We need your help to fix our neediest cases. National Great Pyrenees Rescue is an all-volunteer, 501 (C) 3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. We are called upon frequently to rescue special needs dogs and we support other Pyr rescues by fundraising for and contributing to their neediest cases.
Parvo Puppies
Help the Parvo Puppies This pup and his three brothers came into rescue last week from Tennessee. They have all come down with Parvo and spent the weekend at the emergency vet. Our Louisville, KY volunteers have put their credit cards on the line, hoping to get paid back through ChipIn. Our goal is to raise $1500, half of the estimated $3,000 vet bill. NGPR will match the $1500 raised through ChipIn to pay the Louisville volunteers back. If you think these little guys are worth saving, please ChipIn to help our volunteers pay down these adorable pups' vet bills.
"Time's Up" Spiro—Saved Just in Time (1/12/12)
Time's Up is out of the shelter The shelter called him "Time's Up" because they thought nobody would ever rescue him. He limped—the shelter said his right dew claw was torn. He was filthy—he looked and smelled like someone had poured a quart of oil over him. The vet estimated his accident happened three weeks before and he has been in constant pain since then. 
Time's Up (Spiro's) SkinNo one examined him, treated him or cared about him. Until we did. We found him just in time, picked him up at the shelter on Saturday, did our best to clean him up and brought him to our vet. Our volunteer named him Spiro, which means "Hope" in Latin.
Spiro shaved.He was x-rayed on Monday, put on pain medications and referred to an orthopedic surgeon. We found his injury was much more than an injured dew claw, the metatarsal bones in his foot were fractured. When he was operated on on Wednesday, we learned his bones were so damaged they required a bone graft and plate to repair. When his dirty matted hair was shaved, you could see how thin he is.
Spiro was released on Thursday, January 12 to start his recovery and rehabilitation. After the rescue discount, we are left with a bill of $3,562 for x-rays, surgery and aftercare. We are asking our rescue friends to ChipIn to help us meet our commitment to give "Time's Up", now Spiro, time to live. Please help us help the neediest Pyrs.
The Kentucky Kids (12/16/11)
Marcy's holiday wrap.
Marcy was found wandering on a road in Kentucky around Thanksgiving. A concerned Good Samaritan noticed she was limping and notified rescue. X-rays revealed that her left front elbow was separated at the joint. It has been pinned and stablized to secure it and we are hoping that Marcy will regain use of her leg in a few weeks.
Alvin is on the mend.
The orthopedic cases just keep coming through the door. Alvin is the youngest pup we've had in a while. The shelter was going to put him down because he needed expensive surgery to repair a terrible hip fracture. Pups heal quickly so the pins were removed 11/15 and he is recovering nicely.
Kylie with her shaved leg.
Kylie was hit by a car and had a femoral head ostectomy earlier this month. Although she is on a regimen of reduced activity, this sweet girl is ready to go to a foster or adopter. Update 1/12/12: Kyle has been adopted to a family in NJ.
Indy Great Pyrenees Rescue
Rocky (11/12/11)
Rocky standing on all fours. Rocky was found as a stray and no one came to claim him. He is a sweetheart of a boy who is great with everyone he meets, two and four- legged. A true gentle giant, Rocky has the nicest, gentle temperament, but was dealt a poor hand in life. Poor Rocky has terribly-crippled hind legs that require knee surgery. Both of his knee caps are on the sides of his legs, and he has to stand on his tip toes to balance his back as he walks. He is going to have to have two surgeries at $1800 each. He had his first surgery 10/31. He is currently recovering from the surgery, and once he heals, then the second one can be done. He literally has no knees and had to have one built by the orthopedic surgeon. If you can contribute to Rocky's surgery, we would be very appreciative of your help. Prior to surgery he was mobile, however his prognosis without the surgery means he will be crippled forever. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made through the ChipIn below. Rocky will be available for adoption following his second surgery. If you are interested in giving Rocky a forever home, please contact us for an application at info@igpr.org.
Update on Sadie (1-10-12)
Sadie putting weight on her leg.
