Silk Road Rare Livestock Guardian Dog Breed Rescue

06/05/2024

The last week or two has been one of landmarks, sorrow, and worry but we've also helped a few dogs keep their homes and are working on some others. Watch for a post about a really (huge) good boy in the next day or so.

You all know about the loss of Duchess. It has hit us really hard as it was unexpected even though she was 10. We arraigned to have her cremated (due to circumstances here) and will be picking up her ashes sometime later this week.

The Pound Sterling Litter had their 6th birthday about 2 weeks ago. It's hard to believe that they are that old! Where has the time gone??? We've talked to the other owners and they are all doing amazing.

Siranoush the "Not-So-Wee Wee Floof" had her 2nd birthday last week and health-wise is doing great but we still have a lot of behavioral work to do with her, especially since she's still intact (for now. Health reasons). Shes coming into her full "pissy Ovcharka b*tch phases which is caused a few issues with the seniors (including Duchess, which contributed to that situation). Shes been schooled a few times by both Ludo and Bull so we will see if the lessons stick! lol

Simon was back at Black Oak Animal Hospital for followup blood work. The great news is he's gained wight and is now up to 107lbs, up from 95 last time and 89 the 1st visit, so that is good. He's now eating regularly again and has his energy back. The downside is his thyroid levels are still at the low end of normal (which is low for LGD breeds) so we have to double his meds and he will have more tests. His vet expenses are now over $1000 and will continue to climb.

We want to thank the 2 people that donated for food and bills when we last asked but sadly it wasn't enough and we've had to deplete the fence budget that was going for a larger exercise and training area. We really need help this with with dog food, cremation expenses (that you Ginger for starting off) , and vet bills. All donations are tax deductible. Please go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/

30/04/2024

Devastating news, at least for us and her fans. We are in shock as we lost Duchess J last night. She had turned 10 today (we misremembered her birthday). She had been under treatment for a skin infection while trying to figure out what else was going on internally, she had started to recover then crashed suddenly yesterday afternoon, and she passed in her sleep last night.

For those that don't remember or know about her, she basically dragged us back into rescue in 2015 when we were trying to take a break due to burnout after decades in rescue.

At the time we just had our own small crew and 2 GPRNC (Great Pyrenees Rescue of Northern CA, the org that Silk Road eventually spun off from) dogs that had bounced. I was contacted by a former GPRNC board member who alerted me to an LGD mix female that had been picked up by Stanislaus County authorities due to severe neglect (along with a Pit Bull) and was now at the vet in serious condition. The first picture below was the first we saw of her and we couldn't say no.

I was on my way down to see her the next day and what I saw shocked even me, and I've been in rescue and emergency service pretty much all my life. She weighed 45lbs including the rocks in her stomach, had 95% full-body mange and a very persistent yeast infection. Even though her skin was pretty much on fire, her stomach was hurting, and she was hungry (the vet had to start out with mostly fluids and limited food at first), when she was brought out of the care unit, she wagged her tail at me and wanted pets (which we could only do gloved up). Damned near broke me. This dog had been badly abused and neglected and still was wagging her tail!!!

The Oakdale Shelter Pet Allianceallainace arraigned to have her transported to us while we set up infectious disease protocols and alerted our vet at the time that we needed her seen right away and for multiple visits.

It took over a dozen over the next 6 weeks or so to get weight on her, for her to void the gravel, and to clear up the skin issues, then more work to get weight on her slowly. She also had a bit of an adventure a month or so later when she, in a hurry to eat, jumped off a 14ft high deck and suffering a cracked pelvis and green-stick fracture of a foreleg.

We had put so much work into her that we couldn't let her go, and she worked well with the others that had started to come in so she stayed. She helped us test out Omar when he came and fiercely defended us when there were issues with other rescues (She at 70lbs was going to kick 180lb Omar's butt one time for getting pissy with me! lol)

She was one of those rescues that had a piece of our hearts bigger than she was. We will miss her terribly. She will be cremated so that she will be with us always and we will see her again at the rainbow bridge.

Yol Bolson Duchy, may there always be a road (and plenty of dog biscuits)...,

27/04/2024

Well we are back at Black Oak Animal Hospital again. This was supposed to be Simon's follow up appointment (follow up blood work) but Duchess has suddenly stopped eating and also has a serious skin issue so she's here instead. Got to really worry about the seniors when things change suddenly.

