A Family Fit For A King

It was late afternoon on a brisk day in early December 2013; I was down at the barn working through my evening chores. Natasha's second litter was six weeks old and roaming around the area with the cats and hens. 

Pyrenees instinctively protect livestock, but they do have to be trained with poultry. I would always let the puppies out at this age so they could have exposure to the chickens. This helps the new families not have to start from square one when they get their pup home.

Daily I get the dogs out of their field and walk them around the farm. This may sound silly since they are in a huge area all day guarding sheep, but that's the very reason. Working dogs need a break too. I've found my girls do a better job guarding and working their pastures if they get some bonding time. I also use these excursions to praise them and brush their thick undercoats.

It was Nicky's turn to walk. Nicky is Natasha's litter mate, and the two of them together are an incredible guarding team. Nicky is aggressive like Natasha - not to people, just animal intruders, but she is not high on the activity meter. Nic is comfortable sitting on her rump all day overseeing the sheep, and leaving the patrolling work to Natasha. But God help a predator that enters her field. Nicky and Natasha are the reason I can raise sheep and goats.

When I got Nicky out of the gate and put her on the leash, I realized I had left the meat bucket out.  In the fall and winter, some of my friends that deer hunt drop off bones and meat scraps for the dogs. It's beyond helpful when you have large breed mouths to feed.

Before I knew it, Nic buried her nose inside of the bucket and grabbed a bone. Apparently she thought one of the puppies was too close to her food and nipped him. It happened so fast. When the older dogs are training the pups they'll do this, but also to any animals that get too close to their food. I don't feed them together for this reason - just to be on the safe side. The pup seemed to whipper a little longer than the pups usually do when they get corrected, and Nicky was a bit vicious about it.  

When I picked him up to check on him, he turned his small, furry face toward me revealing one eye hanging out of the socket. "Ayyyyyy!" I yelled. "Nicky, you hurt him!"  I somehow got her back in her field through the gate with one hand - bone still in her mouth while reaching in my pocket for my cell phone so I could call an emergency vet. 

It was Saturday evening, so I knew Dr. Watkins wouldn't be available. 

I zoomed us up to the house from the barn in the ATV. I reached in the backdoor for my keys and purse, set the injured pup on the front seat beside me and skidded out the driveway. Now securely on our way, I could start the process of beating myself up. "How could I have left that bucket out?' "Why didn't I put it back in the Ranger?" "What was I thinking?"  I continued this reprimanding mingled with puppy prayers until I turned into the vet parking lot. All the while the little pup sat perfectly still in his seat.  He never once tried to touch his eye - what a trooper, I thought.

When I walked in the clinic, the waiting room was full, the receptionist immediately jumped up and ran around her desk whisking the puppy out of my arms and into a back room. I stood by her desk and could see through a small window that she handed him to someone else who held him out and then also hurried away with him. The receptionist then came back and led me into a side room. "The vet will be right with you," she said, kindly.

I was so nervous and scared. All I wanted was for the little puppy to be okay. I had never had anything like this happen before, and I  had always prayed over the puppies that God would bring just the right family to them.

  

I didn't know what his future held, and it worried me. When the young vet entered the room, he said, "I've never seen a Great Pyrenees puppy that young - how old he is, three days?" Oh, awesome, he's joking, that's a good sign, I thought to myself. 

I explained to him what had happened, about Nicky nipping him, although nip didn't seem like the right word anymore. I told him it was totally my fault. "Please don't blame yourself," the vet said, "sometimes things just happen." In that moment, I really needed to hear that. 

He proceeded to inform me of the game plan. He said that on initial examination the eye didn't seem to sustain any other injuries, but they would know more after surgery. They would operate and carefully place the eye back into it's socket.  He wanted to warn me that they would have to shave his head and once the eye was in place it would have to be sutured shut so the swelling wouldn't cause it to protrude back out. He would have a recovery process that they would go over with me and make sure I fully understood before I left.

When I went back out into the waiting room, it occurred to me that I didn't change out of my work clothes. I still had on my boots and dirty jeans, probably smeared with manure. I decided to head out for some dinner since it would be at least two hours he said.

Once back at the clinic, I was surprised that the waiting was still so full of people and pets. After about thirty minutes, an older vet came out carrying my puppy. Even with the explanation from the former vet, I was in no way prepared for his appearance. His little fluffy head was shaved and bruised, and his eye was indeed sown shut and swollen. He was wearing a huge cone of shame that seemed the size of a satellite dish. 

I heard gasps coming from some of the other dog moms. It seemed like from every person sitting in that waiting room was watching us. I wished they would have just gone back to reading their magazines while I spoke with the vet, all eyes were on us.  Honestly, I would have been watching and listening too. 

The vet gently handed me the puppy. He was as kind as the younger vet before him. "He did great throughout the surgery," he said, "but we won't really know the complete outcome for ten days." He went over the whole regimen with me; there would be antibiotics, pain killers, and salve to be administered. I could only take the collar off for him to eat and drink - he could never be permitted to touch his eye. In ten days, I was to take him to my vet, Dr. Watkins, and she would remove the stitches and evaluate the eye. He seemed genuinely interested in my sheep and Great Pyrenees and how they guarded livestock.

Up unto this point, I had heard numerous horror stories about emergency vet visits, but my visit that night was wonderful in light of the situation. The staff could not have been more compassionate to me and my sweet pup. And the care he received was immediate and thorough. God had made a way for us, and I would have to trust him now to bring us across the finish line with the right family. 

"You'll have to keep him, though," the vet said. "You won't be able to sell him, and besides he's special."  

My eyes filled up with tears because I already had five Pyrenees at the time. I was stretched, and besides my fields were covered. I had always prayed over the puppies for the right home. Great Pyrenees were bred to guard livestock plus they came with large breed challenges. I knew this little boy pup was no different - God would provide a home. I still cried as I left the clinic that night.

