a ball in his mouth waiting. He also recently decided that he likes to swim (check out his video!).

Enzo is a high energy German Shepherd that needs an experienced owner who will put in the time to gain his trust. He is not a cuddly lab, at least not at first, but once you gain his trust, it is forever yours. Because of his past experiences, Enzo needs someone who will continue to socialize him and help him keep making progress with any residual reactive behaviors. His bark is big and so is his heart. At Coastal K9 we have seen many dogs like Enzo over the years, and matched them with great homes – but training is key with him, maybe even more so than with other dogs. Reactivity is a fairly common issue with dogs of all types, and with the right training, nearly every dog overcomes it. If you have experience and patience, Enzo will repay you a hundred times over with his love, loyalty and affection.

If you are interested in meeting this dog, please fill out our online application first. Contact us via email at information@coastalgsrsd.org. The minimum adoption donation ranges from $300 to $400. This amount only partially covers the cost of veterinary care, boarding fees, and other miscellaneous expenses involved in the temporary care and adoption of our dogs and is tax deductible. Prior to placement, all dogs will be spayed or neutered, receive current vaccinations, and are usually microchipped. If not, arrangements will be made on an individual basis. Special consideration may be given to those willing to adopt older dogs or dogs with physical problems.