The guinea hens and peacocks can all sleep soundly tonight now that Sarge and Jazz are on the job.
Sarge and Jazz, a brother and sister pair of Great Pyrenees, are the newest additions to the Victoria, Texas zoo. And no, they’re not part of a new canine exhibit. They’re the zoo’s security dogs.
“They guard the zoo not from people coming, but they guard the animals from natural predators,” said Andrea Blomberg, zoo executive director. “It’s our job to keep the animals safe.”
The zoo’s location in the middle of Riverside Park, Texas left some animals vulnerable to attacks from snakes, bobcats and raccoons.
So taking a cue from the Austin, Texas Zoo, who started the trend, the decision was made to acquire guard dogs. But zoo staff knew they couldn’t bring any type of dog into the zoo.
“We needed dogs that knew not to attack the animals that were supposed to be here and guard them,” said Blomberg.
After much research, zoo staff decided upon Great Pyrenees, who sleep all day, are bred and raised to guard livestock, and who also have an excellent demeanor around humans.
So not long after getting in contact with the Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue, Blomberg learned about 100-pound Sarge and 70-pound Jazz.
The furry, white siblings had been living on an Austin, Texas Ranch where they guarded turkeys.
Sarge and Jazz, who will be 2 years old in May, arrived at the zoo on Feb. 22.
Their training consisted of learning their patrol routes as well as familiarizing themselves with the zoo’s inhabitants.
And as cute as they are however, the dogs will most likely not be seen by the general zoo public, as they sleep in the administrative building during the day and work after the zoo is closed to the public.
Aww…they are so beautiful!! Nice to know the animals will be safe!!
They are the greatest! They are devoted, kind to smaller animals, very perceptive to your moods and changes in situations and will definitely scare away nuisance animals that might threaten your livestock as well as your home and family. They, like numerous larger breeds, are prone to hip dysplasia, have a nominal life span of 10 – 12 years (unfortunately the plight of large breeds), however, adapt to varying weather conditions because of their double coat of fur. Although I’m pleased to read about some of the new ‘discoveries’ about their guard dog capability, recognize that this breed has guarded and protected
sheep and goats (and their shepherds) in the Pyrenees mountains for hundreds of years and continue
to do so to this day. A closely related breed, found primarily in Italy is the Maremma. This breed is
somewhat smaller in size, but very similar in appearance and character traits. And suprisingly, the food
consumption of these breeds is modest when compared to their size. They adjust to house and
property rules quickly. They are absolutely ‘duty bound’ and will quickly forego the remainder of a back
massage if they detect any foreign sounds or sights in your area. If you are planning to have a Pyr for your home and yard, you MUST have a fence. In spite of their normal devotion, Pyrenees have an inborn compulsion to guard the entire world and will tend to wander if not fenced. In spite of this trait (unfortunately an aspect of their strong guard dog mentality), I will always have at least two or more Pyrenees as members of our family.
Let’s don’t put the cart before the horse. Before you worry about the things to do after you get a contract, let’s talk about how you are going to get that contract. Advertising is an absolute necessity if you want to sell your land for sale in Texas. Newspaper advertising might be the first thing that comes to mind to most, but you need to do very little of that.
Horse ranching is a gentleman’s pursuit here, and you’ll find many smaller Central Texas ranches for sale that sport all the amenities: pasture, barn, tack room and beautiful home. You’ll also find many tracts of ranch land for sale ready for development. Unlike the more remote areas of East and West Texas, much of the land here will require little or no infrastructure investment to make it habitable.