Apex resident Karen Burdick loves German Shepherd dogs. Her affection runs deep and wide and is the reason for her immersion as a volunteer at the NC-based German Shepherd Rescue and Adoption (GSRA). Her journey to becoming a transport coordinator at GSRA has its roots in the Empire State.
Burdick is a native New Yorker who hails from Northport, Long Island. Her first exposure to this iconic breed happened there via a sibling. “[A German Shepherd puppy] was actually a birthday present to my youngest sister,” she said. Perhaps not clear at the time, her sister’s canine gift would begin a long and sustained love affair that would ultimately push her to GSRA’s doorstep.
“While still living in New York, we had just lost our mixed breed dog and I started looking once again for a German Shepherd,” she shared. During a conversation with her sister, who had since moved to North Carolina, Burdick learned about a German Shepherd who was being rehomed. With her interest piqued and without delay, she and her youngest son traveled to North Carolina the following weekend. It was a meant-to-be moment as they adopted Salem, their new German Shepherd, and brought her back home to Long Island.
In 2003, Burdick’s long career with Verizon resulted in a move to Apex. Her family and Salem followed. Five years later and after 35 years on the job, Burdick retired.
Years later, after Salem was gone, she decided to adopt again. She reached out to several German Shepherd rescues in the area, but it was GSRA that stood out as they were quick to reply to her application, set up a screening call and schedule a home visit.
“In 2017, within months of my submitted application and after attending several meet-and-greet events, I was matched with Elsa. Elsa quickly bonded with me and became my forever girl. But sadly, in 2019, I lost her suddenly to unknown causes,” she remembered.
Burdick was heartbroken, but her sadness at the loss of Elsa did not dissuade her from continuing her pursuit of this breed she loves so much. It was now 2020 and she once again reached out to GSRA.
“They suggested I become a foster with GSRA. Hesitant at first, I decided to go for it. Carlie was my first foster fail, as we call it. She was all set to go on a trial adoption and then Covid lockdown happened.”
Serendipity? Indeed. For a German Shepherd lover of Burdick’s pedigree, it was another meant-to-be moment.
“Carlie, now seven years old, is amazing,” she raved.
GSRA has been around since 1992. They rescue and adopt out, on average, 75 dogs annually to families living in NC, SC and VA. They are an all-volunteer, all-foster, 501(c)(3) non-profit based in the Research Triangle Park.
“We are run by our volunteer board of directors as well as many vital roles such as a medical coordinator, application screeners, foster liaison, social media manager, intake and assessment coordinators, web and database management, event managers, transport coordinator and volunteer coordinator,” she noted.
Their myriad volunteers perform a host of other jobs including assessing potential dogs, transporting dogs to fosters and events, answering emails and so much more. The fosters are vital to being able to save dogs. The more fosters involved, the more dogs they can save.
“We always need fosters, so reach out to us if you are willing to open your home to a dog in need. Many of us play multiple roles, but as they say….’it takes a village’ and we have the best village ever,” she beamed.
Most dogs come from shelters where they are at risk of euthanasia. Burdick noted that North Carolina has the second highest percentage of animals euthanized in shelters annually. Sometimes, depending on the situation, GSRA will take what is called an owner surrender.
“We get about 30 requests a week, on average, of dogs needing rescue from shelters and owners,” Burdick shared.
All of GSRA’s dogs are spayed or neutered and fully vetted prior to adoption. Some dogs come to the organization healthy while others arrive very sick or injured. Most of the donations made to GSRA go directly to medical costs.
GSRA carefully works with available fosters to match them with a dog that fits their home situation and experience. Foster families provide a loving home environment and guidance while the dogs wait for their forever home. Interested adopters complete an online application and go through a vet check, phone interview and home visit.
“We want to ensure, as best we can, that our dogs are going to a loving, safe and permanent home. Once applicants are approved, our screeners work with the applicant and fosters to find the best fit. Sometimes personal situations change, so once a GSRA dog, always a GSRA dog. We do offer support and guidance for families after adoption but will always take back a dog,” she said.
According to Burdick, it is their volunteers that set them apart from other rescues. They all come from different backgrounds but have passion, love, and experience with the breed. “Just come to one of our events and you’ll see,” she declared.
I asked Burdick about her job with GSRA as transport coordinator. She said it is the transport coordinator’s responsibility to set up transportation for the dogs to be pulled from shelters [or other situations]. From there, the dog is transported to the assigned foster which can be anywhere in North Carolina. Sometimes the journeys are long, so it is the job of the transport coordinator to organize different legs of the delivery. This makes it much easier on the volunteers and the dog(s) for traveling.
Moving these dogs to foster families provides the animals with the care and socialization they need to live out their best lives. The rescue dogs they rehome run the gamut from puppies who need the training to be an adult dog, to “teenagers” who have no boundaries and need to learn, to senior dogs that just need love and maybe a few simple behavior corrections.
For Burdick, the best part of her involvement with the rescue team is to see a fostered dog going off to its new, loving home and knowing that German Shepherd Rescue and Adoption is the reason why they got there.
“Each and every dog I have either transported or fostered leaves a special place in my heart, knowing where they might have been and seeing them be happy again,” she said.
GSRA has monthly meet-and-greet events at Pet Supermarket in Raleigh. At these events, there can be as many as 12 dogs looking to find their forever homes. However, Burdick underscored that applicants are not limited to the Raleigh area. A lot of their applicants come from the Apex, Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina area and Burdick noted that she has had quite a few home visits in these towns recently because of the exponential growth seen across these towns.
Burdick noted that she has been a volunteer across a wide array of non-profits since her retirement but made special mention of her GSRA experience. She told me how it has given her the opportunity to meet great people from all over—even from where she grew up. To be clear though, for Burdick, it’s all about the dogs.
“[GSRA] has given so many German Shepherd dogs a second chance at life…and who doesn’t love a puppy’s breath and dog slobber at the end of the day!” she said.
Burdick’s path to GSRA started on Long Island years ago and continued through her relocation to Apex. To any discerning eye, her second career with this “best village ever,” was always meant to be.
For more information about GSRA, visit www.gsdrescue.org/.
GSRA holds an annual reunion picnic for their adopters. This year, organizers are inviting the public to come and “meet friends, pet dogs, and celebrate rescue” in order to raise awareness of rescue and the breed in hopes of saving more dogs. The event will be held at Lake Wheeler Park on Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
