Love Letters from a Pyr Parent

Cooper enjoying some veggies!

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."-Roger Caras

This is certainly the case with Cooper (the dog formerly known as Renegade).  Prior to his arrival into our family, we were a one dog show with a 1 year-old Pyrenees mix named Gibbs.  However, we could tell that Gibbs was lonely and needed a canine buddy.  So after talking to so many people at our local dog park with Great Pyrenees, we decided to check out the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society.  The first dog we saw was Cooper.  He was so fluffy and adorable and we fell instantly in love.

His foster mom was so amazing sending us pictures before we could make our first visit to see him.  Our first meeting with Cooper sealed the deal.  He was about 40 pounds and he waddled right over and I scooped him up.  He wanted nothing more than to be cuddled with.  He even fell asleep upside-down on my lap while we talked about his personality and tendencies.

Love Letters from a Pyr Parent

Franklin

Sometimes something beautiful happens when you least expect it.  We had recently lost our dog at the young age of two and our golden retriever Tucker was really affected by the sudden loss.

Not sure if we could open our hearts again, I saw Franklin (then Grath) on the rescue webpage and I fell in love instantly.

I work in the veterinary field and have seen Great Pyrenees and thought they were so gentle and loving.  I knew one day I would have one.

When we picked Franklin up it was like he was already a part of the family.  He has brought much job to my life and to everyone he meets.  Tucker and him have become inseparable!  If it wasn't for the Great Pyrenees Rescue and all the amazing work they do, our family wouldn't have found our Franklin.

Bailey (Franklin and Tucker's human)

Franklin and Tucker

Love Letters from a Pyr Parent

Misha a few weeks new to our home

If anyone knows me they know me as Whitman's mom (that may become a "Foster Family to Adoptive Family" story all on it's own) or a volunteer who helps with the blog, but even before that I became a GPRS Pyr Parent.  I don't think most people know about my Misha as she was in rescue for less than a few days before she found me.

After losing my very first Pyr Nanook at the age of nine,  I felt a bit "robbed" that I didn't get to see her age beyond that.  So when I started looking for another Pyr, I was looking for seniors, eight or older.  On Petfinder I found a dog named "Jane" in Connecticut who needed a foster through the National Great Pyrenees Rescue (NGPR).  I didn't know the distinction between NGPR and Great Pyrenees Rescue Society (GPRS) at the time, but I filled out a volunteer application to foster as I had been fostering for another local rescue for years and was familiar with the process.  I received an email from a GPRS volunteer, Yi-Hsuan Wu, who indicated Jane was too ill to travel but there were quite a few younger male dogs in need of a foster/adoptive home.  Having my heart set on a senior, I politely declined and asked her to let me know if any older female dogs came into the rescue.