Neediest 2025

Guinevere was found roaming in terrible shape in Tennessee. She had been shot several times and had a long infected wound on her face that someone attempted to stitch up. Fact is, dogs who roam get shot at and Pyrenees roam. Luckily, NGPR’s foster, Anastasia, was able to take Guin in and bring her to a vet. It was a close call for sweet Guin. X-rays showed showed no fractures from the bullet embedded in her left rear leg, the fluid was drained, the braided suture on her muzzle was removed and she was started on antibiotics. We are hoping for a full recovery.

Harley is the sole survivor of a group of five dogs who were left alone on their own for some time in Smith County, TN. There is no shelter in Smith County. The other four Pyrenees were hit and killed before they could be caught. We can’t begin to understand the trauma these dogs faced as they were picked off one by one from car accidents, gun shot attacks or starvation. The dog in the middle right photo is not sleeping—she unfortunately is dead.
We are looking for a foster for Harley who is currently in boarding in Lebanon Tennessee. Please email us if you would like to foster Harley.

Doolittle is a senior surrender—a senior dog who was surrendered by a senior in Tennessee. The condition he was found in was awful. He was heaped on the floor with a bunch of discarded junk—almost like he was part of the collection. His owner said he was 11 but the vet who saw him aged him younger, closer to seven. His ears were severely crusted and the canals were clogged with yellow discharge. The poor guy was thin, filthy, flea-ridden and terribly sad. We’re going to clean him up, treat his horrible ears, get him some good groceries and monitor his progress until a kindly foster or adopter takes him home. Please email us if you can help get Doolittle restart.

We were able to help this sweet 6-year old boy who was HBC-hit by a car in Shelbyville, Tennessee. No one ever came for him so we don’t know anything about his past. He had surgery for a badly broken leg and now needs a foster who can give him crate rest as he also has a broken hip. If anyone can please help foster him, he could really use help. Please email us and let us know. He could use a kind family to help him recover. Lasso is neutered and very sweet .

Barney is one of the most neglected pups we have ever taken into rescue. He was found by some kind folks and turned over to a Mississippi shelter who reached out for help. Everyone thought he was a young pup—he weighed just 11 lbs. Sadly his teeth revealed he was at least 6 months old. He was starved and limping so badly he could hardly walk. Barney has gained a bit of weight and is up to 23 lb. at 7 months old. He needs surgery to repair the patellas in his knees and the estimates are a few thousand dollars per leg. Barney is the sweetest little guy. He never grew as he should because of starvation and an extremely high parasite load. We want to get him the surgery he needs so he can run and play with the other pups.

We found out through Facebook about this sad senior boy at a very crowded animal control in East Tennessee. He was there for weeks and nobody came for him. A shelter nearby reached out to us to ask for help. We had been posting him and thankfully an amazing foster stepped up and offered to help.

Yeti was brought to the vet and we learned he was negative for tickborne diseases. But a mass was found on his gums and removal and a biopsy along with cleaning was estimated at $1,000. Yeti’s initial assessment, tests and vaccinations cost close to $500 and the estimate for the senior neuter was $500. Bear in mind these are the costs to treat a dog in the South, where treatment is less expensive than in other places. We are reviewing the costs for Yeti’s treatment so we can make the right decisions for this neglected senior.

This blind 5-year old was found wandering in Kentucky. We don’t know how or why he is blind. He came up to an old woman’s house and she tried feeding him. Her daughter became concerned that he was too big and might knock her down. She contacted the shelter and the shelter contacted us and asked us to help him. How could we say no? He is a sweet boy and is listed for adoption here.

A young couple noticed the dog on the property next door who was dirty and unfed. When they started asking questions, they learned the dog’s owner had died five months before. A friend was coming by to feed and water her when he could—which wasn’t often. Animal Control and the local shelter made it clear they weren’t interested in helping. The dog had a wound festering on her flank that turned ugly, despite being covered with Blu-Kote antibiotic. The young couple urged NGPR to take her and when no one else would, we did. Leona came into rescue and had what was probably her first vet visit and bath ever before going to a foster.

Look closely and you will see the stitches on the back of Maggie’s neck. Someone used her for target practice—she’s a buckshot victim who could have died from her wounds if left untreated. The wonderful people at Mardi Paws rescue whisked her off to the Bellvue Clinic in Opelousas for treatment and some TLC. Last week, Maggie made her way to an NGPR foster in Louisiana where she’s on the road to recovery and finally getting all the pampering she deserves.

