The Great Pyrenees Rescue of Western NC also operates as a sanctuary for Great Pyrenees who need long-term care. Some are older. Some have medical or behavioral needs. Some simply need a safe place where they can stay for the rest of their lives. Here they receive food, shelter, medical care, patience and love—and they are welcome to stay as long as they need us.
The dogs here at the rescue wrote a “poem” for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I Am a Sanctuary Dog
I came to this place because, well, nobody wanted me.
I’m not sure why.
It could have been lots of reasons.
I drool too much.
I bark all night.
I shed. A LOT.
I like to explore the neighborhood.
Maybe I growled at someone.
Maybe I even bit someone.
I got bigger than they expected.
I got sick, and vets are expensive.
Maybe it just didn’t work out.
I was a cute puppy—maybe too cute.
Then I grew up.
I like to chew things.
I don’t care much about catching a ball or playing Frisbee.
But I was loyal.
I was protective.
I loved them.
They said they loved me.
Then one day, I didn’t have a home anymore.
I don’t really understand why.
But I’m glad there was a place for me.
He took me in anyway.
I still drool. He doesn’t care.
I still shed. He brushes me.
I chew things. He laughs.
I dig holes in the yard.
He fills them back in.
If I wander, he comes looking for me.
He bought me a collar and put my name on it.
Then he put his phone number on it, too.
He gave me a microchip, just in case I ever get lost.
We’re supposed to be the guardians.
But sometimes I think he’s the one guarding us.
When the stairs got hard for me, he built me a ramp.
He feeds us.
He takes care of us when we’re sick.
He spends his time with us.
And he said something I’ve heard before:
“You can stay here as long as you want.”
I’ve heard that before.
But this time…
I think he means it.
So I am a Sanctuary Dog.
I may be old.
I may be difficult.
I may have made mistakes.
I may need more than most dogs do.
But I am still a Great Pyrenees.
I am still worthy of kindness.
I am still worthy of care.
I am still worthy of love.
And now I know something I wasn’t sure I would ever know again.
I am home.
For some dogs, rescue isn’t the journey to another home.
Rescue is becoming their home.
In Memory of Our Sanctuary Dogs
Some stayed with us for months. Some stayed for years. They came here needing a safe place to land, and they remained part of our family for the rest of their lives.
Buddy — The Sheriff
The dog who was there at the beginning.
Buddy’s story almost ended before ours really began.
He was a six-year-old Great Pyrenees named Benny, surrendered to a shelter in Georgia and scheduled to be put to sleep. We learned about him with very little time left.
The last day was spent on the phone trying to save him.
We made it.
When Lori and I went to Georgia to bring him home, Buddy looked sad and defeated. But something began to change after just a few hours, some food, and a little love.
On the long ride home from Georgia, this enormous Great Pyrenees rode in Lori’s lap.
Benny became Buddy.
And Buddy became our first official rescue.
None of us could have known where that first rescue would lead. In the years that followed, hundreds of Great Pyrenees would come through our doors.
Buddy was here for so many of them.
He watched frightened dogs arrive. He watched them learn that they were safe. He watched them become themselves again. And he watched them leave for families of their own.
Buddy stayed.
Around here, he eventually earned a title:
The Sheriff.
He watched over the rescue, the dogs, and all the changes happening around him.
Buddy was more than one of our Sanctuary Dogs. He was part of the history of this rescue. He was here when it began, and he was here as it became something far bigger than we ever imagined.
A dog who once had only hours left became a dog who helped welcome hundreds of others to safety.
Buddy was the first.
And he will always be part of this place.