Unega Mountain Dog Rescue

Unega Mountain Dog Rescue DEDICATED TO THE PROTECTION AND RESCUE OF LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS IN IDAHO AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
(3)

WE FOCUS ON THOSE THAT ARE CONSIDERED AT-RISK FOR INJURY, CRUELTY AND ABANDONMENT, AND THAT MAY BE SUBJECT TO EUTHANASIA AND INHUMANE TREATMENT

**Do you remember these three?** 🐾Carrie Anne, Claudius, and Cesar. A mama and her two boys from Mountainhome, Idaho. Th...
06/22/2026

**Do you remember these three?** 🐾

Carrie Anne, Claudius, and Cesar. A mama and her two boys from Mountainhome, Idaho. Their person passed away, nobody wanted them, and euthanasia was on the table. We stepped outside of our mission and we are so glad we did.

We found them a wonderful home and before transport, got Cesar neutered through a local vet near his new family.

What happened next was anything but routine.

Within 24 hours of arriving at his new home, instead of settling in with his mama, his brother, and the family who already loved him, Cesar crashed. His kidneys went into failure and he ended up in an emergency ICU fighting for his life.

What we believe happened is that the veterinarian used an NSAID during the procedure that is approved only for livestock, cattle to be exact, not dogs, and then sent Cesar home with a second NSAID for pain relief. His kidney levels were already elevated before the procedure. Stacking two NSAIDs in a dog whose kidneys were already under stress, one of them not even intended for canine use, was devastating.

After weeks of critical care and $30,000, we saved him. It was close. Too close.

We are so happy to tell you that Cesar is back home with Carrie Anne, Claudius, and his family and he is doing well and he is so loved.

Please, before any routine procedure, ask your vet to run pre-surgical bloodwork and review it with you. Ask what medications will be used. Advocate loudly for your animals, because sometimes the most dangerous moment is the one that looks the most ordinary. 🤍 The last photo is of Cesar back home🙏🏻

06/20/2026

This is what we do. Behind the scenes: we do checks on the sheep bands and we get a dog count at the start of the season. Any call, message, comment we do everything we can to track and make sure all guardians are not left and are with their sheep.

Two weeks ago we posted about Cricket and Badger, a male-female bonded Anatolian-Pyrenees pair in Northern Idaho. They w...
06/18/2026

Two weeks ago we posted about Cricket and Badger, a male-female bonded Anatolian-Pyrenees pair in Northern Idaho. They were needing help after one of their owners passed away, and the other is battling cancer. Owner Surrenders fall outside of our mission, but we knew we needed to help these two!

We found them a home tailored to everything we knew about them: 2 loving dogs, 6 foot chainlink & wire fencing all around and “good” with all livestock. Overall “if they are secure, they are safe and loving dogs.”

Today, THIS is where we are at. First night: they tore up 30 feet of the fencing. From there, it has just progressed. Turns out, they are NOT good with livestock, pinning and attempting to harm. They continually try to escape through their fencing (and do so successfully!). They have even released baby goats into the street. It is incredibly frustrating on every end. Their current family is managing and handling it all very well for dogs we assumed were prepared for livestock.

We need help. We need a new home for them that follows what THEY NEED. With many factors and research we always try to match a dog to the home that will give them everything they need. And with that comes the responsibility of being as transparent as possible about how, why, and what a dog may act like in change.

We placed them on a property with what we assumed to be secure fencing *for them*, with other animals, and with overall good people needing two guardians to help protect said animals. That has faded into incompatibility. They need no dig, 5-6 foot fencing. This means NO CHAINLINK or un-attached wire (see how Cricket dug out?). This means, solid wood or other along the bottom; this could mean buried wire or hog mesh across the bottom. Small livestock need to be fully enclosed!

It’s a tall order. We know. Ultimately these two need a secure property to decompress safely without the possibility and access to escape. We have limited options and they deserve a safe environment for everybody. They are loving and strong guardians.
We are determined to have them land into safety. Let’s get them home. Please message us.

Here you go:Late Saturday night, we received a call about a working LGD spotted looking thin and tired near Smiley Creek...
06/17/2026

Here you go:

Late Saturday night, we received a call about a working LGD spotted looking thin and tired near Smiley Creek. We took off up there first thing Sunday morning to check.

What we found was a nursing mama, sweet as can be, doing her very best, standing right on the highway at dusk with nothing but an old rope tied tight around her neck. And yet, she was still out there giving everything she had. The pups are being kept close and protected. We made contact, shared our information, and the door is open if they need us.

But here’s what stayed with us.

The folks at Smiley Creek have been keeping an eye on these dogs, watching how these operators care for them and their sheep, and they are not pleased with what they are seeing. The wider community is paying attention, and people are starting to understand that it matters.

That is our mission at work.

We exist not just to rescue abandoned dogs, but to be a visible, trusted presence in the communities where working LGDs live and labor. When a neighbor picks up the phone because something doesn’t look right, when a local is keeping eyes on a pack, that is exactly the culture we are trying to build here in Blaine County and across Idaho.

Season is just getting started. We will keep showing up. 🐾🏔️

Friends, we have an update on Ollie and we want to be honest with you because you have followed his journey and you dese...
06/10/2026

Friends, we have an update on Ollie and we want to be honest with you because you have followed his journey and you deserve to know where things stand.

