Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network

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Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network

Volunteers working to make life better for dogs and the humans who love them. Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network is based at Windsong Ranch in Whitewright, Texas.

We specialize in working livestock guardian dogs, including breeds such as Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherd, Akbash, and mixes of these and other LGD breeds. We are not breed-specific, but our experience and expertise is limited to a few breeds who have a centuries-long history of living and working on farms and ranches, in fields and mountains. We rescue many Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds

, Akbash, and mixes of these with other breeds. We have rescued a few Australian Shepherds, and are open to rescuing any dog that we think might be a good addition to life on a farm, ranch, or homestead. We test our foster dogs with our livestock, and place them in homes according to the things we learn about each dog through our testing. We work hard to evaluate a dog's temperament and behavior, and try to discern the kind of life each dog would prefer, whether that's living in the house as a pampered pet, in the pasture as a noble working dog, or some combination. You can find information about our adoption procedures on our website at www.bluebonnetrescue.org.

03/04/2025

Excellent reminder!

We do more than our share of p**p-scooping here. It's a never-ending job, especially with puppies!

Look, nobody wants to be out walking and dodging doggie 💩 landmines, you know what I mean?!

It’s International Pooper Scooper Week, and although it’s not glamorous, it’s important to pick up your pet’s p**p. Animal waste has pathogens that are harmful to both humans and pets. Dog p**p can contain bacteria and parasites, which spread into the water supply if left.
Even consider using recycled or compostable bags ♻️ as a more sustainable option than traditional plastic bags. They reduce reliance on new plastic production and minimize waste sent to landfills or incineration. 🌎

03/04/2025

Whitewright TX

In case you're new to our page, or you haven't been seeing our posts lately, we are in the middle of PUPPY PALOOZA!

We have three litters of puppies plus a couple of singletons, for a total of 19 puppies age 4 months and younger. Seems like all I've been doing since January is taking puppies to the vet 🩺 for vaccinations. Today was round 2 💉 for this litter of 5 puppies, who were born on the Central Texas ranch that we've been working on for more than a year. There are 15-20 working livestock guardian dogs that we haven't yet been able to trap, so the parents of this litter could be any of them. Most of the adults are some combination of Great Pyrenees, Akbash, and Anatolian Shepherd. These puppies are all white -- some with fluffy coats and some smooth. One puppy has a little bit of color in her skin that looks like she may have a badger mask, but so far, only the skin is pigmented and her coat is all white.

We have our hands full taking care of dogs, barncats, and livestock, so we are always behind in getting puppies listed for adoption on our website. If you are interested in adopting, you can complete the application on our website and mention puppies, or you can send us an email at [email protected]. There's a link to our website in our page bio and on LinkTree.

03/04/2025

Here’s a quick preview 👀 of the puppy photos we’ll be posting in the next few days. This is Emma, from one of the THREE litters of Akbash/Great Pyrenees puppies we currently have. Emma is about 3 months old and has had her first two rounds of vaccinations. She weighs about 30 lbs so is on track to be at least 80 lbs by the time she’s an adult, with 90-100 lbs being very possible. Emma and her siblings were born in the pasture with Boer goats. Her mom looks like a full Akbash, and our best guess is that dad is an Akbash/Pyr mix. Emma is the most affectionate female in this litter and could make a wonderful family companion. If you’re interested in adopting Emma or one of her siblings, please send email to us at [email protected] so we can discuss whether one of these puppies will be a good fit for your home, farm, or ranch.

02/04/2025

Here's a quick preview 👀 of the puppy photos we'll be posting in the next few days. This is Emma, from one of the THREE litters of Akbash/Great Pyrenees puppies we currently have. Emma is about 3 months old and has had her first two rounds of vaccinations. She weighs about 30 lbs so is on track to be at least 80 lbs by the time she's an adult, with 90-100 lbs being very possible. Emma and her siblings were born in the pasture with Boer goats. Her mom looks like a full Akbash, and our best guess is that dad is an Akbash/Pyr mix. Emma is the most affectionate female in this litter and could make a wonderful family companion. If you're interested in adopting Emma or one of her siblings, please send email to us at [email protected] so we can discuss whether one of these puppies will be a good fit for your home, farm, or ranch.

