Friday, April 23, 2010

Audrey

Well, I've done it again. I know better than to say things like "always" and "never". As in I will never again try to rehabilitate an adult Great Pyrenees. Two weeks ago we got a call from a nice lady who had mistakenly been told we were associated with Great Pyrenees rescue (!). She had taken an adult female Pyrenees from a shelter in Virginia because she was scheduled to be euthanized the next day and was now looking for an appropriate home for her. We went to look at her the next day and, as they say, the rest is history. (That "just going to look" gets me in trouble every time!)

Audrey came with enough issues to cause most sane people to say "sorry, but no thanks". The story is that she was on the loose for several months and was finally brought in to the shelter nearly starving. When we brought her home with us, we discovered that she was pregnant and had far too much interest in our chickens. I admit that the first few days she was here, I had doubts that I could manage her. She was keenly interested in the chickens and when I took her out with the sheep, she worked the fields like a bird dog on the trail on something exciting, though not in any way threatening to the sheep. When she acted too enthusiastic around the lambs, the ewes corrected her and she immediately learned to respect them. At this point, we've made great progress on curbing her desire to chase the poultry (though I'm not ready to trust her for long periods of time, unsupervised). She and Holly are beginning to bond, which will be good for everyone. She is an incredibly sweet, sensitive dog and we're really hoping she will make a place for herself here.

The picture above was taken on the way in for surgery today. We decided to spay her now rather than allow her pregnancy to continue. Because she was on the loose for so long, there was absolutely no predicting what sort of dog might have bred her. It may seem cruel to some, but the idea of bringing a litter of puppies into the world that likely no one would want seemed infinitely more cruel. We felt Audrey had physically suffered enough and needed to be nurtured back to health, without the further strain of feeding a litter of puppies. So, as I write this, she is sleeping in the kennel in the barn and hopefully on the road to gaining back her health.
I am not so soft hearted as to take in every animal that comes along, but something about Audrey touched both Mike and me. We're going to do our best to give her the home she needs.

13 comments:

  1. Goodness I really hate it when you write these posts about your animals and I get the lump in my throat and sit there going ahh and ohh and end up feeling a little rung out. What a beautiful dog, and what an awfully sad story. I hope it works out well for you all. I still really haven't recovered from the sad eyes of Penny. Good luck!

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  2. I sure hope Audrey works out -- for everyone's sake!

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  3. You are doing a good thing. Bless your heart! Bonnie Jo

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  4. I sure hope she works out. She deserves a good home.

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  5. Poor Audrey. She is a lucky dog to have found you.
    kim

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  6. Dianne...Audrey looks sweet :) I'll keep a good thought for all of you! Hope you enjoy your weekend.

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  7. I hope she does well for you. I'm sure she will. That is so sad about the puppies. I hope she's alright.

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  8. I do understand about the puppies - I've twice adopted cats that were (unknown to me) already pregnant, and trying to find homes was a sad experience. Much worse if you have a wonderful breed of dog and mongrel pups. I am really glad you are concentrating on getting Audrey well and adapted to the family and the farm.

    Nancy in Iowa

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  9. She's beautiful. I hope you have good luck with getting her to leave the chickens alone. We have the same issue with Willa. For now she is in a separate fenced area next to them during the day when they're out. Then she has full access to all pastures at night. Not an ideal situation if a predator comes during the day, but we also have an electric fence. Hopefully between the fence and her bark they will decide it would be easier to go somewhere else.

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  10. Bless you for giving her a chance.
    It may take some time for her to forget her life on the run.
    Keep us posted.

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  11. Oh lucky Audrey! You can rehabilitate her I just know it! Not a cruel thing to spay her at that point in her life...too many unwanted puppies in this world and not enough of us to care for them. Bless you for your good deed! She will repay you in gratitude and learn the ropes. I'm like Cesar Millan any dog can be rehabilitated.

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  12. All I can say is bless you for taking Audrey in and giving her a chance at a good life. Only truly special folks will take on such a challenge. I knew there was a reason that I enjoy y'alls blog. We are pulling for you. We have 2 big white dogs we bought from a breeder and they're about a year old and we have another BWD that we adopted as a rescue. He's about 3 and apparently given up twice, but he's by far our best guardian. Gets along well with all the critters and best of all, Bear has absolutely no issues with our large flock of free-ranging chickens. Yesterday evening, I saw two hens walk over him while he was snoozing and his only reaction was to open 1 eye! We are about to adopt another LGD from a breeder of high quality Pyrs who also rescues and trains LGD's. Anyway, I'm really hoping for all the best for all concerned. Ken and Mary of Fancy Fibers Farm

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