"Someone named me Henry"

"I can't wait to get outta' here.  I'm tired of hospitals!"

"I rest my head on the nice lady's leg when she visits me in the hospital"

Many of our blog readers are familiar with our friend, Henry.  Henry came into rescue over a month ago.  The past month has been tumultuous..

We knew that Henry stood a 50/50 chance of his ears not being able to be 'saved'.  His infection when we got him out of the shelter had been there *for years*, doing what we know not to be unrepairable damage.  We all tried hard.. fosters, doctors..  but it has been determined our sweet Henry does need surgery to remove both of his ear canals.  This will naturally render him deaf, but will spare him a life of ear infections, pain, and discomfort.  Henry is a strong guy, and he was also likely fully deaf before coming into our rescue, just due to the amount of inflammation and infection.

Henry's surgery will cost just under $2000.00.  I wondered tonight, if we had known it would have cost this much money to save Henry when we first met him at the shelter, would we have rescued him?  The answer:  YES.  He is amazing, and he deserves to know happiness.  But, we need help.

Naturally no rescue can afford this kind of care.  In order to save dogs like Henry, we must rely on donations in order to make it happen.  If you can help Henry, please do..  all money will go directly to his care.  If for some miracle we raise more money than needed, it will roll into our next great dog in need of great care.  Unfortunately there are so many out there!

Send a check to:
"Animal Health Care Specialists".. just say it's "For Henry"

• 6701 Washington St
• Denver, CO 80229
• Phone: (303)288-6800

OR.. call and give them a credit card over the phone.  Again, just say it's for Henry's surgery.  They will know what you are calling for!

Thank you.. please share.
"Saving one dog will not change the world, but surely for that one dog the world will change forever"
Henry's Original Story 

8/31 Update!

Henry's surgery has been completed on both of his ears.  He did wonderful under anesthesia both times, and recovered smoothly.  I was able to be there with him today for his 2nd procedure.  His inner ear was revealed to be very unhealthy, squelching any concerns we had over whether we had made the right decision to do the surgery.  His ears were left to get diseased for *years*, and now, once he is healed, he will know a painless life for the first time.  His spirit remains unchanged: he is happy, affectionate, and didn't seem to mind too much over the whole thing.  After his 2nd ear was done today, he was READY TO GO!  He tried to hard to leave!  I can't wait to see how an amazing dog becomes even that more amazing when he's not walking around in pain every day.  Thank you to all who have supported our choice to rescue him, and who also have donated to his care.  You are all amazing people!  He still needs more fund raising, but we know we can get there.  

 

Can you Foster?

There are some dogs down in Texas who really need some help.  We cannot take them into our rescue unless we have a foster home for them to go to.  We do not have a wide foster base, but we'd love to save even just a couple of these babies.  Please read their story.  Please share their story.  Please look at their faces and really consider if you have room in your home. If you can foster, please let us know..  you may be able to save a life.
  Never let the background of a dog deter you; dogs are forgiving, and Pyrenees retain their gentle and forgiving nature through the worst of circumstances.

"These dogs are all part of a cruelty seizure by Killeen Animal Control. They were rescued from a hoarding environment with very bad living conditions. These dogs are available to rescue only. Many of them are shy but not aggressive. They are considered URGENT. They need out ASAP or they will be euthanized. We are overloaded at KAC. I believe all of them have been de-wormed and given a first round of shots. They have also been heartworm tested. I believe some are neg and some are positive. But like I said, if the rescue is interested in any of them, let me know and I can get more info. For now, here are the pictures. I believe there are 7 pictured that need placement asap" 

Volunteers Needed!

Do you love Great Pyrenees?  Of course you do..  who doesn't?  The only people not completely mesmerized by this breed are only those who have yet to meet one.. 

Our goal is to offer rescue and re-homing for Great Pyrenees and Great Pyrenees mixed breeds. In addition to that very basic goal, we desire to offer tremendous support during the process, and optimal owner education and guidance.  We want to find *pyrfect* homes for these dogs!  They have been through a lot, many of them, and they deserve the proper care and time it takes to re-home and have it truly be *forever* this time.

We are currently only 3 volunteers strong, and there are 2 things we need to grow.  We need MORE FOSTERS HOMES first and foremost, and secondly we need more volunteers.  Volunteering doesn't need to mean every moment not spent at your job is spent supporting rescue.  Any help is welcome.

Currently we need volunteers in a few important capacities: home visits for adopters and fosters, reference calls, and moving the dogs around.  Rescue dogs need trips to the vet, and transport between foster homes and potential adopters.  We also need occasional support to transport donations such as dog food and other items, as well as meeting a transport that is rescuing them from a shelter.

If you want to learn more about how you can help us save these angelic giants, please fill out our

Volunteer Application!

"Look at my great nose! You may not be seeing it today if it weren't for rescue!"

Franklin - Adopted!

Franklin

Arrived - 8/4/12

This is Me!!  Look how handsome I am!!

This is me with my new foster sisters!  This is basically what I do all day...just hang out! 

