/ Jason Weisberger / 8:49 pm Mon Apr 22, 2013

Nemo, Found.

Welcome home, Nemo!

Today the fine folks at Great Pyrenees Rescue of Northern California placed Nemo in my family. Happily filling the Calliope-sized hole in my heart with this very large, extremely joyful young guy.

Sometime in early January an abandoned Great Pyr gave birth to a litter of seven. They were found a few days later and made their way to GPRNC. A few of them, Nemo included, got extremely ill and had to be nursed back to health. A good friend of mine recently adopted an adult from this awesome rescue and shared their story. Knowing my canine situation, she recommended I talk to them.

So I spoke with Debi at GPRNC! We determined that a Great Pyrenees was right for me and that there might be one in the litter who was a personality match. I drove out to Placerville as soon as I could! Naturally, I fell in love with the puppy in two seconds flat.

I was also super impressed with the dog rescue. Debi and Randy Carpadus do an amazing job. Their lives revolve around these animals, and in the few weeks I've been watching they've rescued and placed a number of dogs in great homes. Their work is endless but you can hear, in every word, how much they love each dog they help. They are also joined by a very large and dedicated team of volunteers, its quite amazing!

In a stroke of awesome serendipity the young guy just happens to be named Nemo, which is what I would have named him! Nemo has long been my favorite name for a boy dog! (I've only had one other boy dog, Carter, who was named in response to a brother-in-law's awesome pup Reagan.) I think my new pal and I are going to watch 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea tonight.

Nemo is fantastic. He's settled in, in a matter of hours, treating the place as if he's always been here. His tail never stops wagging. He wants to be pet. He's quietly entertaining himself, chewing away at a bone as I type this, stopping every few moments and looking up to see if I want to play.

I do.

Thanks again to everyone at the Great Pyrenees Rescue of Northern California and my good friend Nadine!

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      1. a few months after we got our big guy last year (rehomed from a family that couldn’t keep him), we took a photo like yours. he was 6mos and 35lbs then.  now he’s 19mos and 75+.  my back nearly goes out if i have to try and pick him up for anything.

        we fostered a dog for a bit this fall, and they got along too well. #fosterfail and we got out dog his own puppy.  thankfully the second one is topping out at around 10lbs.  

        I went for a low-premium + high-deductible insurance for both.  it costs around 250/yr, and doesn’t really cover any routine care or issue.  but if they eat a tennis ball , get hit by a car, etc — instead of paying 3k , it”ll be around $300.  across the board,  pet insurance is pretty crappy…  but with it,  i won’t go broke keeping our guys around – and that’s important, because i’d totally do that for them.

    2.  Totally! We paid about $4000 last winter to get our cat’s back legs fixed after he got run over. Up until then I’d thought pet insurance was a slightly ridiculous idea.

      1. This is why I don’t have pet insurance (I have 2 whippets). I don’t want to subsidise other peoples’ $4000 cat treatments. (I know I’m being a dick).

        4.  Somebody has no clue how insurance companies work and where the money really comes from…

    3. Get pet insurance if the cost of treating your pet’s health issues would cripple you financially. Or if you are very risk averse. But otherwise, keep your money because on average it will cost you more to be insured (obviously, otherwise insurance companies would never make money).

  2. What a beauty!
    Dogs are great!
    If you were here in Portland we could have him in the Pets of Portland book.(www.petsofportland.org) that is raising funds for DoveLewis Animal Hospital.I’ve photographed 40+ animals in just over a month for it so far!  I have two labs, and had a minor issue with my 12 year old black lab (Jake) this week, he took an unauthorized hike and had to be bodily hauled home: 

     It was a hoot!

  4. We used to have one when I was a kid.  Once he’s full grown, children are going to be very curious about your polar bear.  Congrats!

    below is my girl, Cop Dog.

  6. Awesome! My dog is also a rescue called Nemo (hence my user name, a combination of my dog and my first motorbike’s model). Mine came from Battersea Dog’s home in London he emigrated to Canada with us 9 years ago. He’s 16.5 and still going strong. Remember – strive to be the person your dog thinks you are!

  7. Oh one more thing, since I notice you’re in Northern CA. I took my Nemo to SF and learned an important lesson. Walk with the contours until he’s taken a crap or you’ll end up chasing a turd down one of those ridiculous hills wondering how you’re going to stop it when you catch it! (true story)

  9. I look at that dog breed and think, ‘Yarn!’  If you are interested, you can collect the hair when you brush him out and have it spun into yarn, and then knit into hats, sweaters, whatever.

      1. Nope, Coloradoan and winter is still here (dammit!).  It’s been snowing since yesterday, just as last week’s 14″ had mostly melted off and there was hope of seeing spring. 

        Domesticated dog hair is one of the oldest sources of spun fiber.  Great Pyrenees are really hairy dogs and their hair makes for nice yarn.  I made the suggestion remembering the post about the beloved little dog lost.  Spinning a canine friend’s hair into yarn and knitting an item like a hat or sweater, is a way to remember and keep close the comfort and companionship of that beloved pooch (or several of them).  It could be made of pure dog hair, but it’s usually mixed in with a wool like merino; no one would know there was dog hair in the blend too.  I’ve been spinning for years; I’d be happy to do that for Jason. 

        We’ve had three Schnauzers and now, a Schnoodle.  I have maybe three ounces altogether I’ll eventually blend, spin, and knit into a hat for my husband.

          1. We’re also talking about fictional characters and fictional wolves, just for grins.  Your point?

  13. I have been owned by many newfs (roughly speaking, like a black Great Pyr), and you are making me want another RIGHT NOW…even though I don’t have the room, money or time to manage that at this point in my life. POST LOTS OF PUPPY PICS so I can enjoy this second hand, pls!

  14. We took in a couple of Great Pyrenees./Border Collie mixes about a year ago.  One is very Great Pyrenees, big white and fluffy, and the other is slim and tan similar to a Border Collie.  You would never guess they were litter mates.  The big one thinks, err.. is a lap dog.  They are great dogs, actually all dogs are great.

  15. Congratulations on your new owner!!

    We’ve always had rescues too, but never a Great Pyr or such: I make a point of never getting a dog over about 50 pounds because I feel it’s important that I *can* carry the dog if necessary.

    About a week after bringing our previous dog home, we were out with friends walking our dogs in a huge park by a harbor along the lake.  Middle of winter, so the protected inlet area had a sheet of ice with about an inch of open water along the edges where the ice sheet bumped up against the concrete walls.  Our dog sees a pack of geese and tears my arm half out of its socket racing after them.  Literally follows them off the bridge (OMG, I still get palpitations just thinking about it) and lands 10 feet down on the ice sheet.  So there I am, walking out on a totally-not-safe ice sheet getting a dog who barely knows me to come so I can carry him up the rusty ladder and then lift him OVER MY HEAD to the friends waiting at the top.

    That’s the most dramatic story, but believe me, over the years, there have been enough examples of needing to pick up our dog(s) for one reason or another that I feel justified in having that one requirement.  Well, that and being spayed/neutered, of course.  Know your limits!

  16. Great Pyrenees ftw! Remember they are guardians, they do best when they have a healthy relationship with something that they can look after. I recommend getting some backyard chickens. :

  19. We’re about an hour up the coast from you, and unless the fauna is significantly different down there 
    I’d suggest laying in a supply of skunk-off.  In my experience skunk attacks always occur when the local vets and pet supply stores are closed.  Home remedies involving peroxide are much more effective than the old tomato juice approach, but the commercial stuff is even better, is more convenient when you are in a real hurry, and is safer for the dog’s eyes.

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