Good news! Sadie has been adopted by a family in PA. She likes to run and play (despite her injured leg) and can hold her own while roughhousing with adult dogs, but unlike many six month old pups, she doesn't seem to take an interest in chewing everything within reach. She is very sweet and mellow and wiser than her years at a young age.
Sadie's Operation (10-21-11)
Sadie in the operating room. Sadie had her femoral head ostectomy operation in PA on October 19. We hope that it will give her back her knee cap and allow her use of her right rear leg.Sadie is a brave little patient. She is being well taken care of by our rescue volunteers who are doing their best to ensure she gets the rest and therapy she needs to recover and regain at least partial use of her injured leg. It is now believed that Sadie's leg and eye injury were the result of an accident, not a birth defect. Sadie still needs her forever home. You can apply for her by clicking here or help Sadie and all our neediest cases by clicking the blue donate button above.
More Misery in MO (9-26-11)
Pulaski Pup (top) and Max (bottom)
Sadie and Max are the unwanted and uncared for in a state that values puppy mill profits more than animal protection.
Sadie is a just a puppy who wandered into a rescuer's yard by chance; she was starved, blind in one eye, and her right rear leg was useless. Sadie is coming to the Northeast on Oct. 8 for an orthopedic evalution.
Max is an young guy who was surrendered to rescue when his owner moved and the neighbors found him a nuisance. He has a double knee the size of a softball that forces his leg to be turned outward. We got Max out of there quickly after the husband said, "my wife is the only thing standing between that dog and a pistol!" Your donation will help pay for these dogs care, transport, x-rays and vet visits so a specialist can evaluate their situations and determine how to best help them.
Update on Beau (9-28-11)
Beau is still in (high) need. Beau has completed treatment for high-positive HW disease & heavy infestation of internal & external parasites. He was also very high positive Ehrlichiosis. It has taken 2 treatment courses of 6 weeks each to get his Ehrlichia under control & get a normal platelet count. That's recent, within the past 2 weeks. Beau has to be sedated to be handled/transported to vet for blood work, etc. His hip, femur, pelvis is crushed w/healed vertebra fracture. Nothing that can be repaired but he may benefit from surgery to clean up the bone spurs pressing on nerves. He is cryptorchid & is awaiting surgery at Univ of MO to remove the testicle in his abdomen. We're getting there, but he has a long way to go yet. Hoping to get him to Univ of MO soon, before the roads get bad. He will have the crypto surgery & re-assessment of his orthopedic injuries. His R rear leg is 5" shorter than the left. he stands/walks on tippy-toe to compensate. He is on daily NSAID meds which have greatly improved his disposition. He was also essentially feral at the age of 7 yrs. We are loving on him every day & he's coming around, but he will still bite if you attempt to put something around his neck. He wears a harness 24/7. Professional opinions (several) are that the severity of his injuries & his phobia about anything around his neck indicate that he fell or was bounced out of the bed of a moving pickup, while tied. And dragged.
Oh MO! Now There's Beau (Posted 5/25/11)
Beau After His CaptureAbandoned by his family, he wandered down a busy four-lane highway in Missouri for weeks. No one could catch him or get near him. Two kind ladies from a small dog rescue started leaving food that he would not touch until they were gone. They loaded the food with tranquilizers from a local vet, knocked him out cold and finally got him captured.
The first photo is of Beau upon intake by NGPR's Missouri rescuer. He's 6-7 yrs old. Never had any vetting. He's both heartworm and lyme positive; "eaten alive" with hook worms. True cryptorchid, intact, one testicle down and requires open abdominal surgery to retrieve the other. An x-ray shows his pelvis is shattered. The hip socket is gone. The head of femur is gone. His knee is blown out. The left rear leg is 5" shorter than right rear leg. He walks on tippy toe but is not a candidate for ortho surgery. He's eating now and doing better, no longer trying to bite; prefers to have nothing around his neck. Hookworms were dispatched post haste, doxycycline is started and he is feeling better. He has stage 2 heartworm disease per an x-ray of his heart and lungs. He has bronchial markings and a slightly enlarged heart. He's still in the hospital on a high dose doxy for 2 weeks, then if he's ok, will have immiticide treatment for heartworm. If he survives that, in 30 days he will have crypto surgery.
