The call came in on Friday and by Sunday morning five Pyr pups–three boys and two girls–were on their way from a farm in Kansas to Pyr rescue in Colorado. Most of us don’t think twice about the national network that makes Pyr rescue effective but when it works, we should take some time to savor it. National Great Pyrenees Rescue started building the groundwork for a responsive, national rescue network three years ago and now we are seeing the results.
On Friday afternoon, a phone call came into the National Pyr Rescue toll-free 877-739-3582 hot line. 
Ren, a NY volunteer who receives these calls, e-mailed the contact information on Saturday to National Pyr’s director, Barbara, also located in NY, who immediately called the person back. During the phone call critical information about the dogs was collected on the surrender information form, which captures the dogs’ history and their owner’s location.
The woman, who lives on a farm in Kansas, needed to surrender five Pyr pups who were 16 weeks old plus a 2-year old male. She said that her husband was sick and going into the hospital and she couldn’t take care of the farm and all the dogs. The completed surrender form was e-mailed out to National Pyr’s Kansas and Missouri contacts, Lou Anne and Carolyn. Lou Anne immediately forwarded the information to Dawn at Colorado Great Pyrenees Rescue in Brighton, CO. 
As it turns out, the Colorado Pyr rescue was going to be in Kansas on Sunday, the next day, driving a transport for Colorado Animal Rescue Express (CARE) to pick up dogs from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma kill shelters. There are so many dogs in these states, that the animals’ best shot at finding homes is to send them west to Colorado. 
With the connection to Colorado Pyr rescue made late Saturday afternoon, it was then possible to arrange to have the owner of the five Pyr pups meet up on Sunday with Dawn’s husband, Ken, who was driving the CARE volunteer transport and bring the five pups immediately into rescue.
One of the KS pups on transport to CO this morning.
Without this quick action, the pups could have been shot or brought to a kill shelter. They would have been at risk without vaccinations to contract life-threatening Parvo or other diseases. Arrangements are being made for the two-year-old male, who is a livestock guardian dog (LGD), to go to a Pyr rescue that specializes in finding homes for LGDs.
Prior to the establishment of National Pyr in 2006, some rescue networking had been done regionally in the South by a group called Southern States Rescue and by the Great Pyrenees Club of America (GPCA). The new National Pyr network, which includes members of both the GPCA and Southern States networks, offers several improvements. While GPCA rescue had been limited to places where the GPCA had members, the National Pyr network embraced Pyr rescuers whether or not they were affiliated with the breed club. And while GPCA rescue has restrictions on where rescue dogs could be placed, the National Pyr network does not impose geographical limitations. Many GPCA rescues only accept purebred Pyrenees and the new National Pyr rescue encourages helping both Pyrs and Pyr mixes.
For the past three years, National Pyr’s top priority has been improving communications about Pyrs and Pyr mixes in the places where rescue is needed most. National Pyr volunteers manage the National Great Pyrenees Rescue Yahoo Chat group for rescuers. We’ve also nurtured development of what has grown to three Pyrs-in-Need lists of dogs needing rescue in high-kill shelters. These lists are updated daily by our volunteers, Sue (Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas), Penny (Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina) and Catherine (Texas). National Pyr also provides an online surrender information form so rescuers can move quickly to intercept dogs before they are taken to kill shelters.
Now hundreds of Pyrs and Pyr mixes, who would have been lost in kill shelters, go through the National Pyr network to find loving homes and adopters. We’ve come a long way in three years and it’s time to thank everyone in the network for making it work.