In 2021, my husband and I were on the search for a service dog. I am hearing impaired, and I work alone most days in a retail store that I own. I was having a hard time with people coming into my office/store, and I wouldn’t notice them until they startled me. I had an employee who did the greeting up until after covid, and after she left, the issue caught me off guard. I reached out to a retired K-9 officer I knew, and he suggested I reach out to a breeder friend he had. After chatting with her briefly, I knew that we just didn’t vibe and decided I would continue my search elsewhere. Since I was a new member of a GSD Facebook page, I thought I might look there. When I pulled up the page, I noticed a guy that posted that he just lost his soul dog, and how sad he was. There were several comments, but the one that stood out to me was from Frances. She commented that she had two boys looking for a home and when he was ready to message her if he was interested. I thought why not? I messaged her and explained to her what I was looking for. A strong personality GSD that was easy to train, not too high strung or driven, friendly, but mostly loveable and a family dog. He would be trained to look after me at the store and tell me when someone entered, and he would have lots of love and treats after work. Sounds easy right? I knew it was a lot to ask for. Frances was confident that her puppies would match what I was looking for. We weren’t very familiar with long coat GSD, but I knew I didn’t want one that was a traditional coat. I was familiar with the shedding, and although it had been a while, I was also familiar with a larger dog and what that would entail to own one again. We decided to meet at her house to look at the two available puppies that weekend. Upon arrival, she introduced us to the mama, a few older dogs and several puppies. We hadn’t made our choice yet, but we were in for quite a surprise. Echo came straight to my feet and laid down. I have heard that animals choose their owners, but this was the first time I had seen it happen. That was the day Blu Echo came into our lives on a Sunday afternoon at about 12 weeks old. So many things have happened since that day. My husband, who was not very sure and not quite on board about such a huge responsibility has become quite fond of and very attached to this fur face in the last 4 years. We take Echo everywhere with us. He is “on duty” at the store/office each day and does his job to greet anyone that comes to visit. He is always eager to meet new people, get scratches and love, and he does his job very well. My husband takes him on adventures to new places and he loves being with us wherever we go. Echo was incredibly easy to teach, and we very much enjoyed learning with him! If I ever had questions or was worried about Echo, Frances was there to talk to and offer suggestions or resources to help me. She was very encouraging and always there to share his milestones and celebrate his victories! At 13 months old, Echo tested for 5 AKC titles in one day. He passed all with flying colors, and received a passing temperament test, all three Good Dog Citizen titles, and a Novice Trick Dog title. We were so proud of him, and Frances was there to cheer us on! A few weeks after that, Echo won second place judges’ choice in “dog of the year” for our hometown and first place people’s choice. Echo makes new friends everywhere he goes and is an amazing ambassador to his breed, his bloodline and the care that Frances takes when choosing the pairing of her dogs. I have several clients and friends that refuse to come to visit unless they know that Echo will be there to greet them, and even my only cat loving father has made friends with this gentle giant. He is constantly told how handsome he is, how well behaved he is, and that he has the best manners they have ever seen. I couldn’t have made a better choice and I am so lucky that chance stepped in and guided me to find Frances and Echo. Not only did I get one of the best dogs I have ever had, but I also gained a lifelong friend out of the deal. I didn’t know I need an Echo, but I couldn’t live my life without him in it. He is our first GSD, but he will not be our last, and if you want a well-balanced, amazing fur friend, this is where you find them.