The tail of the Great Pyrenees

vickie gee · Aug 22, 2014

He showed up at my place last weekend. I knew something was amiss while I tossed and turned in my bed. The two little indoor dogs, Pattycake and Cindymouse, who sleep in the laundry room, were barking at the Boogerman. My motion light at the back door kept coming on. I finally let the girls sleep in the bathroom and fearing that the Boogerman was going to break in and get me in my sleep I let Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson sleep under the pillow beside me. When I got up and went outside in the morning I realized the Boogerman was just a big ole hairy Great Pyrenees. He ducked his head and tucked his tail and headed out the driveway. I called out to him and told the big guy to let me check him for a collar. No collar. He looked really sad. So I told him to at least have a drink (of water.) Then I told him I had an extra room in the front yard he could stay in until we figured out where he was supposed to be. This really upset my Anatolian shepherds. So he stayed here for a week in the shade of my holly tree which he kindly dug all around and exposed the roots. He had no fleas or ticks but was very badly matted. I told my college bound neighbor that if she would put him on social media I would pay her. She said no pay and I said ok then I will tip you. The calls came in but nobody was the rightful owner. I even had people calling to thank me for taking care of the big guy. Then I had some neighbors about a mile away as the crow flies tell me that they had seen him roaming and checked him for a collar also. They said they had a female Great Pyrenees on their seven acres complete with chickens and grandchildren and would be happy to take him in if nobody claimed him. Meanwhile the husband and I did the best we could to bathe the hairy guy and trim his dew claws. So we met Joe and Sue and decided they were nice folks worthy of taking a good boy such as "Harry". He seems to be enjoying his new life there and I am enjoying fresh tomatoes from their garden. It was nice to meet some neighbors up the road. They are calling him "Buddy." I would not normally get involved with a stray dog but this guy seemed to know me and need me and there was no way I was going to let him end up in the highway. I don't know if he was dumped out or simply got lost. I put up posters and ran ads in the paper. I did my best and I truly believe the home he has now is better than whatever home he had before. When I go check on him and get my free tomatoes it is such a good feeling to see that big ole hairy tail wag. I was not able to get all of the mats out of him but with the help of Cowboy Magic I was able to at least make his tail pretty before he went to his new home. My hat is off to you rescue people. I really don't know how you do it. I consider my efforts to save Harry an exception to the rule. I suppose it was meant to be.

shorthorsemom · Aug 22, 2014

Awwww Vickie, you are so sweet to help him find his way. How sad to find a lost dog and even sadder to not know where they came from, but it is wonderful for you to take him in and try to find his owners and to find him a new home. Sometimes it is a bummer not to find the owners, but in many cases, it is a good thing that you don't find their former owner and that the dog is so much better off finding a new place to call home.

We seem to be a way station here for lost dogs and cats. I keep looking for the sign that tells them to come to my home, but it must be invisible and only dogs and cats can read it.

One of my last foundlings is a basset hound that we call "Fred", but secretly I think he also enjoys being called ""Scooby doo".

Fred arrived with a much younger Labrador retriever here on the farm. Fred being much older and with limited chances of adoption got to stay especially with my husband and three kids all looking at me and saying "AW MOM, can't we keep this one? He's cool". The lab we figured was about 1 year old found his way to the local rescue and was easily adopted.

Fred came with an ear and eye infection, swollen raw bloody feet, and he was thin and dirty not neutered and had the longest toenails I have ever seen on a dog. He came two weeks after I told someone I could never live with a hound. I looked to heaven and wondered who had been listening and decided Fred was a gift dog and I couldn't turn him away. He has a loud bark, shakes and throws slobber on us and I wouldn't trade him for anything.

bless you and thanks for sharing your story! Love those dog stories.

Here is a picture of Fred, thought I would share too.