Beau Now in RescueIn spite of it all, he has that spark. He wants very much to be here with us. He's trying so very hard. He does need a trust fund. There has to be a reason this boy has survived all that he has, to be here with us now. We keep telling ourselves that. He's got some dangerous procedures ahead, so he's on the prayer list. For some reason, this one is special. The best we can hope for, is that he survives and will have a good quality of life in the future, something he's never known. You can donate here to help Beau have a better life.
CLOSED CASES
The Lewisburg Pyrs - Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped.
We spent the better part of July working on getting ten Pyr mixes out of a cruelty situation in Tennesse. Thirty or more feral Pyr puppies and adults were running loose in the area. The AC officer ordered at least 12 of the dogs to be surrendered to the Lewisburg shelter on Thursday, June 28. A small shelter could not handle a surrender of this size and the dogs faced euthanasia. Heritage Farms Rescue of Liberty Center, Ohio answered the call for help and local volunteers were loaned an empty horse barn to house the dogs.
Puppy being removed from the farm.When the owner ignored the demand to surrender the dogs, volunteers went to the farm to round up all the dogs they could. Four adults and four puppies were captured. Two dogs found on the road near the farm were impounded at the shelter. Volunteers triaged the dogs, getting the neediest to the vets while holding the others in the horse barn. The dogs were moved on two separate dates to the Heritage Farms Rescue in Ohio with the help of volunteer transport. One of the pups, Cotton, had an infection and came very close to dying. All survived and are being rehomed as companion animals.
Lena has a family!
Great Pyrenees Rescue of Montana
Update on Lena (10/19/11)
Lena today with Cormac, one of the 2 children in the family who adopted her from Great Pyrenees Rescue of Montana. She was featured in a front page article in the Ravalli Republic, a Hamilton, MT newspaper.
Lena, the Littlest Needy Case (Posted 5/29/11)
Lena Has Been Rescued
Lena was dropped off at a shelter in Southern Utah with a terribly infected 3" deep wound all the way around her neck. Only 4 months old, she was also infested with fleas and very emaciated. The vet theorizes that she was tied up as a freshly weaned pup with a wire or nylon cord and left that way for months. As she grew, the cord slowly ate into her flesh. The owner dropped her off at a kill shelter once he realized what he had done. The shelter has no vet on staff and gave Lena no medical care.
Lena at the Vet's
They reported noticing a strong odor of corruption, but did not even get close enough to this poor baby to realize she was a girl--they were advertising her as a boy. Finally, they e-mailed Great Pyrenees Rescue of Montana. With the help of other rescue folk, GPROM got her into a clinic, where she underwent surgery for her wound for several hours.
Lena also contracted Parvo so 
Lena Gets Help her medical bills totaled over $2,000. The good news is that she has made a full recovery, loves to snuggle and cuddle and has been adopted by a family who knows and loves the breed. Little Lena will have a happy, long life and her suffering is behind her. We thank the many people who supported GPROM and the neediest Pyrs by contributing to Lena's ChipIn.
Bear Creek Rescue
Update on our Worst Case-Gabriel (10/21/11) 
Gabriel looks great now.
Gabriel in MO is doing great. He has gained lots of weight, fur, and importantly, trust and love for people. He is also enjoying playing with the girl pyrs at his foster. He is a gentle, sweet soul and is ready for his furever home. If you think you can provide a good home for our recovered Gabriel, please click here.
There Are No Words to Describe
(8/3/11) Gabriel is still not out of the woods. He had an operation at the end of July for a growth that flared up recently and we are waiting for news of the outcome.
