Are you living in the state of Georgia and are interested in owning a German Shepherd dog or adding one to your family? Well, who can blame you? German Shepherds are some of the most popular dog breeds in the United State and there are reasons why. From their large size, luxurious coat, energetic and playful nature, and high intelligence, they are highly trainable dogs that can be used as work dogs, service dogs, herding dogs, show dogs, therapy dogs, and of course, family dogs.
Sadly, the German Shepherd is one of the most abused, neglected, and euthanized dog breeds in the country. There are lots of kill shelters and puppy mills within the state that subjects these German Shepherds to a saddened reality. Adoption is a great way to own a German Shepherd dog as there are lots of rescues within the country dedicated to saving and rehabilitating these German Shepherd dogs.
In this article, we provide a list of German Shepherd rescue organizations we have found operating within the state of Georgia. These rescues are often non-profit organizations that are run by volunteers in love with the German Shepherd breed. We have also included the contact details of each breeder added to our list, all to make your search for a German Shepherd easier.
1. German Shepherd Rescue of Georgia
The first rescue organization to be added to our list is German Shepherd Rescue of Georgia, they were established in 2004 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the German Shepherd breed. They are dedicated towards finding and rescuing German Shepherds from numerous kill shelters and puppy mills. They are 100% foster based and 100% volunteer based as they are a group of like-minded individuals dedicated to a shared goal of German Shepherd dogs.
The rescue organization not only rescues German Shepherd dogs, but they also do their bit to provide proper care and rehabilitation to each dog that is being rescued. All their dogs are properly evaluated by a trusted licensed vet to be certain they are free from any psychological or behavioral defects they might have sustained over the course of their neglect or abandonment. It is worth stating that only the healthy German Shepherd dogs, determined by the licensed vet to be in good health, are featured on their website for adoption.
If you are interested in adopting any of their German Shepherd dogs, either German Shepherd puppies or Senior German Shepherds, then you can fill out the application on their website. Doing this helps them figure out the perfect dog to be matched with you or your family. They also provide numerous ways in which you can support their cause. You can make donations to the cause, offer foster homes to the cause, help in providing logistics for their dogs, and a lot more. They are non-profit so all donations and adoption proceeds are used for the wellbeing of the dogs.
| Open For | Over 15 years |
| Location | Roswell, Georgia |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | gashepherd.org |
| German Shepherd Rescue of Georgia |
2. Canine Pet Rescue
Canine Pet Rescue are the 2nd and final rescue organization to be reviewed on our list. They are a non-profit organization or canine charity that is devoted to the German Shepherd breed. This organization rescues German Shepherd dogs from institutions described as high-kill shelters all over the state of Georgia and the south. They are located in Lawrenceville and their program was started in the year 2009. They are quite different from the regular rescue organizations as they use foster homes as well as each has kennels where their German Shepherds are raised.
The primary place to keep rescued dogs are in comfortable foster homes under their care, but in the event that the foster homes are filled up, the kennel is used as a comfortable option. Carla Brown is the founder of the Canine Pet Rescue organization and the owner of the kennel used by the organization. They provide all dogs with the necessary requirements for a new life. They are all spayed or neutered, microchipped, updated on their individual vaccinations and dewormings, and are each placed on preventives for heartworms and fleas. They are properly evaluated by a licensed vet.
To adopt any of their German Shepherds, a few requirements will need to be met. Their dogs range in price from $250 to $400 depending on a few factors like age. If you can’t take care of the dog you adopted, they are happy to take them off you and care for them. The organization runs on donations, volunteers, and adoptions, so you can show your support for the cause by any of the means listed above.
| Owner | Carla Brown |
| Open For | Over 10 years |
| Location | Lawrenceville, Georgia |
| [email protected] | |
| Phone Number | (855) 435-7473 |
| Website | caninepetrescue.com |
| Canine Pet Rescue |
Final Thoughts
There aren’t a lot of options to choose from when searching for a breed-specific German Shepherd rescue in Georgia state. But the two organizations listed above are quite impressive. Of those listed above, the one that stands out on published information is Canine Pet Rescue located in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and founded by Carla Brown.
How that assessment was made, and its limits. This is a desk review of what each breeder publishes about itself: health testing described, transparency about lines and results, and how much detail is given about how the dogs are raised. We have not visited these premises, bought a puppy from them, or independently verified their testing claims. Treat it as a shortlist to start from, not a recommendation, and run the checks further down this page yourself before you pay anybody.
They offer a unique approach by offering both Kennel services and foster services to all German Shepherds that they rescue. This way they can rescue more German Shepherd dogs from abandoned kill shelters found in the state.
Also, their rehabilitation program works with licensed vets to help with evaluating each German Shepherd dog and providing the necessary medical care (both physical and psychological) to each rescued German Shepherd dog. Every dog is spayed and neutered to ensure they are only used as family companions and they also do their best to properly vaccinate, socialize and train each dog.
We do wish that you carry out more in-depth research into each rescue organization listed above before choosing to work and adopt your German Shepherd dog from there. And do your best to provide each adopted dog with all the love, care, and attention they deserve. You can check out the website for more articles like this.
Check any rescue before you apply, including the ones on this page
A directory is a starting point, not a recommendation. Rescues open, merge, pause intake and close, and a listing that was accurate when it was written can be out of date by the time you read it. Verify before you travel or send money, whether the organisation came from this page or anywhere else.
The strongest single check is free and takes two minutes. Most legitimate rescues in the United States are registered non-profits, and the IRS publishes a searchable record of them.
