LOUIE

"MR. MUSCLE"

by Danny Crafton

Louie is a purebred Akbash. We fostered him for our friends at the Wood River Valley Animal Shelter in Hailey, which you might recognize as Sun Valley, Idaho. He is descended from the family of dogs that the USDA used for their LGD studies at Dubois, Idaho. You might have read the reports.

I talked to Louie’s former owner who owns one of the biggest sheep outfits in Idaho. He told me that Louie has been on every sheep range from California to Canada and on lots of ranges in Canada. He came to us with the name of "Avalanche," from the shelter. His former owner said, " Nah, his name is Louie." You should have seen his reaction when I called him by name.

Louie and his companion got into it with a pack of wolves a few years back. Louie survived but his companion did not. According to his former owner Louie started ranging out about five miles from the flock after that. Wouldn’t have anything to do with any of the other dogs and wouldn’t stay home. Looking for his companion I guess; dogs don’t understand death too well – God’s gift to them. Not many dogs survive wolf attacks.

Louie is huge and muscular, loves people, and is an excellent stockguard. We had problems with loose neighbor dogs pestering our Pyrs from the opposite side of the fence. The Pyrs won’t leave their pasture due to the fences. Louie didn’t pay much attention to fences; wouldn’t have been much of a range dog if he did. Once last fall my wife Anita looked east to the next mile road and saw the "Pesky Lab" running all out – you know, low to the ground and the front and back feet meeting in full stride. She also noticed a white tail bobbing up once in awhile and wondered whose dog it was. She quickly counted Pyrs and all were there and then thought, "Louie!" Louie had broken his tether and jumped three fences towing a length of chain. When Anita caught up with him about a mile from home, he was peeing on a telephone pole, wiping his feet, and had a big smile on his face. He happily jumped in the car and Anita paid a visit to Lab and Lab Owner and displayed Louie to them, and explained what would happen if Louie caught their dog. Louie made a big show of it, pressing his scarred face against the car window and growling. No more problems with the Lab, no more problems with loose dogs.

When springtime came, I built Louie a fence that would hold him in his pasture. Before when I put him out guarding the stock, it bothered me that he couldn’t have more room. His pasture now is about 1/3 of an acre and has a swimming pool and lots of shade. The stock spends every third week in his pasture and as Louie can also guard geese, the geese stay with him. It takes a good stockguard to put up with geese. His pasture opens up to our side yard so he can come in the yard easily. He spends the hot afternoons in the cool, air-conditioned basement as we have crates for our dogs down there.

Louie is so lovable it makes your heart hurt, but he is an excellent stockguard and takes his job seriously. He has helped us out a lot this winter and taken lots of pressure off the Pyrs. Thanks to Mr. Muscle, things have been pretty quiet around here this winter.

Louie is too old to go back to the range and I wasn’t able to find him a home that would manage him correctly, so we adopted him the spring of 2003. He is now part of the family and works very well with the Pyrs. I’m sure our little holding is just play for him to guard but he is very happy here, and we are happy to have him. We are learning very much from him about Range Dogs.

The other day I was sitting in the shade in Louie’s pasture and he was lying down with his old head in my lap. I was gently stroking the scars on his face with my finger and he was sound asleep. He opened up his eyes and then kind of startled as if to say, "Oh-oh! Fell asleep on the job!" I patted and told him, "It’s alright old man, go back to sleep. Anything that comes around here to get to you is going to have to come through me first!" He laid his head back down and gave a big stretch and clicked his teeth like they do when they are happy. I looked into his eyes and he seemed to be far, far away. I suppose that in his mind he was young and back in the mountains running with his companion.

I’ve often wondered what Louie’s eyes have seen, the beauty and the pain – the simple struggle for survival in a hostile environment. What ever it was, few living creatures have the ability to survive it. Whatever the hardships Louie had, they are now over and he can expect and has earned a quiet and loving retirement. He is old and retired now, and happy. I am sure that he is well known in our doggie neighborhood. And I am sure the other dogs reverently refer to him as, "Mr. Muscle."