My First Pyr

Volunteer Rebekah Manning

Stella with her dad

When people find out that I foster for a breed specific rescue for a not very popular dog breed there are always questions about why, and how I found out about them. Unlike most fosters for GPRS I didn’t stumble onto a post asking for volunteers, or know someone who was already involved in the rescue. I grew up on a sustainable farm in central New Mexico tucked into a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. It’s not uncommon to spot rattlesnakes, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, and even the occasional bear. My parents were worried about my safety in the fields and so they actually found a working pyrenees puppy who needed a new home, and she became my own guardian. Tia came to us when I was a few months old as a 4 month old ball of fluff. She connected easily with us and our other two dogs. She followed me everywhere, slept at the foot of my bed, and followed us to the fields and barn everyday learning to watch over her charge and alert if anything was out of place. By the time I was a toddler my mother would send me to the fields with Tia, and knew I would be safe. Tia was a masterful escape artist, often attempting and succeeding with climbing over, digging under, and running through fences. Try as we might there was no keeping her secured in a yard unless she was patient and dutifully by my side. When I was 8 I was stung by a bee. Tia dutifully stood over me as I was gasping for breath barking to notify anybody who could hear that something was wrong. She saved my life that day. Tia lived to be 15, succumbing to a kidney infection that would not go away despite multiple rounds of treatment with antibiotics and steroids.

Two years ago when my husband and I bought our first house one of the first things we did was put up a tall secure fence. We started fostering for GPRS not long after that. We have since had 11 fosters, and one foster fail. Stella, our pyrmanent resident pyr in the photo at the beginning of this post reminds me a lot of Tia, especially in the goofy way she cuddles on the couch and often herself tries to escape the fence. My husband and I don’t live in the country, and are far away from most dangerous wildlife, but Stella still performs the duty of a normal pyr carefully watching over our newborn son, and often alerting when there is something wrong. I hope when my son looks back on his childhood that he holds his furry companion in his memory with the fondness and love that I have for Tia.

We have many dogs in need, if you would like to volunteer for Great Pyrenees Rescue Society visit our website here.

March Adoptions!

Zach and Zane

Happy Easter and what a beautiful morning!!  I thought I would share a photo of the first Pyr puppies that I fostered for GPRS - Zach and Zane with their cute bunny ears - and give a big THANK YOU to everyone on this beautiful morning for a WONDERFUL MARCH, with 35 adoptions!  

Several "long-timers" were also adopted this last month, making it extra special for Vida, Berg, and Pablo!   All of our fosters & volunteers make such a huge difference in the lives of these dogs, so we just want everyone to know how much we appreciate everything - big and small - that is done every day!

A BIG PYR-PAW of CONGRATULATIONS goes out to the following Pyrs for finding their forever homes in March:  Newton, Bailey, Sasha, Edgar, Pattison, Woodrow (S), Bling, Berg, Hugo, Oxford, Alicia, Carrie, Vida, Goldie, Milo, Paula Deen, Lily, Nadya, Gina (S), Norris, Nell, Chewy, Mickey, Barnie, Sammy, Jackie, Olinda, Bernie, Pablo, Ladybelle, Goober, Grace, Sonora (S), Little John, and Genevieve!

Juliette

Vida

Berg

Pablo

Puppy Teaser!

Seriously, are any words really necessary at this point?  The "O" puppies!  Coming to the great Northwest soon!

Ottavia

Ocean and Olinda

Oxford and Odell

January Adoptions!

Our first adoption month of the new year and here's Juliette:

WOW-It is already FEBRUARY!!  January just FLEW BY and we are moving steadily into 2018!  We had a GREAT START to the new year with 34 adoptions in January!  Unfortunately, the Pyrs in Texas are still flowing into the rescue like water-but our amazing team of volunteers, fosters and screeners are working SO HARD to rehabilitate and make a difference for as many as we can and we are just so thankful for every single one of our rescue members!  We could not do as much as we do without our amazing volunteers!!!