I am told that I have BEAUTIFUL eyes!  I'm not really an attention hog either, but my foster sisters are and I don't get mad at them at all for it.

I have some long legs!  But who doesn't like tall, dark (er, white), and handsome!? 

I really just like to chill out! :]

This sweet guy was in a pretty scary shelter about 4 hours south of Denver.  Most of the time dogs in that shelter rarely make it out, and Franklin only had a few days left when we heard about him.  A volunteer from another rescue was down at the shelter and saw this handsome face.  He was sitting behind those rusty bars, but as soon as he saw her smiling face, he just lit up!  His little tail started wagging (see blur in picture below) and his butt was wiggling as fast as it could.

This is me when I was still in the scary shelter! :[

That volunteer contacted us and asked us if we had room for this guy!  She didn't know much about him, not really even his gender at that point, just that he was a sweet boy and needed out of there!  We were able to find out that Franklin (as we named him after we found out his gender) was indeed a young male.

We named him Franklin after Missy Franklin, Colorado native, who won her first gold medal on the day we heard about him.

We were able to get Franklin out of there and into an awesome foster home yesterday, 8/4/12!!  He has an appointment with the vet this week for his exam and neuter surgery.  At first glance, we think he is about 1.5 - 2 years old and probably a Pyr/Akbash mix.  He has a shorter coat like an akbash, but those great Pyr eyes, nose, and ears.

This is me getting out of that scary place!!

Franklin's foster mom says that he is the most perfect boy ever!!  This is what she has to say about him:

I spent two hours at Wash Park with him and my other foster... He is as close to perfect as you could get... such a good looking boy too! I think he cannot be more than 1.5 yrs. Great with all dogs, kids, people... very chill and seems a little passive...whoever adopts this boy is going to be stoked!

Franklin is doing wonderfully in his new foster home!  He gets along great with everyone - people and dogs.  He is quite a bit underweight, only weighing about 70# right now, but his foster mom is working on "fattening him up"!  He is just an angel, and really a perfect pup!  He loves to go romp in the yard with his foster sisters, but doesn't beg for attention and would rather just"hang out" with everyone.  Whoever adopts Franklin won't be disappointed!

We love our rescue dogs so much, so we are letting Franklin feel a little stability in his new foster home, and get some healthy meals into his belly!  We are hoping he'll be ready to start meeting potential forever families soon!

If you would like to add this sweet angel to your family, please fill out our online adoption application

Sometimes I'm a silly boy...

This is my friend Pearl Bear giving me some love...she loves me a lot, but who couldn't?!

Sometimes she loves me SO MUCH she never leaves me alone, but I don't really seem to care :]

See, I told you I am a handsome, happy boy!

"It feels so nice to be out of that shelter!"

Jerzee - Adopted!

Jerzee [now Bodhi]

Adopted!

8/4/12

 Jerzee and his PYRfect new family - Henry, Lane, and AJ the Golden Retriever!!

Henry, Lane, & AJ drove all the way down to Brighton, CO from Casper, WY and back in one day to meet and adopt our sweet Jerzee boy!  He is one lucky pup and will be enjoying a big grassy yard, his new playmate, and lots of grandchildren to play with!  Thank you so much Lane & Henry for giving this boy the life and attention he deserves!

Jerzee, now Bodhi, settling into his new home and bed!

Hi my name is Jerzee!  I am looking for a new home with someone who has the time for a little puppy guy like myself!  My family bought me when I was just an itty bitty fluff-ball from some store in the mall - they said I'm a Great Pyrenees, but I think I might have some Golden Retriever in me, which just means I might "listen" a little better than your average Pyr - who knows!  I'm not quite sure what happened but my daddy moved out and away to California for a new job and was suppose to take me with him, but I guess he couldn't find anywhere that allowed doggies my size.  Right now I am really skinny like only 61#, but I am going to be a pretty big guy when I'm all grown up!

My mommy has 3 human sons and 2 other smaller doggies that keep her very busy and she doesn't have time to take care of me anymore now that daddy is gone.

I get along with the other 2 small doggies I live with (they are only 10# each), and every time I see another doggie when we are out walking I am really, really nice.  I have never met a kitty before, so I don't know if I would like those things or not, but I tell you what...I really love kids...like all of them!  I have never been mean to anyone before - doggies or people!

I am still very much a puppy and I really need someone to tell me what I am and am not suppose to do because right now I sometimes like to chew on things (like your shoes - they are my favorite!) and I like to dig holes, but I just call them "yard art."  I really love to snuggle and cuddle and I'm kinda of giant and fluffy so I could be like your very own doggie pillow!  I like to give people hugs sometimes, but for the most part I am a pretty chill kinda guy and really just want to be with you and love you forever and ever and ever!

Mommy says she is really sad to see me go and that she wishes she had time to give me the time and attention that I deserve.  I told her that's okay, that the nice people at the rescue said they would make sure I went to the most PYRfect home possible!

