A sheep operation moved their sheep and left a mother Akbash and pups behind. The mother and pups were starving until local residents found them. They took the pups home to care for them and began to feed the mother, restoring her to health. The mother is wary of people and will not be caught, but has come to eagerly anticipate their daily visits. Her rescuers have even enlisted the local school to save their leftovers for her. She is visited, on the mountain daily, and a winter shelter is being built for her.
After some conversations I connected a wonderful rescue group "Big Dogs Huge Paws" with the people that found the pups, so they could be placed in foster care and adopted out via their rescue program.
Here is Lacey's brother Griffin in his new home! His owner found this website and sent me pictures!!!
Here is Griffin starting to grow....yes I know I am going to be a gorgeous fella!!!
13 comments:
I adopted Lacey's brother JR (now called Griffin) from BDHP and he is awesome! Thanks for filling in the blanks about his history and his mom for me!
I was just speaking this morning to the woman that first rescued the pups in Utah. She was saying she would love to know how they are doing. Can you send me some pictures of him and I will post them to the blog.
We are going to try and get the Akbash mama dog that is still on the mountain where she had the pups. Since her sheep left she has tried to go be with the sheep of another rancher nearby. He has been shooting at her to run her off, not understanding these dogs being Livestock Guardian Dogs. She is shy of humans and they feed her daily but cannot get close enough before she runs off. I am going to help them figure out how to capture her before something bad happens to her! Janet
I wonder if my Truman is one of the mama dog's pups from an earlier litter. His litter was found abandoned in the Uintah mountains in the fall of 2003 by hikers, rescued, and taken in by Wasatch Animal Rescue. Since then, we have run into look-a-like dogs with the same story, but a year or two younger than Truman. I really wish they could catch the mother and get her spayed. I would love to talk to other owners of Uintah akbash dogs. Truman is my fur baby, but he has had so many medical problems. Two TPLO surgeries, cancer, and a really bad chronic ear infection that I'm told he will always have. :(
Hi, I would love to see pictures of your Truman! You can send them to my e-mail at straughie@comcast.net
I think it is a different area from where Mama dog is. Unfortunately it is not all that uncommon since many AKbash are used as "range" dogs which means they just follow the sheep over open range land with no fencing. When the female becomes pregnant, spay/neuter is uncommon, she leaves the sheep to have the pups. This creates the situation where the mother dog is isolated trying to take care of the pups!
Griffin has had major parasite problems which are now, finally, under control. My vet says they were probably a result of no pre-natal care for mom, exposure to livestock, and being weakened by lack of food and shelter. I am so frustrated by the sheep ranchers who leave these beautiful dogs alone with no socialization or medical care. I understand that they are working dogs, but vaccinations, spay/neuter and yearly check-ups are imperative for all dogs.
Any news on Griff's mom? The closer it gets to spring, the more I worry... Would it be possible to tranquilize her, spay her, and then return her to her sheep? At least then there won't be more puppies, and the nasty shepherds would just replace her with another dog and start the whole mess over again if you took her away, wouldn't they?
I just made some calls about her today. She recently disappeared for a week but then reappeared. Using tranquilizers in the cold is risky. The weather is really bad there right now. There have been some plans made but nothing successful yet!
Griffin is 10 months old, close to 100 pounds and is my soul mutt. I can't stop wondering about his mommy though, have you heard anything about her?
Mama dog is back with the sheep and her mate. The sheep moved back to town and she is with them and people are looking out for her. She has not been fixed though!
She is strong and healthy looking....
Rumor has it she can take care of herself and the coyotes know to remain scarce if Mama dog is around!
I'm glad she's okay, I just hope there isn't a repeat of last year's pups and abandonment!
yes of course! Sadly getting her spayed would be difficult because humans have never handled her at all. She was put with the sheep as a puppy and never handled. She wanted to make friends with those that tried but she is a feral dog.
Many people tried to figure out a way to get her and spay her but it was too difficult, and in winter also could be dangerous to use some methods like tranquilizing.
Well, I'll keep good thoughts for her and Griffin's daddy (s). I've been telling people about your rescue and Big Dogs Huge Paws since Griffin attracts so much attention when we go out. He will be a year old next month and has grown into a gorgeous dog.
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