When Marquis died, I thought I didn’t want a dog for several weeks, but, it is summer, and I’m home more (so Jim isn’t entirely in charge of doggie daycare), and Jacob said he’d like us to get a dog while he’s home, and Clarence cannot be left alone. Jim and I, having been through so many health and behavioral problems with rescue dogs (although some, like Chester, George, and Marquis, were fine) thought we might reward ourselves for almost thirty years of rescue with one dog from a reputable breeder. That would take months.
And, I thought, we could look.
Because Clarence can get grumpy with other dogs, we were clear we needed a puppy. We planned out a day of looking at puppies—there were four sites that we found had adoptions going on. So, Jacob, Jim, and I planned out our route and, as we were heading out, the idea came up of stopping off at Phydeaux (a nearby independently owned pet store). They often have adoption events on weekends, and they might have good advice for where we should go (or if there are reputable backyard breeders in the area—a true unicorn). We walked in and there were some people with puppies!
They were all small breeds—way too small for Clarence (who genuinely doesn’t know what his back end is doing). We told the person in charge that our fifteen year old dog had died the previous week, that we are good with big dogs, and that we couldn’t take a little one because we had a rescue mastiff at home. And she pulled out her phone and showed us an Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix that was, at that point on the south side of Austin. Each of us looked at the picture, looked at each other, and then looked at the woman. She persuaded us to fill out an adoption form immediately, called that location, discovered there was someone there who wanted the puppy, and said, “Tell them they’re fallback.”
She wanted us to have that puppy. So, we filled out the form, and she was talking about how she could get us the dog today if we had proof of various things (such as our dogs’ being spayed or neutered). And we drove to the south of Austin, and went into the store that had Pearl, and explained we were the people Theresa (who turned out to be the owner of that location) had called about. And we held her, and, yeah, that was that.
She showed up at that moment; we promised to send her the proof; she delivered Pearl a couple of hours later. And she hung out (I still wish I had invited her to have tea, coffee, a glass of wine, or something—she’s awesome). But I kept wondering, Pearl is adorable—why did she decide so quickly that we should have this dog?
She told us that Pearl came from Lockhart (Austin is so good about no-kill that various rescue groups draw from other cities), and that ranchers in that area really like the Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix because they’re great guard dogs for cattle or goats. And, she said, that’s what Pearl is. She knew this because, first, she’s seen a lot of dogs like this (they don’t spay or neuter their dogs in that area), and, second, Pearl was found in the area that has a lot of Anatolian Pyrenees.
But, still, why was she so certain we were the right owners for this puppy? When we saw Pearl, there was another person who wanted her. She’s adorable. Anyone walking into that store would want her. Why us?
So, today, I looked up Anatolian Pyrenees, and I think I figured out why she immediately decided we were the owners for this dog. Information about that mix says:
“[T]hey are not suitable dogs for inexperienced dog owners. You need to have a lot of patience to effectively train an Anatolian Pyrenees… Dog owners who don’t have a lot of experience controlling this dog’s powerful instincts should just go for another breed. Anatolian Pyrenees dogs are not casual pets. They are dominant, self-reliant dogs who will try to manage everyone and everything unless you are an assertive leader who knows how to instill respect… The Anatolian Pyrenees is a hybrid of two very energetic dogs. If you keep the Anatolian Pyrenees in a fenced-in yard at any time, be sure that the fence is at least six feet high… Owners of Anatolian Pyrenees must socialize the dogs to turn them into well-behaved companions. Even though they are intelligent and independent, they can still choose not to obey.”
We told her we have a rescue mastiff. We said one of us works from home.
Well, this will be an interesting journey.
YAY! my mama has a GP/Anatolian named Bella. She is a rescue and yes, it was a VERY bumpy ride but now she’s the best. I call her ‘Large Marge’
My mother-in-law had two Great Pyrenees. They were such loveable, terribly furry, small horses. They were great with Cristopher and his cousins when they were toddlers. Pearl looks utterly adorable.