We want to give a BIG PYR PAW of congratulations to the following Pyrs that found their forever homes in January:  Charley, Divinity (S), Tori, Sadie, Harmony, Gigi, Cole, Cayman, Annette (S), Brazos, Griswold, Max, Nanny, Kris, Mark, Daphne, Rosalynn, Luanna, Miguel, Cleopatra, Dean, Shadow, Tito, Camille, Nora, Bandera (S), Daisy, Cameron, Brutus, Melissa, Russell, Rufus, Nevan, and Norton!!

If you would like to volunteer for Great Pyrenees Rescue Society click here and go to "How to Help" or if you are ready to adopt we have many great dogs, including puppies, awaiting their forever homes!  As Juliette mentioned, the rescue has quite of few dogs in foster waiting to be adopted and more homeless dogs coming in who need foster homes.

Bling relaxing in her foster home

Mark and Miguel 

Trudy feeling safe in her foster home

Transport News

Transport van

Well, the amazing Jeff Sweeney is about to embark on the first 2018 trip from Texas to Washington, dropping off Pyrs at strategic places along his way.  To the volunteers and families who are waiting for foster dogs or new family members, it is a very exciting time!  At the drop off locations Pyr lovers gather, some with leashes in hand, Pyrs and other dogs in their cars, and others with their human children.  For the volunteers it's a great opportunity to meet a dog we've heard about through Facebook or to get a quick hit of puppy breath.  It's extremely rewarding seeing a family meet their new family member in person for the first time and knowing the (sometimes wide-eyed Pyr) has a new loving home.

Jeff's route this trip

Most of our dogs come into rescue from kill shelters around the Central Texas, South Texas, and Greater Houston area.  We place them in foster homes in the Pacific NW and Texas while they are evaluated and rehabilitated until we find a permanent home for them.  We transport and adopt to Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, and other states near the Pacific NW and Texas.

We are an all volunteer, not-for-profit, rescue group dedicated the the rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of Great Pyrenees whose lives are in danger.  Check back and we will see pictures from some of the drop off locations and the First Hugs from Transport!

September Adoptions!

Ready for Halloween!

Hi everyone!  We are getting closer to the holiday season and pumpkin spiced everything!  We had a great September for adoptions, with 33 of our dogs finding their forever homes last month!  We are all working so hard and it is always showing in our results for the pyrs, pyr mixes, and sometimes honorary pyrs in our rescue-so a huge thank you to everyone who is doing something big or something small in the rescue!

And now, for a shout out to the pyrs that were adopted in September!

Bailey, Mira, Ember, Aria, Ellen, Yeti, Homie, Brazos, Coyote, Samson, Kali, Hansel, Bluebell, Sherlock, Blanco, Ruby, Kroger, Duke, Caroline, Tex (S), Michaela, Toodles, Yolanda, Jake, Magdalena (S), Vail, Cressida, Cameron, Autumn, Belle, Caliope, Harrison, and Francis!

If you would like to volunteer for GPRS please see our website here!

August Adoptions!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!  Here's Juliette with August adoptions:

Hi Everyone-it was a great summer, with everyone coming together to get 37 dogs adopted!  This is even with a Hurricane at the end, that was and still is-devastating for Texas!  I found a sweet poster that is a good reminder for why we do what we do, even when the times get rough-and I know that I am glad we have every single volunteer, foster, driver, screener and everything big and small that you do for the rescue.  We can't do anything without each and every one of you.

And with that, let's give a big PYR PAW of congratulations for the following dogs that found their forever homes in August, thanks to all of you:  Papoose, Hadleigh, Ugene, Everest, Britton, Destini, Xylon, Moose, Hayden, Ranger, Magdalen, Dakota, Yancy, Nadia, Moya, Tyler, Elijah, Gretel, Zena, Peony, Yara, Bryan, Michael, Melrose, Ashlynn, Perle, Quinby, Adelynn, Danielle, Erina, Melody, Lyle, Rover, Ximen, Avalynn, Jasmin and Yasmin!

Hurricane Harvey and Headquarters

GPRS Headquarters in Spring, Texas

Sorry folks, I've been away from the blog a bit navigating a new job.  Just one of a many reminders that the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society relies on volunteers and luckily we have a large number of super volunteers working tirelessly to save these dogs.

Volunteers do their good work around a profession, school, family, and other events, the most recent being hurricane Harvey.  If you weren't aware, the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society's headquarters is in Spring, Texas (see map of affected area).