For those that don't know or remember, Duchess, who is now coming up on 11 years old, is the former starvation and mange case that came to us 9 years ago when we were trying to take a break from rescuing and dragged us back in! 🤣

08/04/2024

Tanner, one of the Pound Sterling rescue litter, says "well if the goat is going to take my dog house during a surprise snow storm, I'm going to take the warm hay thank you! 🤣

03/04/2024

Well poor Simon's medical issues are still somewhat a mystery. After taking him in for swollen feet and a lump on his head about two months back he was diagnosed with Anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum.

It's usually easily treated with antibiotics, he appeared to respond well to the treatment and was gaining weight back that he had lost but never was 100% himself. Then he suddenly started losing weight again and was listless and his coat was getting rough so back to Black Oak Animal Hospital for more in depth tests.

Not only does he appear to still have Anaplasmosis for some reason, his thyroid is at the low end of normal, which we have found for LGDs to actually be below normal ie: Low Thyroid. We have seen this in multiple dogs and the testing companies are now even saying that if you have a low-normal test result and symptoms of low thyroid, which include things like temperament and coat changes, and weight loss, to treat it as such so Simon is back on a stronger dose of antibiotics and now on thyro-tabs. In addition he's being fed extra, as well as taking supplements for weight gain and to head off stomach issues. He also has some some issues with his urology tests but those could be related to everything else.

This set of visits, meds and tests has run us close to $800 all told so far (the big test is $220 by itself) and he has to go back for follow ups including more testing in the middle of the month. The clinic is under new ownership and no longer is able to bill us like before so we've had to pull the money out of the fence fund (we need to expand an area for the dogs to play and exercise in) so we need help with the bills. It's also dog food time again!

Please go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/ to see how you can help.

Thank You!

31/03/2024

Tanner, one of the Pound Sterling litter, decided that since it's cold and mucky out, and the twins (also rescues and part of the old LGD test/training crew) were being butt-heads and taking his dog house, he was going to get dry in their fresh hay! 🤣

30/03/2024

This is in Texas and is one reason we are adamant about spay/neuter. Read the entire post. https://www.facebook.com/groups/AkbashDogRescueNetwork/permalink/3654756464771810/?mibextid=Nif5oz

24/03/2024

An Angel has gained her wings. Silk Road's first rescue placement has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Angel, rescue name Xena, an approximately 4 y/o Anatolian cross girl, came to us by surprise in July of 2016. Locals here were posting about a chronically loose LGD and the owner said he was tired of her wandering and instead of fixing his fence, was going to shoot her.

We contacted him and were in the process of working out a solution when he suddenly showed up at our gate without notice, pretty much threw her out of the car and left, refusing even to sign the transfer paperwork! No leash, favorite food, treats, nothing. Dumped her and never looked back.

Lucky for her a personal friend of ours and rescue supporter was looking for a companion so within a few weeks she became Angel, moved to Minnesota and lead an amazing life as a house pet, property guard, occasional LGD at the family farm, and traveling companion, traveling across the country and having many adventures. She truly was an amazing dog.

She passed away this morning in her sleep at age 12. She will be missed terribly.

16/03/2024

A bit of a special needs dog. Not in our program

🍀💚Hi I’m Auggie, Is it my lucky day?💚🍀

Auggie is a neutered male 6 year old Great Pyrenees mix. This gentle giant seems to have had a rough life before landing in the shelter. He has some lumps, bumps, no tail and hair loss that is making a come back! If you can look past some of his “faults” (we think he’s perfect) he’s the sweetest marshmallow you’ll ever meet. He appears to enjoy the company of other dogs. If any other dogs are in the home we do recommend you bring them down to meet sweet Auggie. Adopt today!

Located at Solano County Animal Shelter (2510 Clay Bank Rd, Fairfield CA). Call 707-784-1356 with questions

16/03/2024

Ludo and the Floof getting some love. He's come such a long way and she's gotten so big (relatively lol).

15/03/2024

Back at Black Oak Animal Hospital with Simon again. He had been diagnosed with Anaplasmosis, which appeared to respond to treatment in that his swelling went away and he gained weight.

In the last week or so since the meds ended he's began to lose weight again, even though he was being fed almost double his usual, to the point he lost all the weight he'd gained back and more. He's also just a bit "off" from his usual self. We are really concerned so are running a huge battery of tests. We will keep you updated.

14/03/2024

Anyone got a spare $350k lying around and need a tax write off? This would be perfect for a rescue sanctuary!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/813611852022922/permalink/7819512548099449/?sale_post_id=7819512548099449&ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

20/02/2024

Good news about Simon. It turns out he has Anaplasmosis, a tick-borne illness that is easily treated. He's already shown marked improvement and has put back on over 6lbs. He stays on doxycycline for another 2 weeks and we have him on extra food and treats to gain weight.

