In describing their appearance, the American Kennel Club states: The Great Pyrenees dog conveys the distinct impression of elegance and unsurpassed beauty combined with great overall size and majesty. He has a white or principally white coat that may contain markings of badger, gray, or varying shades of tan. He possesses a keen intelligence and a kindly, while regal, expression.
This is also a Great Pyrenees.
This dog conveys the distinct impression of sorrow and of being the victim of unsurpassed inhumanity and cruelty. He does not bear much fur; instead his skin is burned black by chemicals, mange, and the hot summer Arkansas sun. His skin is cracking like old leather, with blood and pus oozing from these lesions. His expression is anything but regal.
I have rescued for over 25 years. I have held emaciated dogs that were too weak to stand, begging them to eat just another mouthful of food. I have flushed wounds, changed dressings, medicated, wormed, and cared for 100's of Great Pyrenees. I have worked to heal the souls of dogs so abused that they piddled if you even looked at them, cowered behind furniture. I have treated mange, gone through Heartworm treatment with many dogs, and thought I had seen the worst that man was capable of inflicting on the animals in his care. I was wrong.
Have you ever driven past a dead animal at the side of the road? One that had been dead for some time? Where every bone and rib is visible, where the skeleton almost appears to be wrapped in a sort of black shrink-wrap of leather skin? What if that animal suddenly stood? Moved cautiously on spindly legs that bore no flesh, no muscle? What if the only thing to remind you that this was a living, suffering animal were eyes that beseeched you for the kindness of a gentle touch? This is Courage.
I opened the door to the vehicle carrying this Rescue, and two more in similar condition--another Great Pyrenees, and a little Brown Mix Puppy. I am shocked, and the tears course down my cheeks as I wrap my arms about them, babbling about never letting anyone hurt them again. Then the outstretched paw gently pets me, as this dog weakly tries to comfort me. Me! He tries to offer me comfort as my tears continue to flow.
How does so gentle an animal come to be in such a condition? Where was his protection? Where was the law?
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