Hurricane Harvey

Director Malise and her co-pilot Dick left headquarters on August 23rd to bring the monthly transport van load of foster and adopted Pyrenees to the Pacific NW.  During this the U.S. population was watching the news of Harvey while those in Texas and Louisiana were bracing for the Category 4 storm to hit landfall.  Reported to be the "first major hurricane to hit the mainland States since Hurricane Wilma struck Florida in 2005" (Reuters, August 26, 2017) those of us in the NW feared for the safety of our friends, volunteers, and their families and pets in Texas and Louisiana.  We sent money, prayed, hoped for a positive outcome and kept in touch with our Texas family via Facebook.  We watched on Facebook for updated posts of volunteers picked up dogs in danger and transported them to boarding and other temporary homes out of harms way.

If you would like to help, you can donate here.  If you have boats or raised vehicles and live near the affected areas and would like to help, please make a comment below.  Thank you.

July Adoptions!

Rockin' those shades!

Howdy everyone-it has been a long HOT summer, but we had a FABULOUS July-with 40 successful adoptions!!  

Thank you so much to everyone for powering through this last month, even with vacations and holiday breaks, everyone worked so hard to find wonderful forever homes for our Pyrs!!  

We greatly appreciate every screener, foster, and volunteer that gives up extra time, love, and attention for this breed!  They couldn't be saved without you!!

A big pyr paw of congratulations goes out to:
Louie, Samantha, Skyler, Savannah, Trace, Yardley, Sierra, Nayla, Logan, Heather, Taxx, Neecie, Danielle, Lindsey (S), Peter Parker, Ziggy, Tristan, Britney, Hallie, Whitney, Fiona, Drake, Felipe, Howdy, Pablo, Brutus, Evelyn, Chuck, Ryker, Ryoko, Dutch Daisy, Anna, Yale, Heidi, Bianca, Gabriel, Higgins, Josie, and Hollie!

Juliette

Meet and Greet!

What a beautiful day for a Pyrenees meet and greet!  Everyone had such a great time on Sunday July 16th.  Thank you to All the Best Pet Care  for hosting this event.  If you didn't get a chance to go, the next NW event where you can meet some awesome Great Pyrenees and volunteers is at the 2017 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival and the grand parade on Saturday, July 29th, 2017.   Word has it that GROVER will be there!

If you are interested in volunteering for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society you can check out our website here.  We are always looking for new fosters and there are many volunteer opportunities.  If you can't volunteer and would like to help, please consider donating here.  Are you thinking about adding a Great Pyrenees to your pack?   Click here to find out more about the breed from the National Great Pyrenees Rescue website.  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures from this last meet and greet!

Great Pyrenees - A Story of Compassion, Courage and Hope

Volunteering for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society has been extremely rewarding; I found them on Petfinder in 2013 as I was searching for an older Pyrenees to adopt since my very first Pyrenees passed away.  After I had adopted Misha, I inquired about fostering as I had fostered for other rescues in past years.  Then I found this video; the rescue's story is indeed one of compassion, courage and hope.  After I viewed it, I was convinced that this would be the rescue I would devote my volunteer time on-I had already found that I had a deep connection to the breed and now I had found a community of volunteers who share their own unique bonds as well as a similar rescue philosophy to my own.

In my experiences with the rescue, I have observed a highly organized and dedicated group as well as a wide range of dog knowledge from the Director to all the volunteers scattered around the U.S.  The video does a great job expressing what is involved in order to provide care for these dogs in their journey from homelessness to their forever homes.

If you are interested in volunteering or donating for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society, please visit our website here.

Pyr Parade in Oregon

This will be the third year GPRS has participated in the grand parade and last year we even won first prize for our float!  This is such a great time we are hoping you can come.  The grand parade is on Saturday, July 29th, 2017.

It is really fun seeing so many faces light up when they see our pups, especially all the kids!

If you would like to walk or ride on the float:
Meet in the field on the corner of S. Blaine St/9th St in Newburg no later than 8:45 am or the gates will close.

Water and bowls will be provided for the pups, but if you have a backpack or camelback, it would be very convenient to bring and have that filled for the walk.  Please BYOPB (poop bags).