10/02/2024

Emergency vet trip for Simon. He has a sudden mass on his head and unexpected weight loss. Very worried.

30/01/2024

We managed to make it a month without having to ask for help with dog food but we are down to the last two bags. We do have a donation of about a weeks worth coming but that is roughly 10 days out so please go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/ to see how you can help feed the sanctuary crew.

31/12/2023

As we close out the year, we here at Silk Road Rescue want to thank all of you that donated or otherwise supported us through an extremely difficult year in which we lost our home, facility, and a few of our crew. Even though the major fundraiser was a failure, we still managed to provide for the sanctuary crew, who are all healthy and happy so that is a positive. Here's looking forward to what has to be a better year. Don't forget us if you need that last minute deduction. Please go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/

27/12/2023

Facebook is having share issues so lets try this again! lol

Happy New Year (pending) and Happy Holidays for all those that celebrate. We do have to remind you of one downer though, tax time is coming! lol Yes the year end is fast approaching (where did the time go?I was January 2023 just a few months ago!) and with that the ability to pick up possible tax deductions. When looking at next year's taxes, don't forget the Sanctuary at Silk Road Rare Livestock Guardian Dog Breed Rescue as we still have mouths to feed and care for! Are you one of those being required to take some type of minimum distribution from a savings or income fund? We can help! Please go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/ to see how you can help. Ludo thanks you!

09/12/2023

This boy is an abandoned pot grow guard that appears to be very sweet and might make a good pet for the right person. These dogs usually have "issues" but not this boy. Contact Redwood Pals Rescue if you are interested.

Rango was a wonderful, well behaved companion today while photos were being taken in the lobby! He is about 6 years old and weighs around 130 pounds. Rango has been friendly with the dogs he has met and might do well in a home with cats.

25/08/2023

End of an era today. The last rescue foster/sanctuary dog was moved out of here this evening. This 20'x25' heavy duty, dividable, escape-proof kennel was dedicated on October 1st 2001 specifically for rescues that needed a safe space to decompress or be medically isolated in, and has seen an untold number of rescues over the almost 22 years it's been in place. So many stories, so many memories, both happy and sad. Losing this place hurts.

22/06/2023

Bathing the Floof in preparation for another vet visit. Clear up one thing and another pops up! She appears to have an infection of some kind, either vaginal or a UTI, so back we go. Weighed her while we were at it and she is now 105lbs, which for several reasons (health mainly) should be pretty close to her max weight.

Going to miss this bathing/grooming set up...

22/06/2023

Just a reminder as time is running out here.

03/06/2023

SO some good news for a change!
While the rescue part of the operation is shut down (we are still doing consulting though and just helped place a CO out of a NorCal shelter, and helped keep an LGD in his new home), we still have the sanctuary crew to feed and care for, which includes Siranoush the Not-So-Wee Wee Floof. After 9 long months of multiple vet visits, multiple rounds of meds, gut-health supplements, (some studies show that gut heath has an impact on contracting and fighting giardia), multiple lab tests AND keeping her somewhat isolated and treated like a walking haz-mat situation, we MAY finally have beat it! 2 lab tests in a row show she's clear!!!

For the first time she is not only clear at 2 weeks post meds but 6 weeks, which has never happened before. She's had a couple of 2-week clear lab tests but it has flared back up again within a month after, which can happen with this bug, even when there is no possiblity of reinfection from an outside source (see the "treated like a walking haz-mat situation". We have gone through SO MUCH bleach, gloves, and potty pads!). Our vet,as well as a specialist we contacted have said that this is one of the most stubborn they have seen. We still aren't counting our chickens yet so-to-speak so have one more test scheduled after her supplements end in a few weeks.

Due to all of this, we really need help with her vet bill. We also need help with food as she is eating more each month, and two of our sponsors (including Ludo's) have had to stop due to personal finance issues so the food bills are mounting.

You can use the QR code here, or go to https://silkroadlgds.org/how-you-can-help/ and use the links there or the info for paying the vet directly.

13/05/2023

This Caucasian Ovcharka girl needs help. She would be coming here if we weren't losing this place.

She was left stray after a pot grow raid up in Redway, Humboldt county, CA (same shelter Ludo came from)and is now in the county shelter on a rescue only placement due to growling at someone who tried to grab her while stray. She is currently not in any danger but that can change.

We don't have much info on her but our contact up there with Redwood Pals Rescue says shes a sweet girl. They did a lot of clean up work on her with no reports of issues. She appears to be around 2 years old and is believed to have had at least one litter. Anyone in NorCal or Southern Ore that is interested can contact us and we will pass your info on.