Update - 7/15/12 - 3:00 PM

We just picked Jerzee up from his family around 12:30.  In the few hours that we have him, he has been an absolute ANGEL!  We took him to the dog park with another Pyr (in the small section of the park) to see how they interacted.  While we were there he was very curious about the dogs on the other side of the fence, so we let him go over and meet them.  He met several dogs of all ages, sizes, and breeds and did absolutely wonderful with all of them.  It seems that he hasn't had a lot of human attention as he is a bit shy around people at first (even though he does fabulous with other dogs), but he has warmed up quite a bit and has found one of Reg's (my Pyr) little toys that he really likes and has been carrying it around with him.

He could definitely use a puppy training class as he doesn't really know much in the ways of "sit," "down," or "come."  If I had to guess, he would do just fine with kitties...he has no interest at all in squirrels or bunnies and is pretty calm in the house.  

He would definitely benefit from a playmate and an dog to look up to (he has been following Reg around and barking for play).  We think he would do fine with an alpha as he is pretty submissive himself.

We will post more later. :]

Jerzee and his Squeaky toy!

Jerzee and his buddy, Reg!

"My foster brother, Volker, is afraid of thunder storms and hides in the shower!  I'm not scared of them at all, but I'm so loving that I decided he shouldn't have to hide from them alone, so I joined him!"

Yazhi (Ya-zee)- Available for Foster/Adoption

 

"Hi, everyone.  My name is Yazhi, which is Iroquois for "little one".  My mom adopted me when I was 6 months old, and now I'm 2 1/2.   My mom loves me *so much*.  I am so super sweet and cuddly, and I love giving kisses.  I have worked with a really good trainer (he used to train police doggies), and know sit, come, down, heel, and "load up" (to get in the car).  We've also worked on barking. I'm good on a leash and I am definitely a "people person"!  I love people and I love cats. I thought I didn't love other dogs, but I learned today that I do.  I'm super soft and dainty, I'm definitely a smaller girl!  I am suppose to be a Great Pyrenees, but my mom said the DNA test said I am a Pyr/Kuvasz mix.  My mom says I am a good off-leash dog when I go hiking!  I stay on the trail with her, and that definitely makes me special.

My mom hasn't had the easiest time with me, because I have been bullying some of the dogs in my life.  Sometimes I like them a whole bunch for days on end, but something happens and they make me mad and I have pinned them down.  My mom told Christie and Shannon that the dogs I meet are submissive dogs, and perhaps I am too alpha for them and for my mom, who struggles to be "alpha" over me.  My mom has many important other dogs in her life, and she doesn't want me to stay with her anymore because I am not always nice to them. She is worried we may all hurt each other.

Having heard this, the nice girls I met today took me to Ken's house so I can play with his doggies and I could show them what a good girl I really can be.  Ken's kids are all pretty "in charge", and I thought that was fine.  They didn't phase me at all, and I never got upset or angry at them.  I was such a good girl!  Even when the one girl growled and nipped at me, I took it in stride and I didn't hold a grudge.  I had fun hanging out with them today!

"This is me at 5 months old, when Dawn & Ken first rescued me!"

Because I am loved, I am spayed and up-to-date on shots and heartworm preventative.  Please let me know if you can foster me, or if you think you may be able to love me forever.  I was told that my real brother, that I came into the rescue with when I was 5 months old, lives with Shannon.  His name is "Cahota" and he is a sweet boy.  The lady who has my brother said she already loves me a lot, and she will do her best to find me a new home with doggies that I like, and that like me.

"This is my brother, Cahota, who lives with Shannon"

I think my ideal home is one where I have an alpha buddy to love me, play with me, and make sure that I stop being a bully.  I just need a confident home that helps me to understand where I fit in; I had no problem being submissive today!  I would love to live with someone who likes to go hiking, and who loves a best friend and wants to cuddle with me.  I am pretty sensitive to visual stimuli, so it needs to be either okay that I bark at squirrels and such, or you will need to be sure they don't taunt me all day!  I am so loving and sweet, and if you have a kitty I would love that, because I love kitties. If you have another dog, I just would like to meet him or her first to be sure we get along.  My mom is going to donate all my food and toys, so I will be ready to make your home my new home!"

If you think I sound like I might be a good fit for you and your family (either to foster or adopt), please email Shannon at coloradopyr@gmail.com

"I'm sad, because I think I heard someone say I needed to find a new home"

"I have so much love to give"

"I let everyone touch me all over, and I just wanted to cuddle!"

"Nice to meet you, Tucker!"

"The nice lady said she was holding onto me to be sure I was as sweet as I looked!"

"I didn't get mad at Annie for growling at me"

"My new friend, Annie, didn't like me at first.  It didn't bother me, and I won her over with my submissive nature today"

"I got along with my new friends just great today!"

"I love giving gentle kisses!"

"I am so soft and snuggly!"

"I just like to take things in!"

"Just hanging out, watching my other new dog friends"

"I'm a pretty mellow lady"

"I am so good in the car, and I jump right in!"