Once we got back to the farm, I pulled out my largest crate and lined it with soft blankets. I placed the little puppy inside. After such a long ordeal and still full of medication, he fell into a deep sleep for the whole night.

In the morning, we began a new routine that would continue over the next ten days. I administered his meds and salve, and supervised him constantly without his cone. Natasha had been in the process of weening the litter, so I drove him down to the barn for her to feed.

When I sat him down the first time, she rubbed her nose all over him. "I know, Natasha, I'm so sorry, my bad, my very, bad." Once he was free of the cone, she held perfectly still while he clumsily nursed her. She knew. 

In the next few days, the pup made the transition to puppy mash. He was such a delight to have inside of the house. He was a perfect little patient. I realized during this time as he finished up the pain medicine that he wasn't groggy so much from the meds, that was just his nature. A laid back, easy going boy. 

After ten days, I took him to Dr. Watkins. She removed the stitches, but said she could not evaluate the eye until the next visit. She said that she wanted the eye to just be an eye for a week, and then she would examine it. The swelling had gone down and his fur was growing back and the bruises were fading.

I wondered about a forever home.   

One week later, Dr. Watkins gave me and my sweet boy the thumbs up. His eye had healed. He would have a kind of lens over it like he was wearing sunglasses, but he could still see out of it. To celebrate we went through a fast food drive thru on the way home and had a picnic in the grass sharing a sandwich and cup of water. I was in love with this puppy.

After that I decided I would let him walk along side Natasha when I took her for her daily walk. To my surprise, this little puppy kept up with her the whole way - I never had to carry him once.  And it was the same thing every day that we walked. This little puppy could do the distance.

Something had been stirring in my mind. 

Some close friends had contacted me a couple of months prior, waning to bring their four year old daughter out to see the animals and find out if they were a good fit for a Great Pyrenees.  

They had an unusual situation. Dan the husband worked at a 500 acre wilderness camp, and he wondered if a Pyrenees could go to work with him and guard the base camp and visitors, accompanying group hikes and hanging out with campers. He and the dog would then go back home at night to his wife Ashley and daughter Izze. We talked about them being 'great' candidates for a Great Pyrenees.

I had been thinking that they had a unique situation - and he was a unique puppy! 

He had his mother's endurance and activity level, and with Dan being an avid biker and outdoorsman along with his camp job, he would need a dog that could keep up with him. And this little guy could certainly do that. But the puppy lacked his mom's aggression and instead had his dad Atlas's teddy bear nature which was perfect because he wouldn't be guarding livestock but people!  The only hitch was the family needed to wait a year they said to prepare.

Well, all I could do was message them and see what happened. Two days after Christmas, I sent both Dan and Ashley a message explaining the puppy's journey and the special qualities he possessed that I thought would be perfect for their family.  I also said that I knew they weren't ready and there was no pressure at all.  One more thing I told them, "I have to be honest with you both - I am very attached to him and the fact that I know your family so well and would get to see him grow up is a factor. Just so you know."

The pup lay sleeping at my feet. "I've got my fingers crossed for you, little man."

They messaged back right away and thanked me for considering them and asked it they could pray and think it over for a week. "Of course, after all a Pyrenees is a "big" decision." I told them both to please call me with all their questions, and they did. Pyrenees come with a boat full of love, but also a boat full of challenges. If you're not up for these, it could be more dog than a family can handle. I appreciated all the homework they put into the decision.

After one week, I received word from Dan and Ashley almost simultaneously. It was a resounding "Yes, we want him!" Once they had made the decision, I could feel the excitement through their messages. They wanted to know if they could come get him the very next day - and they were surprising their daughter, Izze. She didn't know. 

I received a second message from Dan, and in it he said, "We have been discussing a name. We want something strong, but friendly, so we are calling him, 'King'." Words couldn't describe how happy I was.

The next day we spent some time in my living room hashing through some more questions and catching up on things while Izze played with her new bodyguard and best friend. I really did have to fight back the tears of joy when I thought about my little, hurt puppy at the animal hospital, not knowing his fate, wanting only the best for him. 

When we walked outside, I snapped a picture of them with King, then Dan set him down and said, "Come on, King, we're going home." King started following his new family, but all of a sudden he stopped and looked back at me. My heart ached for just a second. "That's right King - you're going with them now. You're going to have a great life."

The beautiful thing about King's story is that not only did he find the family he needed, but he found the family that needed him.

He found a family fit for a King. 

💜🐾

 
King has brought amazing delight to his new family and countless campers, bikers, hikers, and even homesick kids. Recently when Dan was being interviewed for a new mountain adventure job he told his prospective boss there was a deal breaker - he had to be able to bring his dog to work with him. The boss said, "Yes."

It's hard not to say "yes" to King.

And I have indeed had the pleasure of receiving pictures and updates and watching King grow from a little, injured puppy into a majestic Great Pyrenees with his forever family.   

One day when the Lucas Family were all at home back when they lived near a busy street, Izze noticed that King was barking in a way he had never barked before. She called for her mom who promptly went to check on him in the back yard. He was barking while standing up on the fence focused at the street. Ashley noticed a small girl about the age of a toddler walking down the sidewalk toward the traffic. She ran and grabbed her before she could enter the street. King saved her life.

King passed away July 10, 2024 after spending ten and a half years guarding and loving and being loved by the Lucas family and many others. He had a full, wonderful, and adventurous life! I'm beyond grateful.

Dan, King, Ashley, & Izze
  Sometimes I don't think I have thanked your family enough for loving King.

This was taken of King and some children visiting Dan's mountain adventure shop.  He tells me people come in often just to see King.

Mama Natasha and King as a pup