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search lets you look up an organisation’s “Eligibility to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions” and its filing record (apps.irs.gov/app/eos, retrieved 2026-08-13). It covers five datasets, including Form 990-series returns, Publication 78 data, determination letters, and, most usefully here, an automatic revocation list of organisations that have lost tax-exempt status.
That last one is the check worth doing. The IRS states that an organisation automatically loses tax-exempt status “if an organization does not file the required Form 990-series returns or notices yearly for 3 consecutive years” (retrieved 2026-08-13). An animal rescue that has stopped filing for three years is telling you something about how it is currently being run.
Alongside that, three quick signals:
- A physical presence you can verify a foster network with real addresses, or a facility you can visit.
- An application process that asks you questions. A rescue that will hand over a dog with no questions asked is not screening its homes, and that should worry you on the dog’s behalf as much as your own.
- Willingness to say no. Good rescues turn down applicants and turn down dogs they cannot place safely.
Be wary of anything that looks like a sale wearing rescue language: puppies consistently available, a fixed price rather than an adoption fee, pressure to pay a deposit before meeting the dog, or transport arranged before any home check.
What the adoption process actually involves
People are often surprised by how thorough rescue adoption is, particularly for a large working breed. In Georgia as anywhere, expect most of the following.
- A written application. Housing, fencing, hours the dog would be alone, other pets, children, and previous dog experience.
- References. Often including your vet, if you have had a pet before.
- A home visit, in person or by video. It is a check on fencing and safety, not on your housekeeping.
- A meet-and-greet, and a second one with any resident dog, usually on neutral ground.
- An adoption fee. This typically covers neutering, vaccination, microchipping and any treatment the dog has had, and it rarely covers the rescue’s full costs.
- A contract, which will normally require the dog to be returned to the rescue rather than rehomed privately if things do not work out.
That return clause is a feature, not a catch. It is the mechanism that stops a dog cycling through strangers, and a rescue that does not have one has no plan for the dog after you.
The questions to ask about the individual dog
The organisation matters less than the match. These are the questions that actually predict how the first six months go.
- Why is this dog here? Owner surrender, stray, or returned from a previous adoption are three very different histories.
- Has it been returned before, and why? Ask directly. The answer is usually informative rather than disqualifying.
- How is it with other dogs, cats, and children? Ask what that assessment was based on, not just what the conclusion was.
- Has it been assessed for resource guarding or handling sensitivity? Both are manageable and both are much easier to plan for when you know in advance.
- What veterinary work has been done, and what is outstanding? Ask for the records rather than a summary.
- Is it house-trained, and is it used to being alone? Separation problems are common in rehomed dogs and worth knowing about before the first working day.
- What support do you offer afterwards? The good ones stay reachable.
If a rescue cannot answer these, that is not necessarily dishonesty. A dog that arrived last week genuinely has an unknown history. “We do not know yet” is a perfectly good answer; “he is fine with everything” about a dog nobody has tested is not.
What an adopted German Shepherd tends to need
Two things are worth planning for specifically with this breed.
A settling-in period with less going on, not more. A dog that has just changed homes has lost every predictable thing it had. Quiet routine, no visitors, and letting the dog approach you does more in the first fortnight than any amount of attention. Our guide to building a bond with your dog covers why doing less works better at this stage.
A realistic view of what is common in the breed. A Royal Veterinary College VetCompass study of 12,146 German Shepherds under UK primary veterinary care found the most frequently recorded disorders were “otitis externa (7.89%), osteoarthritis (5.54%), diarrhoea (5.24%), overweight/obesity (5.18%) and aggression (4.76%)” (O’Neill et al., Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, 2017, retrieved 2026-08-13).
Read that list as a checklist for the first vet visit rather than a warning. Ears and joints are worth having looked at early in any adopted Shepherd, and weight is the one factor on the list you fully control.
Aggression appearing in a clinical disorder register is also worth understanding correctly: it is something vets record and work up, not a temperament verdict. If it comes up, the referral route is a vet and a qualified behaviour professional. AVSAB advises that “if a trainer is observed using aversive training methods or if a trainer discusses out-dated ideas such as dominance, leader of the pack, or alpha theories, then clients should be advised against hiring them” (AVSAB Position Statement on Humane Dog Training, 2021, retrieved 2026-08-12). That rule matters most for exactly the dogs that come through rescue.
If nothing here is the right fit
Breed-specific rescues in any one state can be small, and availability swings month to month. Widening the search is usually more productive than waiting.
- Municipal shelters and all-breed rescues take in far more German Shepherds and Shepherd crosses than the breed-specific groups do.
- Neighbouring states. Many rescues will place across a state line for the right home, though some require you to collect.
- Adult dogs. Puppies get applications within hours. A four-year-old dog with a known temperament is often the better match anyway, and is far easier to assess honestly.
If you end up buying rather than adopting, the screening questions change but the principle does not: ask for documents rather than descriptions, and treat anything unverifiable as unverified.
Disclaimer: PetVR shares general information based on our contributors’ firsthand experience with German Shepherds — it is not veterinary advice. Always consult a licensed veterinarian about your dog’s health, diet, or behavior. Read our full disclaimer.
Other states near Georgia
From Georgia, adopters commonly widen to adoption groups covering North Carolina, German Shepherd rescues in Texas and German Shepherd rescues in Virginia. See all of our state-by-state rescue directories for the rest of the country. If you decide to buy instead, here are the Georgia breeders worth vetting.
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