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

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

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!

Headquarters Update

Thanks so much for all the support while we waited for word from the Texas volunteers and GPRS director, Malise.  Luckily, Malise made it home safely from the transport trip and although they received plenty of rain the dogs at Spring are safe and sound!   Check back soon to find out who found their forever families in August!

Bob playing in the mud
Hurricane Harvey sent feet of rain onto the grounds of the GPRS headquarters. Thankfully, all of the volunteers and animals are safe. The dogs who were evacuated to emergency foster placements are back. And just look at how much fun Bob is having in the mud. #houstonstrong #hurricaneharvey #GPRS #AdoptDontShop
Posted by Great Pyrenees Rescue Society (GPRS) on Friday, September 1, 2017

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!

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

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.

Need Loving Fosters for Puppies!

TEXAS, TEXAS, TEXAS!!  We are in desperate need of puppy fosters in Texas!!  We have some single puppies, and small groups that really would like to be in a home setting!  If you can find it in your heart to keep them for a couple weeks, we will cover all vetting costs, and provide food/crate.   All you have to do is provide the LOVE!  If you're interested please fill out a foster application on our
 website:

http://www.greatpyreneesrescuesociety.org/forms/

Puppies looking for love!

Please consider fostering!

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.

From Foster Family to Adoptive Family

Grover's Story:
Part 2: Merissa and Richard

Today we continue with the story of how Grover came to the Northwest along his journey to his forever family.  If you would like to revisit "Part 1: Rescued" click here and you'll be taken to the From Foster Family to Adoptive Family label page to read both parts.

Grover nap

Once in the Northwest, lucky Grover was about to meet his foster family for the first time.  Richard and Merissa are a husband and wife team who learned about GPRS in 2014 when they adopted their first Great Pyrenees, Winston.  Merissa is a Neonatal ICU Nurse and Richard does custom handcrafted woodworking as Atwood Designs. Since that time they've been fostering dogs in need and have had 32 fosters!!  That's why Merissa and Richard are also this month's Volunteer Highlight story!  Here's their story:

Foster Fail Friday

Fostering dogs in need is a very rewarding part of rescue.  There are times when foster families fall in love with their fosters so much that the humans become "foster failures".  This term in the rescue community is an endearing one as it signifies that the dog has a forever home which is the ultimate goal!  

One such foster fail is Charlene Signorino; not only did Charlene and her husband fail with one foster but they decided to adopt two of their foster dogs!  Here is their story:

Foster homes urgently needed!

Max is hoping you'll consider fostering as there are currently about 13 Pyrenees in Texas that are in risk of not making it out of the shelter!  If you live in Texas or Washington state or the surrounding areas and are interesting in fostering please raise a paw and fill out an application here.

Some dogs will need only a few days and some a few weeks.  When you foster you will be matched to a dog that suits your home and family.  You will be given a foster contract to sign that states the dog remains the property of Great Pyrenees Rescue Society.  Altering, vaccinations (including rabies) and any medications your foster dog is on will be provided.  Your foster dog will live with you as part of your family until the dog finds a permanent home.  The rescue's volunteer community is incredibly supportive and willing to assist with any questions foster families may have about their foster dog.

What happens if you want to adopt your foster dog?  Contact GPRS as soon as possible so you can apply for the dog before anyone else can adopt it.  We'll remove the dog from the website, you complete the adoption contract, pay the adoption fee and your foster dog becomes a permanent part of your family!

Don't think you can foster?  Consider volunteering, there are many positions available check here.  If time is a barrier to volunteering and you want to help please consider donating here!

Mother's Day 2017

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there!

Hope you have a wonderful day!
Coming soon is a heartwarming story about the nurturing motherly (and fatherly) love from one of the rescue's amazing volunteer husband and wife team.  Grover came up from Texas on the transport van a mere 3 pounds.  Due to the efforts of his foster mother and father his transformation is amazing!  Meet Grover and the Atwoods as he goes from foster family to adoptive family!

News & Events

When Juliette emailed to ask if I would help with the rescue's blog I was ecstatic!  After becoming a foster failure in a roundabout way I was one over in numbers on my permanent dogs and suddenly up to three.  I would not be fostering for a while so I jumped at the opportunity to participate in this endeavor.

The purpose of this blog is to share the rescue's news and events in addition to connect like-minded people by sharing the stories that capture our attention, break our hearts, and feed our souls.  For me, while volunteering for rescues there cannot be one of these without the other.

Please check back often to read about our amazing volunteers, featured rescue stories,  health and wellness tips, training information, and many more subjects!  Feel free to comment and make suggestions.  And by all means, enjoy all the pretty dog pictures!