On Great Pyrenees
The dog and the mountains!

I recently became aware that one of my newest followers on Facebook is a Great Pyrenees dog named Tubbs Dewclaw. I welcome Tubbs to my site-after all I have a cat that follows me too. And the Great Pyrenees breed gets along well with cats, so Giuseppe Gattino shouldn't mind at all. What Giuseppe knows, but Tubbs doesn't, is that I have a fondness for Pyrenees breed. The great Pyrenees dog is one of the most handsome breeds (IMHO)-and I have had the honor to spend time with these dogs in their natural habitat! Heather and I spent five seasons as hiking guides in the Pyrenees of France and Spain. And while this dog is not as common there as you'd expect, you can always count on one working the fields or lounging in town (usually the latter-after all this is France!). The French love their chiens and the Great Pyrenees are well loved too-and they get to work (like we did) in one of the prettiest mountain ranges on the planet. Now while the Great Pyrenees dog is not as common in the mountains of France and Spain like he used to be-his cousin the Abruzzese shepherd is quite common in his native Italian Apennines. I met many of these fine dogs while hiking in another one of my favorite places on the planet, Abruzzo National Park. So, if there are any Great Pyrenees and Abruzzese shepherd fans out there, chime in! And Tubbs, you too feel free to bark in-and I hope you turn out to be a great therapy dog.

(photo-Heather and new friend, a Great Pyrenees that works as a volunteer at Nevada's Great Basin National Park)