Overheard recently on the Great Pyrenees Discussion List, a privately owned Listserv, managed by members of the breed AKC club.
Question: “Why so many Pyrs in rescue?”
(O.K. somebody noticed. Good. There are 1,369 Pyrs and Pyr mixes listed on petfinder.com today and somebody noticed. Great. This is progress.)
Answer: (from Northern California Pyr Rescuer) “A major source the past twenty years has been farm-bred dogs.” O.K. I’ll buy that. “All we, as Pyr owners, can do to help stem this tide is to educate people about the breed BEFORE they get one”.
Really? Maybe we can do more. There are between 135 and 150 Pyrs from the South and Mid-West who need homes posted every week on the National Pyr website. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Go to the Northern California Pyr Rescuer’s site and you will see one dog listed. The other page for males says no males are available for adoption. You may wonder why some rescue groups have so many dogs listed and others have one or none. The reason: location, location, location.
Here’s the poop. Regionality is an important factor in dog rescue. The lack of spay/neuter is a problem for all breeds in the South. Even worse for farm dogs in the South/Midwest who are not spayed or neutered because the livestock they guard is not spayed or neutered. No spay/neuter = more dogs. The redistribution of dogs from kill shelters in the South and Mid-West, where there are so many dogs to place, to areas where there are virtually no dogs needing rescue to place, is critical to saving dogs’ lives.
Many Pyr rescue groups in the northern part of our country refuse to participate in this redistribution effort, saying it is not their problem. They converse about the problem knowledgeably and offer feel good non-solutions like “All we, as Pyr owners, can do to help stem this tide is to educate people, blah, blah, blah” when actually, they can do a lot more. They can save dogs’ lives.
As rescuers they can work with other rescuers in the redistribution of dogs from places where dogs die horrible, cruel deaths by gassing or heart stick in kill shelters.
This Pyr in a Springfield, MO shelter will die from a heart stick injection if not rescued. The MO Pyr rescue is full and cannot take more dogs.
These rescues can help move dogs from TN, KY, TX, GA, AL and MO to Northern California, the Northeast and other places in the Northern U.S. where Pyr rescue dogs are scarce. They can make more of these dogs available to people who want to adopt them. Just think–there could be 10 or 20 dogs listed for adoption on the Northern California Pyr Rescue site instead of one!
Don’t let anyone pull the Pyr fur over your eyes when it comes to rescue. Check out the dogs who are available on your closest rescue here. Let all Pyr rescue groups know they need to get with the solution and that having one or a couple of dogs listed for adoption is not acceptable. As a Pyr owner and lover of this breed you can do something more. Rescue involves the active participation of those who can foster dogs, help with transport or donate to this worthy cause. Don’t be fooled by the biggest lie. There is a way to save more Pyrs; we know how to do it and it involves the participation of all Pyr rescue groups North, South, East and West to help redistribute these dogs. Stand up for the dogs we love. RESCUE NOW!
As usual, Barbara, you took the bull by the horns and presented the brutally honest picture, as it, sadly, is.
I know many Pyr lovers and rescue people “think” they know the extent of the problem, but until they receive numerous emails daily…from southern rescue groups, shelter workers trying to save dogs who will die within hours etc., they cannot truly know the horrors many of our beloved breed…including those who have other ancestry in their make-up…are enduring…needlessly. If only more people were willing to step up and Help!!! so many more dogs could be saved!!!!
I expect your comments will generate criticism from some…but, HOPEFULLY, it will also cause some people to want to investigate further…to see if what you say actually is the truth…and then want to be part of the solution!!!
As a newbie to the Pyr world, I had never thought about regional issues before, but what you said make sense. I had always wondered why there were so many Pyrs in need of rescue in the south. It would be great if the north could step up and start working with other regions to find these beautiful animals homes!
My husband and I adopted a male pyr from Texas. We live in Vermont, and there were no pyrs available in our area. We went through the National Rescue in NY. So many people comment on our dog. They are especially taken with his gentle nature and alwys comment on how beautiful he is. Not many know what breed he is. Please let more Pyrs come to the North from the South. They are a wonderful dog and they fit in well in the colder climate.