(7/21/11) 
Gabriel in June
Gabriel had a set back in July and was hospitalized after developing a resistence to ivermectin. Since his return, he is playful and runs, jumps and gallops around the yard. He has male/female pairs on either side of him, but appears to be lonely. He leans against the fence on either side, trying to make friends. He is being introduced to a new rescue Pyr girl who has had all of her vaccinations and is said to be of a very sweet nature. Hopefully they can share the large space that he has. He's not been contagious since about 14 days into his mange treatment.
Gabriel As of 5/28(6/8/11) Gabriel now has peach fuzz growing back where he was bald from mange. His rescuer writes "Just had to share a bit of good news on Gabriel, our mange boy. Today, June 7, (he came on May 7th), we have the tinest hint of new hair appearing on the shoulders & hips. The really bald places. Nothing on the joints yet, but this is more than we had expected. First the scabs came off, then the sickly pink skin faded into a normal color, now we have peach fuzz. Picture of Gabriel taken 5/28 showing his improvement at that time.
At the Vet Clinic
(Posted 5/15/11) This case, described as one of the worst cases of neglect that was still alive, tops them all. The guy was to have been shot & killed by his family for "ear mites and weight loss". He was obtained as a trade for six chickens. He is infected with severe sarcoptic mange that gives off the stench of rotted meat. The mange is into the muscle tissues and in some places, to the bone. His ears are so infected they may be a total loss. He has a mild systolic heart murmur, suspected to be a result of malnutrition. His joints are no longer covered with skin, just scabs, scales, and dead tissue. He is loaded with parasites. He is weak & wobbly, but willing. When left alone he lays down and drops his head on floor. He's not giving up quite yet, but he's close. When you sit quietly with him, he lays his scabby head on your lap and soaks up gentle petting with a big sigh. Due to lifelong deficient diet, teeth are nasty, but this poor dog looks to be only around 3 yrs old.
Waiting for TreatmentHe was reported to have been castrated by a hog farmer neighbor two years ago; they tied him down and cut him. No anesthetic, no antibiotics, nothing. That area seems to be healed, but it is not known what infection may have been introduced, not to mention the trauma and pain he has endured. He is also reported to have survived a mountain lion attack (never treated), that left the hair on his hip discolored when it grew back in. That's the least of his worries.
He's never had a vaccination, wormer, kind word, or hug in his life. Until now. He's gonna need everyone's prayers and a whole lot of rehab. It's not known how much hair will regrow. Long standing, untreated mange can cause hair follicles to die. Right now, he's comfortable, he's had everything he can have for pain and to turn this decline around. You can donate here to help this Worst Case. Please specify in the note section of the donation it is for "The Worst Case". Thank you for helping a Pyr in need.
Sunny and Charro, the LP Girls
Dr.D examines Ella (Charro) (6/8/11) Charro (left) had her operation for luxating patella on 6/1. She is progresing just fine with her recovery. Charro (now known as Ella) had her surgery done by Dr. DeNardo at Quakertown Veterinary in PA.
The discounted cost to rescue for Ella's surgery was $1500. National Pyr was able to pay for this through several sources. First, Girl Scout Troop 06470 in Newtown, CT (shown below) voted to donate the proceeds of their cookie sales to Pyr rescue. We found out about this the same week we received the estimate for Ella's operation so this seemed a good use of 
Girl Scout Troop 5017 and mascot, Morganthe funds. On the Friday following the operation, June 3, a benefit for Pyr rescue was held at the Harvest Cafe in Hudson, MA. The money raised that night went to Ella's fund. Then the folllowing week, a donation was made in memory of a Pyr in MA who had died in May so this money was directed to the operation cost. Finally, Ella's adoption fee made up the remainder of the funds needed. In Ella's case, as in many others, it is a combination of effort, not just one source that allows us to help our neediest cases. Happily, Ella was fostered during her recovery by a rescue volunteer who is a nurse who passed the word around about Ella. She was adopted one week after her operation by another nurse, who will see Ella through her recovery.
Sunny With Her New Haircut(Posted 5/15/11) Both Sunny and Charro suffer from neglect. They won't die from this neglect but they will not be able to live pain-free lives until they are operated on for a luxating patella (slipped knee-cap). Sunny came from animal control in Tennessee. She was so matted, with barb wire tangled in her fur, she had to be shaved down when she came into rescue.