01/04/2025

Today is the 1st day of a new month, so it's the day many people give their dog flea/tick/heartworm prevention. In addition, today marks the beginning of National Heartworm Awareness month. As temperatures rise and rain falls (typical Spring weather in much of the USA), conditions become ripe for the proliferation of mosquitoes. And since mosquitoes spread heartworms, this is the ideal time to remind folks that if you love your dog, you'll keep him or her protected.

According to the American Heartworm Society, more than a million dogs in the USA are infected with heartworms. The cost of prevention can be very affordable, and it's absolutely lower than the cost to treat heartworms once a dog gets infected. Thankfully, there are a few treatment options, so getting infected doesn't need to be a death sentence. Still, as Benjamin Franklin said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

REGARDING THE IMAGE/MAP

Every three years, the American Heartworm Society gathers data on heartworm testing to understand the impact heartworm is having nationwide, as well as in specific regions. Testing data from thousands of veterinary practices and shelters is used to create a detailed map showing the average number of heartworm-positive cases per clinic. Areas shown in white may indicate lack of data due to lack of veterinary clinics in rural/remote areas.

31/03/2025

We're very grateful to Max and Neo for their donation boxes, which are chock-full of goodies! 💕 Since 2015, they have donated over 65,000 boxes like this one to over 7,000 rescues around the world. Truly an amazing business model that donates one item for every item purchased. We received this box today and it’s very typical of what we receive from them a few times each year -- leashes, collars, toys, and "Adopt Me" bandanas. They also have a store just for rescue groups where we can buy many products at significant savings. We buy wild salmon oil, more collars and leashes, washable potty pads, toys, and more. If you shop through our referral link, we'll get a 10% commission, which we can use in their store. They make great products that we use literally every day, and we highly recommend them!

https://maxandneo.com/bluebonnetrescue

30/03/2025

I think it’s safe to say that Paul Drake (lying down) and Della Street don’t have any food aggression. We bring most of our working LGDs into the barns for meals, so they can eat without goats bothering them. Goats are herbivores but some of them think dog food is a tasty treat.

Paul Drake and Della Street are both great with goats and have been reliable with chickens during our testing. They are listed on our adoption website— link in our page bio and LinkTree.

28/03/2025

Another day, another trip to the vet. 🙂

Today, sisters Eden and Emma, along with their brother Corbin had their second round of vaccinations. Like their siblings yesterday, these three are muddy puppies because that's the way barn puppies ARE., especially after a few days of rain. 🌧️ These sweet pups are 3 months old and weigh from 27 to 30 lbs, so they are on course to reach 90-100 lbs by the time they're a year old. They were born on a Central Texas ranch where their parents were working LGDs guarding a herd of Boer goats. Parents are believed to be Akbash and Great Pyrenees/Akbash mix. These puppies are very social so could easily become family pets/companions rather than future working dogs. We'll get them on our website soon, but until we do, send email to us at [email protected] to inquire.

27/03/2025

Brothers from the Waterfalls litter Turner (left, sitting), McKinney (front left, lying down), and Dolan (right, lying down) had their second visit to the vet today for another round of vaccinations. These boys are 3 months old and weigh between 27 and 36 lbs each so they are on track to be big boys! They were born on the Central Texas ranch we’ve been working on for the past year. (See our featured posts on our page if you’ve missed the story.) You would never guess by looking at them today that every one of these puppies had a bath on Saturday so they would look their best for photos. But they live in our goat barn and an attached dog run, so they didn’t stay clean for more than 5 minutes after Saturday’s photo shoot. Yesterday’s rain created puddles that made for great fun and dirty puppies.

We haven’t gotten these puppies on our website yet, but if you’re interested in adopting, please send an email to [email protected] and we can talk about which puppy might be a good match for you.

26/03/2025

Whitewright TX

Did your puppy escape due to the storms? We found an adorable puppy at our front gate this afternoon. At first, she was scared and hiding between our trash cans. She growled at me and backed away, but her tail was wagging at the same time. I just kept talking to her and she eventually decided that maybe I wasn't so scary. She didn't complain at all when I put a slip lead on her, and we walked through the front gate, expecting to walk back to the house. Tim and I had gone to the gate on the golf cart, and as I walked the puppy close by, she jumped right up on the golf cart as if she had been riding one her whole (short) life. She rode like a champ the quarter-mile from the gate to our house. We put her in a kennel and gave her water and kibble. She scarfed that kibble down as if she hadn't eaten in a week. She does look a bit thin, but she looks healthy otherwise. I checked her teeth (nice pink gums) and she still has baby canines but already has adult incisors, so I'm guessing she's 3-4 months old. If she is YOURS, or you know who she belongs to, please send a PM to the page.

