Bullet

Bullet is a medium-sized short-haired dog who wisely chose IPPL for his home when he was a puppy. He reached us on November 17, 1998.

That day, our two Great Pyrenees dogs, Patou and Ivy, had started barking excitedly. Patou and Ivy loved the sound of their own voices, but this time it was different. IPPL staffers went to check and found that the two dogs had their eyes fixed on something lying against the outside of the sanctuary’s back perimeter fence. Our caregivers found a tiny, emaciated dog, whimpering and distressed.

When we went into the woods and picked him up, we found he was also infested with ticks. There was an open wound on his right side. He was disoriented, and his eyes were red and inflamed. He was obviously dehydrated and starved, just skin and bones. After we had fed and watered him, and removed hundreds of ticks, we took him to our vet.

The wound on his side had been caused by a shotgun pellet. He was infected with parasites. We were given various medications and eye drops. Throughout his ordeal, our new dog was sweet and loving. We named him Bullet.

We took him to a veterinary ophthalmologist, who checked his eyes. We were heart-broken to learn that our little dog is totally blind, probably as a result of shotgun injuries. Bullet settled in really well. He is very intelligent and gentle, and his tail never stops wagging. He has always gotten along well with our other dogs here, and he used to be a special friend to our dear blind gibbon Beanie, who passed away in 2004. Bullet knows every inch of our fenced acreage.

North

Northie is a big, black Newfoundland dog with a lovely disposition. He was born on December 17, 2003, and weighs close to 150 pounds. He looks like a bear!

Because people don’t like a big dog to misbehave, we sent Northie to obedience class, where he received a “Canine Good Citizen” certificate. While still a puppy, he marched in the Savannah Parade of Newfoundlands to raise money for Newf Rescue and was a big hit with all the children. He still loves kids and is happy to give a big, wet hello to any youngsters who come to visit. Forever curious, whenever a new human or new gibbon shows up, Northie is sure to be there in the middle of the action.

Although he has had some health problems over the years, he has always been sweet and gentle to all primates, human and non-human alike. He likes to run back and forth alongside the enclosures of some of his special gibbon friends, like Gus and especially Blackie. They’ll follow alongside and then reach out to give Northie’s fur a tug!

Snow

Snow is a Great Pyrenees rescue who was born February 28, 2008. She was brought to IPPL on January 13, 2011. She is a sweet and lively dog who loves chasing squirrels (and, we think, is helping keep the critters away from our gibbons’ lunch buckets!). She settled down well into the routine here and frequently accompanies our caregivers on their rounds.

She has the habit typical of her breed of barking at large birds. Since Great Pyrenees were bred to guard livestock, this trait was useful for keeping large predatory birds away from vulnerable lambs and kids. After a couple of months, she even taught Northie the trick of barking at the sky!