Charro On All Fours
Charro was picked up as a stray in Kentucky. When her owner came to claim her, she refused to pay the shelter the fine required for holding a stray dog. This wasn't a bad thing, since she never noticed that Charro was limping due to a serious orthopedic probem. NGPR is raising funds to help both these girls with their LP (luxating patella) operations. Please donate to help the LP girls. Please specify in the note section of the donation it is for "The LP Girls". Thank you for helping a Pyr in need.
Sam the Man
Sam Leaving TennesseeSam came into a East TN shelter in February after being hit by a car. His injuries were serious but the shelter volunteers thought he was so sweet they raised the money to fix his broken leg. He was a slow recovery. His stay at the vet clinic got extended by two weeks and NGPR picked up the tab of an additional $1,000 in vet bills. Sam was moved to a CT foster in March and has proved himself to be a real gentleman. He walks quietly and gently on the leash. He has a special talent for retrieving pillows off the couch and arranging them on the floor with his nose. Sometimes he brings them inside his crate and arranges them in there, too. A caring family in Monroe, CT applied to adopt Sam and three months after his rescue, Sam has moved to his furever home.
Shush (Now Known as Ramsey)
Shush, Now RamseyDoomed Dogs, Sierra Pacific Great Pyrenees Rescue and National Pyr worked together to get this dog the care he needs. Shush (Navaho for Bear) was transported January 23 via Pilots N Paws volunteer air transport from an Indian reservation in Kayenta, AZ to Granite Bay, CA. The AZ shelter was going to euthanize him since they could not afford to treat such a large animal for his orthopedic issues. Frank Ramsey, the ACO, went on an e-mail campaign, asking several Pyr Rescues to save him. National Pyr and Sierra Pacific Great Pyrenees Rescue answered the call. Read Shush's full story on the National Pyr blog.
Ditch and Trap Dogs
Oliver Starting around last Thanksgiving, four Pyrs were found in ditches, run over, shot or caught in traps. Oliver (left) was the first victim. He was left lying in a ditch in Missouri for days before passersby finally stopped. It was too late since his wounds had festered and despite a valiant effort by Bear Creek Rescue's Carolyn Jordan, doctors at the University of Missouri with support from generous NGPR donors, could not stop the inevitable. Oliver was PTS on November 24. Two weeks later the next emergency call came in about Kodiak (right) in Ohio, who was caught in a trap resulting in injuries to both front legs and a partially severed paw. 
Kodiak Marcie Tepper of Michigan Pyr Rescue and Candace Bright of NJ's Gentle Giants worked together to save him but his injuries were too devastating and Kodiak was lost on December 12. The photo of his sweet face was taken the night he was PTS. A week later, a call came from Tennessee to Andee Anderson of Mid-South Great Pyrenees Rescue about a young Pyr who had been hit by a car and left in a ditch. Andee contacted National Pyr 
Jack Frostfor support with what could be a large medical bill to save the dog who was dubbed Jack Frost (left). A generous benefactor agreed to cover his initial vetting to get him immediate medical help. Jack was stabilized and Candace Bright of Gentle Giants took Jack into her rescue for orthopedic surgery. The last trauma call came once again from Tennessee at noon on a Friday, one week before Christmas, about another Pyr with a severely injured/infected foot that was caught in a trap. The infection was spreading and the dog needed rescue ASAP. When National Pyr called we found that that the dog was on a stray hold until the following Wednesday—with only an antibiotic and Rimadyl for pain relief prescribed and no treatment for the injury. The message started a chain of phone calls and e-mails that resulted in an exception being made by the shelter to release the dog to a local vet's for treatment. Andee and Candace teamed up to get Nanook from the vet's and then to a foster so he could be transported and assessed for additional orthopedic work. Emergency and orthopedic medical care is expensive, and National Pyr wants to ensure that these emergency cases can continue to get the help they need. You can donate here to see that it does.