McGraw was one of a litter of six born under a shed to a Mom who was a snow-white Pyrenees. McGraw and his littermates are mixed but NGPR agreed to take them to keep them out of the shelter. McGraw still needs a home and we learned this month that he has a luxating patella (slipped kneecap) and will need surgery to correct it.

Six Pyrenees were turned into a Tennessee shelter and we agreed to take two of them. Little Bambi was clearly in a bad way. Her left front leg was wonky. We could see she had many ortho challenges, which appear to be genetic. The worst problem is her ulna, a bone in the forearm and a crucial part of the elbow joint. She has curvature on the left front limb as growth plates closed too soon and the bones have twisted. This created an angular deformity so the bone needs to be broken, then straightened and implants/hardware used to keep it in line. We would like to schedule her surgery but she needs a medical foster near the surgeon in the Murray, KY area to see her through recovery. Please email us if you can help little Bambi. Her surgery is estimated at $4945.

Serenity is another sad tale from Tennessee. We were contacted about a mom dog out wandering with two mixed pups. Mama dog was limping. The woman who found her was kind enough to bring Serenity to the vet’s office for x-rays and shots. She is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 years old and very sweet but in tough shape, extremely matted and filthy. Unfortunately she has an older break in her leg.

At some point her kneecap was completely shattered so the leg is starting to bow out and the muscles around that leg have atrophied. Unfortunately she is not able to keep her leg. Sadly, this poor girl was limping around while pregnant and trying to nurse babies. She has been injured for some time. They are unsure of how that happened and believe the injury occurred when she was still a pup before her growth plates had closed. Poor girl. She is very friendly with people–very sweet and good with the other dogs she has met so far. She walks nicely on leash, did great in the car and at the vet’s office. She seems very calm and good-natured. Look for Serenity to arrive on our Adoptable Dogs page soon.

Dori came to us from a Kentucky shelter. She is blind so it’s a miracle she wasn’t hit on the road. Her eyes were tested and we learned she congenital Ocular Disease. NGPR paid $1600 for removal of her right eye, had her tested for tic diseases and spayed.

She can’t see from the left eye either but still, she gets along just fine. The only part of five-year old Dori that’s special needs, is the word “special.” She loves people—when she goes to the vet, she will throw herself down, showing her belly for rubs! She gets excited and happy, and will sit up on her haunches, placing her front paws on your hands for love and attention.

We’ve done all we can for Dori, can you help by giving this sweet girl a home ? More at http://nationalpyr.org/…/dori-in-ky-very-well-behaved.

Zeus is a big puppy with a twisted leg, turned into a Georgia shelter as a stray. We learned later that it was his family who turned him in, only “pretending” he was a stray. No one said how Zeus was injured but because he was a surrender and was injured, rescue for him became urgent. Owner surrenders don’t last long at kill shelters who are only required to hold strays. Luckily we found a foster for Zeus who could hold him while we further investigate his unfortunate condition, which could be congenital,

Update 4/23: Zeus has been diagnosed with Patella Luxation (slipped kneecap) and is scheduled for surgery with an estimated cost of $4345.

Pilot (a confirmed chicken killer) got kicked off the farm he was living on in North Carolina and came into rescue last year. He was diagnosed with CCL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament) tears in both his knees in June. This was a double whammy to rescue. Pilot had his first surgery in September and then his second this February. The cost to rescue for both his knees is $8k. He is shown relaxing at home with his sister, Konnie, also adopted from NGPR last year.

We found out about a badly injured Great Pyrenees dog in the Columbus, Georgia area from a lady who does Poodle Rescue. The dog fell down a steep incline into a frozen creek and couldn’t get out. The woman heard him barking and went to check on him. Somehow she was able to drag him up the hill. We don’t know how long this boy was wandering, but we learned he has an older leg injury. This was starting to rot as the infection was too far gone and unfortunately, his leg had to be removed. We’re calling him Bruce. He’s a very sweet guy about 2 years old and he will be headed to a foster to recover and be assessed.

Pretty Ethel came into rescue as a stray with her brother Fred. They are young, happy-go-lucky pups, happy to be receiving love and attention in their foster home. Unfortunately, Ethel does have a problem with both her knees. She has patella alta, known as high-riding kneecaps. To walk normally, Ethel will need “tibial tuberosity recession” surgery to lower the knee caps on both her legs. Surgery is estimated at $4-5k, per leg.