Update from Gunner’s Parents – Scott and Jen Lewandowski – September 23, 2015
“We were first introduced to ISDF through our friend Trish. It had been about 7 months since we lost our German Shepherd and our family wasn’t complete with just one dog. We had always had 2 dogs in our family. Trish knew that we were searching for a dog to adopt and recommended that we check out ISDF. As soon as I pulled up the website. I saw this face that absolutely made me melt. He looked so sad and scared. There was something in his eyes that made you realize that he had been through so much. It haunted me for days and I just knew that he had to be a part of our family, so I contacted Dawn and when I learned about all of the amazing work that ISDF did for these dogs. I stopped everything to complete an application to bring Gunner home. I was so impressed with ISDF and all the hard work that Dawn, Izumi, Patarin and others were doing that I decided each paycheck to donate money to ISDF to help other dogs like Gunner find their forever homes.
When we first got Gunner, he was so afraid and unsure of everything. The slightest move especially from men made him run. His first instinct was to run as far away as he could. As each day passed we watched him gain his confidence and he became more and more comfortable with his surroundings. Within 6 months he was no longer afraid of men and we could go for walks without him wanting to jump out of the harness and run. In December it will be 2 years since he became part of our family and I can’t even believe it’s the same dog. He’s so confident, playful and loving. He’s no longer afraid and the urge to run has gone. He makes us laugh every day. If he’s not running around chasing the ball or stuffed animal then he’s howling at us to give him a treat (he sounds like a ghost at Halloween) He’s favorite thing is to curl up in the evening on the couch next to me while we watch TV. After all that he’s been through I can’t believe how unconditionally he loves everyone. Recently my daughter found a 6 week old kitten near starvation on the side of the interstate and Gunner was the first one to run and up and almost reassure the kitten that it was okay and he was in a good place. The kitten now named Milo and has become part of our family and Gunner’s new best friend. Everyone who comes over falls in love with Gunner. I even have a few family members who are under watch in case he ever goes missing from our house J
Gunner and ISDF have forever changed our lives. They’ve opened our eyes to some of the hardships and cruelty that these dogs go through but also showed us that there are amazing people who are doing everything they can to help spread the word and give these dogs a better life.”