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Today was the “puppy parade” at Emeritus~~Everyone that works Pet therapy there brought their dogs, some residents had their dogs brought from home to join in the festivities. A big circle of smiling residents, all of us walked past and walked around~~ the dogs accepted lovin’~~Schipperke dogs all the way up to the Great Danes were in attendance.~~Denny and Cody represented the Great Pyrenees breed.
Next was the “parade” to the memory care unit, then on to the outside for a short walk in the fresh air~~Back inside were doggie treats and bowls of water~~
lots of smiles wee in evidence.
On to Home Depot for a couple of items, Denny and Cody in tow~~( it took a while to get the thing that we needed because people kept stopping us )
On the way to the van, an elderly gentleman stopped us~~” are those Great Pyrenees ?~ “yes”
~”I thought so , My sister has 3 Every night, the goats are rounded up into a circle, the dogs lay on the outside of the circle looking in different directions all night “~~
“Yeah, the coyotes are getting bad around here and Her dogs can fly~~~anyone that has never been around one of these dogs has any idea of how fast they can move, all they see are these lazy/laid back/slow moving animals with a lot of fur”~~
So, I’m standing there listening to this man, My grin is getting bigger~~this man knows the dog, He knows what He is talking about.
Sharon W. can tell you how fast they move~~She’s seen it first-hand~~~~~~~I can tell you that it is approx. 100 yards from My back deck to my back perimeter fence~
~My dogs can be dead asleep, ( supposedly ), on the back deck, hear something, jump straight up in the air, jump over the steps leading down to the sidewalk, and be at the back fence in 4 seconds~~
~these guys were bred to be the guardians of sheep~~What will spook faster than a sheep ?Nothing ! so the dog had to be slow moving/calm/laid back
~ predators hunt at night ,meal time is best in the dark~~so a dog was needed that would move slow/conserve energy/catch up on sleep during the day~~Guess who wakes up at night and is on guard, fresh and ready to tackle anything~~
~Don’t forget , these guys were bred 3000 years ago as guardians to kill wolves/bears/etc..
and yet, the shepherds took them home to visit and protect the family. From the smallest child to the woman of the house.
I told someone once that I felt that these dogs were the ultimate Jekyll/Hyde transformation. I still believe it ~~