Hello everyone!
I decided to create this newsletter as a blog post because it is easier for me to share videos this way. Here we go!
Dogs currently in rescue: 9 25 LGDs on the ranch total
7/1/24 - Tucker – 2-yr old Akbash – sanctuary dog
7/1/24 - Roo – 3-yr old Anatolian cross (13 breeds!) – needs a pet home
7/26/24 - Porthos (3 yrs old) and Tavros (4 yrs old) – sanctuary dogs
11/26/24 - Augie & Solero – 1 yr old old Maremma brothers
1/25/25 - Moe, Rosie, and Minnie – adult experienced working dogs. Moe is a 3-year-old Maremma/GP/Akbash/Kangal cross. Rosie is a 3-yr old purebred Anatolian. Minnie is the 2 yr old offspring of these two dogs, a product of an accidental pregnancy
Current financial status
Costs from November 28 to January 31 - $1145.40; $1045.40 were veterinary costs, and $100 were feed costs.
Donations in this period: $2960 (amazing and so welcome!) These funds were donated by 13 people and ranged from $25 to $500; every bit of this helps!
Also of note is that my biggest single contributor, not listed in the figure above, is my veterinarian Dr. Tami Rogers through the generous discount she provides to the rescue. She donated her time and skill in performing the eye surgery Solero needed, only charging me for her costs for the supplies. This was her compassionate response in offering Solero freedom from the pain this eyelid had caused him since his eyes opened as a pup. She has been the wind beneath my wings for my dogs for many years; I am so fortunate to have her in my life.
Current debt: I am still adjusting this figure, in part because I am trying to decide how much of it I can consider my donation to my rescue.
New news for me
I have had some health challenges; internal medicine stuff. I was mostly housebound, other than doing minimal ranch chores, for three weeks and then was admitted to the hospital for seven days. I have a fairly major surgery scheduled for 2/13. This has been a scary time and my husband has pushed hard for me to stop the rescue and to part with some dogs. I was admitted into the hospital from the ER, so there was no time to prepare the ranch for someone to take on all my chores; it is a VERY big ask! I understand his concern and I considered his request.
My compromise is to slow down a little until my health situation has stabilized. My ranch helper is Becca; she is my daughter-in-law and lives here on the ranch. She has been my husband’s equine vet tech for many years and is currently a small animal vet tech as well. With her blessing, since the emergency situations fall to her to handle, the rescue will go on. Because of the debt my rescue still carries I will not take on dogs who need to be spayed or neutered until the rescue has forward funds to handle that. Per Becca’s request, I will not take on any more aggressive dogs, such as Annie was and Tucker still can be when he is frightened.
My goals
I am committed to getting better at contributing to social media and keeping everyone interested involved in what is happening here at the ranch with the rescue dogs. I tend to have big goals about that so I “wait” until I have time to do something splashy, instead of posting brief and frequent updates. I am going to challenge myself to do more of those WHILE I aspire to splashy projects. Stay tuned and feel free to hold me to this goal! I will do a better job of uploading videos to the rescue YouTube channel beginning today.
Success stories!
I have decided to adopt JB (Jackson Brown) myself. He is as close to a perfect working LGD as a dog could be, other than the considerations because of his bilateral hip dysplasia. He will require careful management and costs as he ages, and I am up to that task. He is also an exceptional partner for one of my beloved aged LGDs Cameo; she is 9 years old and lost her lifetime partner about a year ago. She became despondent. I offered her many partner options, but the only one she has connected with truly is JB, so she gets to keep him.
Ernie was adopted by a graduate of my Novice to Expert course in January and placed with a female Maremma partner I had here for training. Ernie is an incredible dog in every way; Easter, his partner, is challenging, and I thank Collin for being willing to take on this responsibility. Ernie was an owner surrender, with a donation to the rescue at that time and Collin made a donation to the rescue when he adopted him, so Ernie was not financially costly to the rescue. Mostly what Ernie needed while he was here, in addition to being neutered, was minimal training and the time to stay safe and be productive while his new forever home was found. It was my honor to provide that to him.
Individual dog updates
Tucker is still without a partner, since he lost Annie, but seems to be adjusting well. I don’t have a bouncy female LGD for him to play with right now, but I move him around the ranch a bit to challenge him. He is a dog who appreciates a consistent environment, rather than a variety of changing situations around him, so I keep that in mind.
Roo is doing well as an outside dog, rather than as the couch pet she is better suited to be. She has an established spot on the ranch that she likes where she shares a fence line with other LGDs who will play with her. She has become a bit round! I will work on that. I would love to find her a pet home but I feel that is unlikely due to her special needs and my lack of pet contacts.
Porthos and Tavros have life by the tail. I believe they are truly happy on my ranch and that is a delight to see every single day!
Auggie & Solero have changed so much. Their first five weeks here were hard on them; their changed life was enough of a challenge, but they also had surgery and dealt with the necessary confinement that prevented them from playing with each other. I took advantage of this time to work on gate manners and feet on the ground. The boys have become much less desperate for attention and are a pleasure to be around. They have been reliable with my cows and a little more environmentally confident.
My training goals with them include teaching them they can feel safe on a leash as they move around the property. From there, the next steps will be working with the sheep and then the goats. These dogs have good minds. When they move past anxiety, they are slow and calm.
Moe, Rosie, and Minnie were well-loved working dogs in their previous home. Health issues of the owner forced the sale of their livestock and then the re-homing of the dogs. They are well-socialized with people but have rarely been on a leash, so I will be working on that while they are here. Once I am healed enough to manage big dogs, I will begin asking them my questions about sheep and goats.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/824901619597097 Rescue group
https://www.youtube.com/@WorkingLGDRescueSanctuary YouTube page
Working LGD Rescue & Sanctuary
Cindy Benson 720 Pelton Lane, Gold Hill, OR 97525 541-855-5503 Cindy@bensonranch.com
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