I have been around German Shepherds all of my life and I love the breed. Currently, my husband and I have a 10 1/2 year old male neutered German Shepherd, Byron, who we love very much and is an important part of our family. Byron is a wonderful family dog, but he is sometimes too protective. Byron has never bitten anyone but he has scared many people and he barks constantly when we are in the car and people are within site.

My husband and I agreed that our next dog needed to have a more even temperament and we actually considered getting a Golden Retriever. However, I love the GS breed and I decided to contact a friend, Lyman Pope, who has spent years researching the GS breed and see if he had any suggestions. Lyman recommended I contact Roger Tortorella at Von Himmel saying that Roger is a top expert on the GS breed.

On my first telephone conversation with Roger, he spoke at length with me and explained the GS breed, the West German blood lines and the sport of Schutzhund. His knowledge is extensive and directed me to his website. He also sent me additional information. I took detailed notes during our initial conversation and I followed up by researching on the Internet and confirming much of what Roger told me.

During subsequent conversations, Roger discussed with me the options available and the advantages/disadvantages of each option relative to my individual situation. Roger located a couple of absolutely beautiful 1 1/2 year old GS imports with some training and hip certification as well as an adorable GS puppy.

We decided on the puppy and asked Roger to start the process. Almost immediately Roger called us back to say the little puppy had just been checked and that he was perfect except he could not be bred. Roger was completely up front with us. At that point, we asked Roger to look for another puppy and he found our new puppy, Baricello von der Noviswand AKA Baer.

Roger made the arrangements and walked us through all that we needed to know from the puppy's arrival from Germany, to feeding him, to helping him adjust to his new home and other relevant information.

Baer arrived on 5/11/04. He is beautiful German Shepherd with rich black and tan coloring. His lines are very handsome and most importantly his temperament is superb. He has settled into our home and is a very happy, smart and fun puppy. I have received many comments on how beautiful he is and our veterinarian's comment was, " What a gorgeous, healthy puppy with a great temperament!"

My husband and I want to thank Roger Tortorella for bringing to us our beautiful GS puppy, Baer.

Barbara Hanson