This will be the 37th year for the Newburg Old Fashioned Festival.  The entire event runs from July 27th to July 30th.  There will be entertainment, music, great food, vendors, and of course...Pyrenees on parade! 

Click here to see map and additional information!

This is organized by our volunteer highlight team Richard and Merissa!  Click here for their blog story.  And there will be special celebrity coming all the way from CANADA!  Do you know who it is?

Yes, it's Grover!  He will be coming all the way from Canada to participate.  So many things have been happening with Grover since we've posted parts 3 of 4 of his story From Foster Family to Adoptive Family, click here to read up on Grover as this month we will be posting part 4 and the surprise reunion with Merissa and Grover.  You won't want to miss the video!

If you would like to consider fostering for GPRS you can click here.  Can't foster but you would like to volunteer?  There are many ways in which you can help these beautiful Gentle Giants, just click here.  Don't have time to volunteer but you would like to help?  Consider making a donation here.

Ready to add a new furry family member and would like to adopt one of our available dogs?  Check here for their bios and to access the application.

Hope to see you at the parade!

Puppy Teaser!

Ziggy knows you love her!

It seems as if I just posted about puppies available for adoption...oh wait.  I did, just last month!  Well, if you were discussing a new puppy with your family and are still deciding, there are additional puppies that are waiting for their forever homes.  I will leave you with the pictures;  if you would like to know more about a puppy visit their bios here.   If you would like more information about adopting a puppy (or an adult dog), you can find instructions on filling out an adoption application here.

Once your application is received you will be assigned to a volunteer screener who will assist you with your inquiry.  If you are viewing this page you must know how wonderful Great Pyrenees dogs are...in addition, the Great Pyrenees community is amazingly supportive and involved in training, meet-ups, online Pyrenees groups, and much more!  And if you already have a Pyrenees, you know what they say?  Pyrenees are just like potato chips and you can't have just one!

I you would like more information on volunteering for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society click here we have a variety of volunteer opportunities available.   Want to help but don't have time to volunteer?  GPRS also relies on individual donations and you can donate here.

Heidi, Higgins, and Hayden!

June Adoptions

Happy Fourth!

WOW-we are officially half way through 2017 and we had a great June with 39 adoptions!  Hopefully everyone is enjoying a long weekend for the July 4th holiday!  This last month was a RECORD MONTH for FOSTER FAILURES, with 6 foster failures, so that was great that we had some "PYRFECT MATCHES" with our foster families!

A big PYR PAW of congratulations goes out to: Timothy, Bernard, Vivian, Effy, Carmine, Dozer, Broadie, Tella, Tallulah, Maryann, Holly (S), Chester, Hagan, Huck, Lola (S), Bismark, Joe, Ruby, Henessey, Zinnia, Madeline, Thor, Buford, Kerri, Dora (S), Lane, Willow, Paisley, Laurel, Larisse, Nashville, Heather, Toodles, Theo, Kye, Trevor, Wilbur, and Nolan!

Juliette

Foster Fail Friday

Yippee!  It's Foster Fail Friday!

I always love hearing about foster families who find their forever family members through volunteering.  Today's featured foster fail is our amazing volunteer Allison Manz!  Here is her story:

We had our foster "Smokey" (now Remington, Remi for short) for 4 weeks and for some reason, there were no applications for him.  We had adopted Zola from GPRS last October, and we have a black-lab mix, Lucy, who we adopted from the Tacoma Humane Society back in 2004.  Zola liked Remi within about an hour of us bringing him home.  Lucy was a little leery of this new rambunctious bundle of fur at first, but has now decided he's okay!

Meet and Greet

What a great time we had at All the Best Pet Care in Seattle!!  Several rescue alumni, volunteer fosters and their foster dogs, and potential new adopters showed up and everyone had a great time.  We even had a visit from SPIN rescue (Saving Pyrs in Need) alum Henry and Cleo (formerly Kaden and Kacee).  If you had planned on coming but were not able to make it, watch for the next meet and greet scheduled in July.

If you had wanted to put in your pre-order for the 2018 Heartthrobs and Hounds calendar, you can do it here!

Enjoy the pictures of these beautiful dogs!