26/03/2025

Sasha is clearly a calming influence for the goats during tonight’s storms. Loud thunder plus hail hitting the metal roof are scary for many animals. Sasha is also great with chickens and other poultry. She is available for adoption— apply on our website. Link is in our page bio.

24/03/2025

Manny is pretty sure my hair is actually hay. 😯

24/03/2025

House dog Chickadee met working Livestock Guardian Dog Bentley and did her best to get him to play with her! Bentley was born and raised on the Central Texas ranch that we have been working on for the past year, so he doesn't seem to understand the concept of play. (If you don't know the story, check out the featured/pinned posts at the top of our page.) But now that Bentley is sharing the same yard as Chickadee, she will get to work on him every day, trying to convince him that it's OK to play -- even working dogs deserve a break.

Chickadee is available for adoption as a house dog, but she is doing well around sheep, goats, and chickens. She's only about 65 lbs, and prefers life with humans, so we won't adopt her out to be a working LGD. But she could be a family pet who could accompany you around the farm/ranch/homestead as you do chores, and with proper introductions, she should be OK around your livestock. Chickadee is listed on our website where you can see more photos and read more about her.

We believe Bentley is most likely Akbash or Akbash/Pyr. He was born in the pasture and has lived with goats his entire life, so he is unsocialized with humans, to the point of being feral. After he was trapped, we got him neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. We moved him to a foster home in the Austin area, where they are working to earn his trust and show him that humans are worth knowing because we bring food and treats. Bentley's only experience is with Boer goats and longhorn cattle, so we won't adopt him out to guard other stock. He will definitely chase a chicken if the opportunity presents, and so far, he isn't proving to be good with sheep. But if you need a solid guardian for your goats, please consider Bentley. We haven't gotten him added to our website yet, but you can apply on our website and mention him by name in one of the free-form text fields. Link to our website is in our page bio.

Check out 17acrewoods’s video.

24/03/2025

I moved little Hurricane Buc-ee into Crockett’s Pasture, so being the good LGD she is, young Sugar Pie had to check him out. Brûlée (former herd sire, now castrated) also gets a sniff.

Sugar Pie is believed to be Anatolian Shepherd/Akbash and has lived with goats and longhorn cattle her whole life. She’s spayed, vaccinated, and microchipped, so she’s ready to find a new job, preferably with a mature LGD to continue as her mentor and supervisor. Find her bio and the adoption application on our website— link in our page bio and LinkTree.

22/03/2025

Our “Heroes of Scotland” puppies made a trip to the vet this week for their second round of vaccinations. These pups are 3 months old and weigh in the 29-37 lb range each. Their parents are working livestock guardian dogs on the ranch we’ve been working on for the past year. Parents are most likely Akbash and Akbash/Great Pyrenees mix. There are 3 boys and 3 girls. Two boys — Robert the Bruce and William Wallace have the potential to be family companions but their siblings are more likely to be better suited as future working LGDs. We’ll get them added to our website soon, but if you’re interested in adoption, send us a message at [email protected] and we can start a conversation about whether one of these puppies is a good fit for you.

21/03/2025

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http://www.bluebonnetanimalrescue.org/, https://linktr.ee/BluebonnetRescue

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We're still working on names for this litter of puppies from the ranch in Central Texas, but for the moment, I'm calling this brave little pup William Wallace (of Braveheart fame). I'm not sure whether this brave little pup is a boy or girl, so the temporary name may not stick, but it sure FITS. ❤ Little Wally is the bravest one in this litter of feral pups -- every time I open the gate to their little "apartment" in the goat barn, Wally ventures out to introduce himself to others who take shelter on the other side of the barn. These puppies were never touched by human hands until they were captured on 1/25, so for the most part, they are keeping their distance from me. But they have learned in this short time that I bring plenty of food and fresh water, so they're happy to see me, with a few little tails wagging. And a few of them have come close enough to sniff my boots. Hopefully in another week or so, they will be comfortable allowing me to pet them. Right now, when I reach out to touch them, they try to avoid me, but little William Wallace just sort of freezes and allows me to pet him for a few seconds, as if he's trying to decide whether he likes this. These puppies are very young -- probably 5-6 weeks old. We don't know what happened to their mom, but the puppies were alone, hiding in a rocky ravine, and not safe. We would much rather have puppies stay with their mom, but in this case, with no mom in sight, removing them from the ranch and bringing them here to Windsong seemed like the best course of action. They still have the companionship of littermates, and now they are safe and well fed. Soon, we will introduce them to Honey Bunch, who has been an excellent big sister to Belladonna's puppies and surely will do the same for Wally and his siblings. Stay tuned -- we'll be posting more about these puppies in the coming weeks. #bluebonnetrescue #puppiesofig #puppylife #puppiesmakeeverythingbetter #puppiesofFacebook #instapup #rescuepup #rescuepuppiesoft

