The reason I mentioned the Belgian is I read a story of a Belgian bomb dog who was wounded in Afghanistan and her handler died. The story (a novel) was written from the dogs perspective, like she was narrating what was going on in her life. She wound up being attached to a cop. It was a great story and I can’t remember the book title. I live in a vast forest area on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. I do a lot of hiking and having such a dog as the Belgian would be a good thing. I’d have her trained by a specialist.
Think about a black sable colored German shepherd, characteristic of eastern European lines. They have a high energy drive like BelMals but will have an off switch.
Our rescue does not do out of state adoptions but (Los Angeles) Westside GSR does and they should have a few that meet your needs.
http://www.sheprescue.org/Available%20Dogs%20New.html