Join us Saturday, May 5th in Denver Dumb Friends League's 19th Annual Furry Scurry! Go to Furry Scurry and click "join team". Type in "Pyrfect Paws" and join Christie and Shannon this May, as we gather Great Pyrenees owners, dog owners in general, and even those without dogs to walk to raise money for DDFL.
"Founded in 1910, the Dumb Friends League is a national leader in providing humane care to lost and abandoned animals, rescuing sick, injured and abused animals, adopting pets to new homes, helping pets stay in homes, and educating pet owners and the public about the needs of companion animals. The Dumb Friends League is the largest animal welfare organization in the Rocky Mountain region, welcoming tens of thousands animals to our two shelters. We turn no animals away. At our main shelter in southeast Denver and our Buddy Center in Castle Rock, dogs, cats, rabbits and other small pets enjoy the comfort of a nurturing environment in state-of-the-art facilities"
Please visit Pyrfect Paws to read more about us! Email pyrfectpaws@gmail.com if you hope to walk with us in May, and would like to wear a Pyrfect Paws team t-shirt and what your size is! We will only order tees if we get enough interested people!
We hope to see you there!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Great Pyrenees in Castle Rock
Are you able to foster this gentle giant? The nice woman who picked him up said he is a great with other animals, a real sweet heart. She said he seems to be quite old, and she is sad at the idea of dropping him to a shelter.
UPDATE: This great dog has been handed over to the Castle Rock Dumb Friends League. If you are interested in helping this angel, please give them a call!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
A "Hart" Bigger Than Most: Hartley's Story
We've told Hartley's story often over the years, and never so much as since Dawn passed away. Hartley's story exemplified Dawn's willingness to save a life. Hartley had been shot in the face and left to die.. painfully. Refusing to euthanize, knowing he could recover, Dawn took him into the Colorado Great Pyrenees Rescue. Who would have suspected that Dawn's passion to save Hartley would be met by that of his adopting 'dad', Zac? Below is Hartley's story, told by Zac. I apologize for the graphic nature of Hartley's intake picture, but it's needed to understand just what CGPR faced the day they saved his life. I am overwhelmed by hearing more from Zac, and about the great lengths he took to not take that saved life for granted. Every dog lover and person in rescue thanks you, Zac. You could have waited for a "perfect dog", instead you took on the great and worthy challenge to give Hartley his much-deserved chance to heal, and become *your* perfect dog.
Dawn had warned me about “high risk” dogs and taking in a dog like Hartley, but she also believed that he had a huge heart. Her price at the time was $250 for a healthy dog and $125 for a “special needs” dog. He was most definitely “special needs”. It wasn’t long after taking him in that I noticed he had a rattling sound in his nasal cavity (Dawn did point this out to me when I got him). I took him to Fort Collins to get him get checked out and x-rayed. The results were dismal. He had bone fragments and metal shavings from the bullet still lodged in his nasal passages and behind his eye. This is when I learned the meaning of “to live outside of your means” and how easy it is to do things that you can’t afford for love. I had just paid off a $10,000 debt on my credit card maybe a week prior and was attending college on the GI Bill…in short, I was broke.
The young doctor gave me a few options: The first option was to not do the surgery and who knows what will happen. The second option however was much better, do the surgery and who knows what will happen. I thought long and hard for an entire 60 seconds and said “do it”.
This is when it got interesting...my wonderful, underweight, 80lbs, 2 or 3 year old puppy just so happened to hate everyone that wasn’t me. During this visit the suggestion of euthanasia had been recommended for the second time. It took almost the entire staff to subdue him. He broke out of his soft muzzle and his hard muzzle. The staff had to reassure the other clients that everything was “ok” in the back room and that the dog, my dog, was alright.
I came back a few days later after the surgery to pick him up. The funny parts to this story were that I had to cut the stitches from his neck…the young doctor was too afraid to touch him and that my poor dog had to wear a cone for a month. The sad part to this story was that I fed him through a tube in his neck for that month and the “holy crap you’re kidding me, but oh well” part of this was that the surgery cost $5000+ (a few months later I would end up spending another $700 to extract one of his canines that had died due to the gun shot).
Since his rescue Hartley and I have hiked various routes off the I-70 corridor. We have summited Mt. Beirstadt, the closest of the 14’ers. I have taken him down to various rivers and let him try to “eat” the water. However he did seem sad when I had to leave him alone, so I got him a companion. She also came from Dawn. Her story isn’t as nearly compelling as his. I think she was a stray…that’s it. One of my favorite memories was trying to sleep in a queen sized bed with 1 other person and 2 Pyrs.
Ironically Hartley and I now live in Arkansas, I wish I could say that he is just as happy as he was in Colorado, but I think his wound still acts up from time to time, and the weather here isn’t as nice as it is out there…but still he is doing well, and if you come into my back yard and he doesn’t know you…even if you really like his story and think that he sounds like a great dog (which he is) I promise you, you will get growled at. He’s a Pyr and he protects me.
