Yes, I’ve been around German Shepherds all my life - if their dog ran away and was “not a happy dog”, it was in the wrong home anyway. Ugh. They were probably ignoring it.
The poor thing will end up in a better home, after this cruel episode!
One of the first dogs that we adopted had been mistreated. We were staying at an RV park and the people near us were living in a tent and had their possessions stored in a van. They had a Lab puppy that they kept tied to a tree on a six foot lead. They lived there for over a month and we never saw them walk the dog or pay any attention to it. They would go off for days at a time and leave the dog and a cat a single bowl of food to share and a little bowl of water.
We saw the guy come back and kick the puppy one time because she had dug a hole to keep cool. She was terrified of him and would cower whenever he came near her.
One day they had left the animals for three full days and we had been feeding it. They drove up and my ex wife stomped over to them and said, “You aren’t responsible enough to have a dog and I’m taking it.” The guy shrugged his shoulders and walked away.
Sassy had the worst case of separation anxiety that I have ever seen. Every time we left her alone she would destroy the RV. She tore up furniture, pillows, and doors. We tried her on different drugs and they had no effect. It took her several years to grow out of it. She would also eat anything she could find and developed a weight problem. We had her for 14 years before she died.
She was a very sweet dog and her neglect and abuse had made her a little neurotic. She had legitimate reasons to fear being left alone and wanting to make sure she wasn’t going to starve.