Reignmaker Miniatures · Aug 23, 2014

You are both my heros! The Pyr might be 'lost' from a long ways off. We had a female Pyr in our area that roamed an area of probably 10 to 12 square miles. People in the neighbourhood would set food out for her, one even built her a dog house and set it out near the end of their driveway so she had shelter from storms and snow. We all just considered her the neighbourhood dog. Turned out she had been purchased to be a livestock guardian for a farm about 5 miles from me. The people left her there when they moved away and she decided her territory should expand - she was lonely I guess. She wasn't social, wouldn't come when called and in fact avoided contact but when she was cycling past our farm (or any others) the coyotes would not be heard for days - they were smart enough to avoid her. She lived off the kindness of strangers for about 6 years before she layed down one day in spring at the side of the road near one of her benefactors and passed quietly away. I shudder when I see city dwellers with a brand new Pyr pup. They are just not meant to live in a back yard without anything to look after IMO.

shorthorsemom · Aug 23, 2014

I know what you mean about long distance foundlings. We found a german shepherd once. He was laying between two round bales like it was a dog house. It took us some time to get close to him and one time when I was putting food out for him he was barking loudly at me and I just barked out the word SIT and he gets a grin on his face and plopped down his butt. I discovered he was obedience trained. Once he trusted me, I turned toward my car and he rushed over and jumped in the open window and sat down on the seat. My husband and I were dating at the time. He wanted to keep the dog, but I took him home with me and said "you will have to marry me to get this dog, he's decided he is coming home with me."

We never did find his owner, but we always figured he was taken from someone and driven a distance and dumped because he stayed where he was left waiting for them to come back. Until we caught him he watched cars going by with intensity. He was such a fine dog. He has been gone over 10 years now and I will miss him forever. He was a young dog when he came and he grew to about 90 lbs of the most gorgeous solid black german shepherd you can imagine.

I named him Jet after the gang in West side story because when he first met me he looked ready for a rumble.

I am very superstitious about "gift dogs" that come to you in unusual ways. I do think there are reasons they are sent to us and I do try my best to try to figure out what is special about these dogs and why they were sent. I currently own somebody else's gift dog. My collie Gabrielle was a gift dog for someone else, she is entering the last phase of her life now but 11 years ago she was gifted to a friend. My friend breeds rough collies and her friend breeds smooth collies. The smooth collie breeder was trying to talk my friend into taking a puppy. She said "I will take a blue rough collie female next time you get one in a litter" Gabrielle is a blue rough collie that was born to smooth collie parents in the very next litter that was born. She was born on the anniversary of the death of my friends daughter. My friend is one of those folks who celebrates the birthdays of her dogs. She brought gabrielle home, but after 6 months had decided that her birthday was just too sad a reminder and she started looking for a home for Gabby. She told my obedience trainer she wanted Gabby to go to a home on a farm with kids... I had just lost Jet and Katie, my german shepherd and a Doberman I had two weeks apart and had three kids and a farm. A match made in heaven my heart was broken after losing Jet and my trainer knew that Gabrielle and I would be a great match. I have loved this gift dog with all my heart. She is going to break my heart sometime in the near future. Gotta love those gift dogs, they are extra special.

Here is Gabby... another gift dog.

Whether you keep your gift dogs, or find a special friend to keep your gift dog... they touch your lives forever. bless you...

vickie gee · Aug 23, 2014

Shorthorsemom you are the hero. I could not carry your coat tail much less pour out the attention you have to those needy creatures.

bevann · Aug 23, 2014

Beautiful Collie Love those Merles

Debby - LB · Aug 27, 2014

bless you Vickie! and your new friends. I hope he stays with them (also hope he'd been neutered or their female is spayed). Reignmaker I'm with you, they are not meant to live in a backyard with nothing to do. I cringe when I see litter offers in the free classifieds for these majestic dogs. I was told once that as far as they can see is their territory and I believe it as many times as I've heard of, or seen, one roaming. Our paper is pretty reliable in spotting ads for Pyrenees pups or Pyr/Anatolian pups for sale.... then a few months later Free Pyrenees or Anatolian/Pyr dogs or notices of them missing. LOL that Pyrenees is roaming around warning off predators and looking for something to guard, not necessarily lost... at least that's what I think is going on in their own mind.