Everyone loved the attention

Gabby, Madeline, and Beau

Ozzie, Ozzie & Quinby, Zola checking out Ozzie while Quinby watches

Val, Zola, and Ranger

Cleo, Henry, and Ozzie

Volunteer Opportunities

Maeby is hoping you can join us!

Whew!  Now that graduations are over here in the NW and school is about to let out for the summer, GPRS volunteers are gearing up for some FUN summer Meet and Greets!  Just as a reminder, tomorrow, Saturday June 17th volunteers will be at All the Best Pet Care in Seattle from noon to 5pm and we are hoping you can join us!

There will be some great raffle prizes with proceeds going to benefit the rescue, T-shirts, and some great fluffy Pyrs to love on!

Special Guest!

For you Oregon peeps, SAVE THE DATE to the next Small Town Saturday Night event and parade in Newberg, Oregon, Saturday, July 29th 2017!  This is a great event and there will even be a special guest!  Anyone recognize this face?

If you can't make some of these summer events but want to volunteer for the Great Pyrenees Rescue Society there are always great ways to volunteer.

 Fostering is an important component to rescue as our fosters provide temporary and loving homes to desperate dogs in need.  If you are interested in fostering you can fill out an application here.

Max knows how to ask for help!

Once approved you will fill out a foster contract here and you will then be ready to foster a dog in need.  You can decide what dog will be most appropriate for your home situation; the rescue works to match the right dog to the right house as it is best for everyone.  The time you will be fostering will vary but the GPRS volunteer community is super supportive to fosters and we all work together to make the dog's temporary housing successful!

Can't foster?  Check out other great volunteer opportunities here!  If you don't think you can volunteer but want to help, the rescue can always use donations.  To donate click here. 

Check back to the blog often as we will have a Volunteer Highlight post and you can read about the rescue's AMAZING volunteers!

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.

May Adoptions!

**MAY was A-MAY-ZING!!** -and it is all because of our AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!  We had 51 SUCCESSFUL ADOPTIONS in the month of May!!!  GPRS can only do this because we have GREAT fosters, screeners, drivers and other hardworking volunteers helping with the dogs at headquarters, and of course those that assist with managing adoptions, the medical needs and the fosters' needs!!

A big PYR PAW of congratulations goes to: Claire, Frankie, Maximus, Ku, Carter, Peter, McKinley, Bumble, Nita, Tessa, Belinda, Loretta, Serena, Preston, Kaycee, Lynn, Troy, Hutch, Molly, Marlene, Cowgirl, Cowboy, Otis, Flower, Westong, Kenzie, Hamilton, Rommel, Mackenzie, Pamela, Rally, Valerie, Harlee, Heath, Hunter, Linus, Bigalow, Coti, Tobias, Sugar, Lakyn, Zena, Zac, Kylie, Kallie, Madeline, Marla, Lake, Harrison, Peggy Sue and Smokey!

Juliette

Pyrs in Transport

Leaving College Station, TX

One of the things that impressed me so much when I first heard about GPRS is the orchestrated transport. On the "About Us" page the bio says that the dogs in Texas are transported throughout the Northwest but it didn't say that the rescue has dogs to transport almost every month.  What it also doesn't say are the efforts it takes to go from a dog in need in Texas to foster families scattered throughout the Northwest or to their forever homes.  I'm not sure I even know, but I'm hoping through this blog we can both learn what it entails.

Dogs headed to loving homes

There is an amazing man named Jeff (and may be others) who drive thousands of miles making calculated stops to deliver these dogs to their loving families, be it foster or forever.  I'm certain we will get his bio soon for our Volunteer Highlight post.  This morning he left College Station, Texas loaded up with dogs, who are headed to a better life. 

On the receiving end of these stops are devoted and loving volunteers who have a dog on transport to foster or families who have already adopted a dog; they may be meeting their dogs for the first time.   The continual success of these efforts rely on volunteers, and well, donations are also important.

Transport map

If you've ever thought about volunteering or fostering, the GPRS has a community of dedicated and supportive volunteers and for me it is some of the most rewarding volunteer work I have done.

Check back often to hear other stories about the volunteers who make all this happen!  There will also be pictures of "First Hugs from Transport" as the dogs reach their destinations!  If you would like to volunteer check out the website here and click on How to Help.