My name is Zac Melton and Hartley is my Pyr. I found Hartley around the summer of 2008. He was a “high risk, special needs dog”. It was between him and his brother Hudson. Originally I was going to take in Hudson, however he was adopted the day before. Taking in a dog like Hartley and having no prior experience with big dogs, is in hindsight not all that bright…but hey when it's love you don’t think. We all know this.
In short, Hartley was shot in the face in Harrison, Arkansas with what looked like a .22 cal bullet and was left to die. He wandered around for a week bleeding until some lady couldn’t take it anymore and called Dawn at the CGPR. Dawn took him to the local vet in the Harrison region and they did everything they could to stop the bleeding and heal his wounds. This was the first time he was recommended for euthanasia. He was given shots, flea and tick medication, and pain killers for his face.
I found him a few weeks later (at this time, Dawn, Ken, and their daughter were living in a neighborhood in Thornton and had only a handful of dogs). Hartley was underweight and still had dead ticks all over him…however! He was happier than he had been in a long while. He was safe and people loved him. It was obvious.
The young doctor gave me a few options: The first option was to not do the surgery and who knows what will happen. The second option however was much better, do the surgery and who knows what will happen. I thought long and hard for an entire 60 seconds and said “do it”.
This is when it got interesting...my wonderful, underweight, 80lbs, 2 or 3 year old puppy just so happened to hate everyone that wasn’t me. During this visit the suggestion of euthanasia had been recommended for the second time. It took almost the entire staff to subdue him. He broke out of his soft muzzle and his hard muzzle. The staff had to reassure the other clients that everything was “ok” in the back room and that the dog, my dog, was alright.
I came back a few days later after the surgery to pick him up. The funny parts to this story were that I had to cut the stitches from his neck…the young doctor was too afraid to touch him and that my poor dog had to wear a cone for a month. The sad part to this story was that I fed him through a tube in his neck for that month and the “holy crap you’re kidding me, but oh well” part of this was that the surgery cost $5000+ (a few months later I would end up spending another $700 to extract one of his canines that had died due to the gun shot).
Since his rescue Hartley and I have hiked various routes off the I-70 corridor. We have summited Mt. Beirstadt, the closest of the 14’ers. I have taken him down to various rivers and let him try to “eat” the water. However he did seem sad when I had to leave him alone, so I got him a companion. She also came from Dawn. Her story isn’t as nearly compelling as his. I think she was a stray…that’s it. One of my favorite memories was trying to sleep in a queen sized bed with 1 other person and 2 Pyrs.
Ironically Hartley and I now live in Arkansas, I wish I could say that he is just as happy as he was in Colorado, but I think his wound still acts up from time to time, and the weather here isn’t as nice as it is out there…but still he is doing well, and if you come into my back yard and he doesn’t know you…even if you really like his story and think that he sounds like a great dog (which he is) I promise you, you will get growled at. He’s a Pyr and he protects me.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Celebrating Love
For many of us, this means those with 4 legs. It's hard to imagine a life without those little eyes and slobbery faces. While I know many people hate commercialism, I find it reassuring when dogs and cats begin to get more acknowledgement for their important role in our lives!
I welcome the greeting cards, vests, and headwear; as silly as they may be at times, they help assert the feelings of so many, many people who desire to demonstrate how much dogs are a part of our families!
So.. Happy Valentine's Day, all you pups. We love you!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
3 Pyr Mix Pups Looking For a Foster or Forever Home
3 Pyr Mix Pups Needing a Foster or Forever Home
These pups are currently in Sparta, MO but will be transported to Colorado as soon as a foster or adoptive home is available for them!
- 2 Males, 1 Female
- Estimated to be 4 - 5 months old
- Significantly underweight
- Very sweet and loving
A Note from the Lady who Rescued these babies:
These sweet dogs were dumped several days ago close to my house and I rescued them this afternoon. I was able to get one of them in my car (he was freaked out by anything around his neck) and the other two dogs followed my husband home about a mile away. As frightened as they were, not so much as a growl or a nip, but a willingness to get beyond the fear to be rescued.
I am thinking they are about 4-5 months old, a Pyrenees mix, and have one female and two males. They are significantly under weight, have mange and their over all coat condition is horrid. However, now that they are safely contained, have been fed, they are very sweet and loving. they give lots of tail wags and kisses.
I have 7 dogs and cannot foster these dogs. I will do whatever I can to find them a foster or rescue as I know, with TLC they will be great dogs. I will call my vet to see if he can come to my house to assess them and see what kind of treatment they will need and shots. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me in finding a foster home for them.
If you think you would like to foster and/or adopt one of these babies (or know someone else who would) please email us at coloradopyr@gmail.com and we will put you in touch with the right people!
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