Featured Animal

Vader
Great Pyrenees (long coat)

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After more than 5 years here, Gabriel has made a lot of progress in his socialization. He has gone from being aggressive to ALL humans, to trusting his caretaker while remaining aggressive toward others, to now being cautious but somewhat curious about most people. But he's still aggressive to everyone except his caretaker any time there's either a new birth on the ranch, or a sick/injured animal that he feels the need to protect. And even at 8+ years old, Gabriel still goes over the fence easily, so we decided that all things considered, we couldn't in good conscience allow him to be adopted, because we couldn't promise that he wouldn't be a bite or escape risk. And in all honesty, we've grown attached to him even though he can be a challenging dog to manage. So like many others, Gabriel will live out his life at Windsong Ranch, which has been his home for well over half his life. He will always have a job as long as he wants to work, a soft bed in the barn if that's what he prefers, and people who love him as much as he's willing to allow us to do.

Original Adoption Bio

Gabriel is a stunningly handsome male with one blue eye and one brown eye. He came from an extreme hoarding case in Arizona where the adult dogs had been left in the field and not socialized with people. Gabriel was the alpha male of the group. All of these dogs were fearful of people in the beginning, and Gabriel was so aggressive that he had to be tranquilized just to be brought in to the shelter. He's still not comfortable on a leash, but at least he DOES walk now rather than fight it. He wags his tail and does the puppy play-bow, so we know he WANTS to trust us. It's just that people haven't given him much reason to trust in the past.

Gabriel is a fierce livestock guardian, and is especially protective of babies of any kind, whether it's a tiny Nigerian Dwarf goat kid or a longhorn bull calf. He can be aggressive with people that he doesn't know, so his adopter will need to be a strong leader, committed to taking the time necessary to earn his trust and help him grow into a more socialized dog.

During his time with us, Gabriel has shown a real aversion to being inside the house, so please don't think that this is a dog you will adopt and turn into a couch potato. He's also a dog who requires special handling for trips to the vet. He will get in our van willingly and rides well. But once we get to the vet's office, we typically muzzle him for everyone's safety. If we need to do anything invasive -- even something as simple as a thorough ear-cleaning, we usually sedate him so the vet and vet techs can work without worry that he will react negatively.

Gabriel is available ONLY to a working home with an adopter who has experience with unsocialized dogs.  He also requires secure fencing that is AT LEAST 5' tall. He can go over 5' tall fencing, so if you live on smaller acreage, you either need fencing taller than 5', invisible fence inside the physical fence, or you need to live in an area that is sparsely populated, because it would not be safe for him to go over your fence and engage with neighbors.