CACHE COUNTY, Utah — A female Great Pyrenees dog remains in the desolate backcountry over a week after her three puppies were rescued and adopted.
But she’s no longer alone.
Rescuers saw the dog with two Great Pyrenees males near Hardware Ranch in Cache County. However, more than a half-dozen rescue attempts have been unsuccessful.
“These dogs can not survive up there through winter,” Great Pyrenees Rescue Montana’s Shauna Thompson said. “The winters are too harsh up there, the snow is too deep, these dogs cannot survive.“
The mother’s three young puppies were rescued Dec. 1 after being spotted by two snowmobilers. The couple ended up keeping one named Polar.
Thompson placed the other two with families in Ogden and Herriman.
“It’s amazing to see these puppies. They were so curious. Everything was so new to them because they didn’t know. Learning how to drink water out of a bowl when they were used to eating snow was just so cute,” Thompson said.
Investigators tell FOX 13 they believe the mother dog worked as a livestock guardian dog, protecting a flock of sheep over the summer when she had puppies and was left behind.
Yet, now that there are three dogs on the mountain, Thompson believes they were intentionally abandoned by a rancher.
“This situation is not rare. We see it over and over and over again. These dogs don’t deserve this inhumane treatment. They deserve to be cared for,” Thompson said.
If that’s the case, the Cache County Sheriffs Office tells FOX 13 they will pursue animal cruelty charges.
At this point, no one has come forward saying they own the dogs.