Belladonna’s puppies are such good kids! After spending time with them, I always give each puppy a treat to occupy them while I slip out. They love humans and love each other but don’t seem needy, which to me says they are growing up well-adjusted, knowing they are loved and don’t have to worry about whether there will always be more love and more food available. Molly and Chris have done a wonderful job getting these puppies started on the right path. MANY THANKS to them for fostering. 💕 #fosteringsaveslives #puppiesofig #puppylife #puppiesmakeeverythingbetter #puppiesofFacebook #instapup #rescuepup #rescuepuppiesoftexas #puppylove #instapuppies #puppiesofinsta #puppiesofinstagram #instapuppy #puppiesmakemehappy #rescuepuppy #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #animalrescue #rescuedogsrock #bluebonnetrescue #akbashdog #akbash #akbashdogsofinstagram #akbashofinstagram #bigwhitedog #asd #anatolianshepherdsofinstagram #anatolianshepherddog #anatoliansofinstagram #anatolianshepherd

For a typical puppy, this scene would be nothing unusual. But this is huge progress for a feral puppy who was never touched by humans until he was captured and brought into rescue when he was about 5-6 months old. Brinlee is doing so well and we are so grateful to Katie and Bryan for their patient, gentle care. #feralpup #rescuepup #bluebonnetrescue #anatolianshepherdpup #akbashpup #fosteringsaveslives #fosterpup

Mouse King does a little happy dance at meal times! Sugar Plum is excited to see me but not jumping for joy. 😄 Visit our website to see the adoption bio for each dog. Link in our profile and LinkTree. #adoptme #availableforadoption #takemehome #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #animalrescue #rescuedogsrock #bluebonnetrescue #komondormix #anatolianmix

Vader and Simon think the snow is GREAT!

Paul Drake, Della Street, and Tyana all think today’s snow is pretty fun! Della is obviously feeling better — still not 100% but much better than on Tuesday when she went to the ER. #adoptme #availableforadoption #takemehome #greatpyranatolian #anapyr #anatolianpyr #pyratolian #greatpyranatolianmix #anatolianpyrenees #anatolianpyreneesmix #rescuedogsofinstagram #rescuedog #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #animalrescue #rescuedogsrock #bluebonnetrescue #workingdog #lgdsofinstagram #livestockguardiandog #workingdogsofinstagram #lgd #livestockguardiansofinstagram #livestockguardian #snowday

SNOW DAY!

Vader and Simon are among the dogs who think today's snow is GREAT!

Many thanks to our friends Donna and Tim for donating hay! With the forecast calling for an arctic blast keeping our temps near or below freezing for the week ahead, having plenty of fresh hay will help everyone stay well fed, and staying well fed helps keep them warm. They'll get extra portions of grain as well, and all our livestock have good barns and loafing sheds to keep them safe and warm. Probably the worst thing about the freezing temps will be for the humans 🥶 who have to break the ice up every day. We have dozens of water tubs ranging from 5 gallons to 100 gallons, and most of them are too far from a power source for us to use deicers in the tanks. So when we have weather like this, Tim and I head out each day with a pickaxe to break up the ice in the large tanks, and buckets of warm water to refill the smaller tubs. It's always grueling work that makes us appreciate the fact that we usually only get one or two prolonged freezes each year. This one is forecast to last at least a week -- the cold front 🌬️has already moved in and our temps have dropped about 20 degrees since yesterday's high, with a further 20 degree drop expected overnight. 🥶BRRRR! #nigeriandwarfgoats #instagoat #longhorncattle #longhornbull #instabull #farmanimalrescue #farmanimalsanctuary #bluebonnetrescue

Update on Brinlee, one of our feral/completely unsocialized pups from the ranch in Central Texas that we have talked about so much this year. Brinlee's foster mom Katie says: "Not only has he not had an accident in the house, he very quickly learned the routine. For potty breaks, I open his crate, prop open the baby gate and the back door, and get out of the way. He takes himself out and comes back in when he's ready. This morning I did close the door, since we were prepping food and wanted to avoid any potential issues. It was SO CUTE seeing him waiting by the door to be let in! Routine and structure help so much when working with ferals. 💗" I will add to Katie's thoughts -- Having well socialized, trusting, confident dogs ALSO helps. Brinlee watches them and takes cues from them. We're so grateful to Katie for taking on this challenge! #bluebonnetrescue #feraldog #anatolianshepherddog #greatpyrenees

My goodness -- I could watch these puppy videos all day long! Belladonna's puppies will soon be old enough for their first vaccinations, so it won't be long until we can start making them available for adoption. There are 6 puppies -- 3 male and 3 female -- 2 white of each sex plus 1 badger of each sex. We'll be posting individual photos soon, but got now, if you're interested in adopting one of these puppies, be sure to complete the application on our website. There's a link in our bio and on our Linktree. Be sure to read the Adoption Information on our website before you take the time to complete the application: https://www.bluebonnetrescue.org/info/adoption. Also, please be patient. Bluebonnet is a very small organization, and we never have enough volunteers helping us process applications. Everyone has other obligations outside of rescue, and most of us have farms and ranches with livestock to tend. So if we seem slow, please understand it's not intentional. It's just the reality of our lives. #anatolianshepherdpuppies #rescuepuppies #akbashpuppies #fosteringsaveslives #anatoliansheppherddog #rescuepuppiesofinstagram #instapuppy #rescuepup #availableforadoption #instapup #bluebonnetrescue

Belladonna and her puppies are getting in a little play time outside before the rain hits. It's amazing to see how much progress Bella has made -- she started out feral and completely terrified after being captured on the Central Texas ranch we're working on, but as Molly and Chris have taken care of her and provided a safe home with plenty of good food for her and her puppies, Bella has learned to trust them. Her puppies were born in safety, and have an excellent start on socialization. They are 6 weeks old today, so it won't be long before they will be getting vaccinated and can start meeting prospective adopters. If you're interested, be sure to visit our website (link in our bio) and submit your application. #rescuepuppies #akbashpuppies #anatoliansheppherddog #fosteringsaveslives #anatolianshepherdpuppies #lgdpuppies #rescuepuppiesofinstagram #instapuppy #rescuepup #availableforadoption #instapup #bluebonnetrescue

Belladonna is such a wonderful, patient mom to her puppies! #anatoliansheppherddog #instapuppy #puppiesofinstagram #akbashpuppies #bluebonnetrescue #rescuepuppies #rescuepuppiesofinstagram

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Making life better for dogs and the people who love them

Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network is based at Windsong Ranch in Whitewright, Texas. We are not breed-specific, but our experience and expertise is limited to a few breeds who have a centuries-long history of living and working on farms and ranches, in fields and mountains. We rescue many Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds, Akbash, and mixes of these with other breeds. We have rescued a few Australian Shepherds, and are open to rescuing any dog that we think might be a good addition to life on a farm, ranch, or homestead. We test our foster dogs with our livestock, and place them in homes according to the things we learn about each dog through our testing. We work hard to evaluate a dog's temperament and behavior, and try to discern the kind of life each dog would prefer, whether that's living in the house as a pampered pet, in the pasture as a noble working dog, or some combination. Our adoption fees vary according to the age and type of dog. We try to list the fee for each dog on his or her profile on our Adopt-a-Pet page, but in general, this is our fee structure: $100 for Senior Dogs $200 for "Regular" Dogs who are wonderful house pets $300 for Adult Dogs who have been tested and proven safe with our livestock $300 for Puppies and Young Adults 2 years old and younger You can find more information about our adoption procedures on our website at www.bluebonnetrescue.org.

In addition to dogs, we rescue farm animals on a case-by-case basis, as space allows. Farm animals find sanctuary here for the rest of their lives, and are not made available for adoption.

We invite you to visit us at our monthly open house -- “2nd Saturday at the Ranch.” You can find details, including our address, on our Facebook event each month.

03/04/2025

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31/03/2025

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21/03/2025

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SNOW DAY!

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Making life better for dogs and the people who love them