We took him in yesterday to understand why his leg still looks wrong, why he carries it strangely, why something has just never seemed right since his explant surgery. That surgery was done specifically to remove all the metal from his original procedure, because when infection sets in it adheres to metal and cannot be properly treated otherwise. We were told it was complete.

It was not. The x-rays yesterday showed two pieces of metal still inside his leg. His body has been fighting them ever since. The joint is now fully infected and inflamed, and we are facing a very real possibility that Ollie may need to lose that leg.

This is not a simple decision. His right leg has an angular deformity, and before we do anything we have to honestly assess whether that leg can carry him as a tripod long term. We are pursuing a specialist consult and we will not make this call until we have the information we need to make it right.

What we know for certain is that this dog has been in pain, quietly fighting an infection that should never have existed, and he has done it with the same patience and grace he brings to everything.

We will keep you updated every step of the way. Please keep Ollie in your thoughts and send him some love today. He needs it and he has earned it.❤️🐾🙏🏻

06/09/2026

Good morning, friends 🐾 If you’ve been following sweet Ollie’s journey, we have an update and honestly, it’s one of those mornings where you just hold your breath a little.

Ollie’s leg is not healing the way we had hoped. He’s been holding it funny, using it some days and not others, and our gut is telling us something isn’t right. So this morning we’re heading back to the vet for new x-rays to get a clearer picture of what’s going on.

This boy. This sweet, resilient, love-hungry boy. He has been through so much and he just keeps showing up with that big heart of his. When he connects with a person, he gives everything he has. He just wants to be loved.

We know a medical dog isn’t for everyone, and we understand that. But we are not giving up on Ollie, not even a little bit.

If there is anyone out there looking to adopt this young man, especially someone nearby, we would love to talk to you about him. He truly doesn’t ask for much. He just wants someone around. That’s it. That’s his whole wish.

Send him your best vibes this morning. We’ll update you as soon as we know more. 🙏🏻❤️🐾

Cricket and Badger are home. 💙A few weeks ago someone who knows us reached out privately. A woman in Northern Idaho was ...
06/05/2026

Cricket and Badger are home. 💙

A few weeks ago someone who knows us reached out privately. A woman in Northern Idaho was posting on Facebook, desperate to find help for her two dogs. She had just lost her husband, and she is fighting cancer herself. Her two Anatolian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees mixes were locked in a fenced yard, depressed and grieving right alongside her. She could see it in them.

She wasn’t asking for much. She just wanted them somewhere safe, somewhere they could feel okay again.

Helping individual owner situations isn’t our mission, but lately we have found ourselves stepping in for a couple of these, where someone is facing the unthinkable and just needs a soft place to land. And honestly, we are so glad we did.

We got Badger neutered, Cricket was already spayed, and yesterday these two walked into their new home together. A homestead. Livestock to protect. A real job to do.

And here’s the part that gets us… this family had just lost a baby lamb to coyotes. A little lamb their daughter had been bottle feeding and raising herself.

Cricket and Badger showed up exactly when they were needed.

Two dogs who lost their person. A family who lost their lamb. And somehow, in the middle of all of it, the right doors opened at the right time.

To the woman in Northern Idaho who trusted us with her heart dogs during the hardest season of her life… we see you. We are rooting for you. Cricket and Badger are going to be just fine.

This is what rescue looks like when it works. This is why we don’t give up.

Some bonds don’t need words. 🤍This is Hansen and his dad, and if this photo doesn’t stop you mid-scroll, I don’t know wh...
06/03/2026

Some bonds don’t need words. 🤍

This is Hansen and his dad, and if this photo doesn’t stop you mid-scroll, I don’t know what will.

You may remember Hansen and his girls (sheep)🐑 they got adopted together. He took 15 weeks to rescue. Two months before he would accept a human touch. A dog who had every reason not to trust, and yet here he is, leaning in, eyes soft, completely at peace with the man who chose him. His new Mom is not pictured. But loves her too I might add🐾❤️

This is why we do not give up. Not on the ones the world has forgotten. Not on the ones who need more time. Not on the ones who are harder to love at first.

Because this moment, right here, is always waiting on the other side of patience.

Sweet boy. You are so loved. 🐾🤍

05/31/2026

Fair warning: I took this video this morning and I’m just now getting a chance to post it, and I look like hell. That’s rescue life 🤣. Ollie, however, looks amazing, so focus on him.

Meet Ollie.

This boy has been through more than most dogs will ever face. Major surgeries. A long road of recovery. And through all of it, he just kept going.

Ollie has been with a foster while he healed, and now he’s back with us, almost four weeks in, and he is doing beautifully. Settled. Sweet. Ready.

Ready to stop being a dog in transition and start being somebody’s dog. For real, for good, forever.

Now, we’re going to be honest with you, because Ollie deserves an honest introduction. He’s been through enough that he holds on tight to the people he loves, and that loyalty shows up in some protective behaviors around food his person and his space. He can be growly when he feels like something he loves might be at stake. We get it, Ollie. We really do.

The good news is he’s actively working with our behaviorist and trainer, and he is responding. These are things we can talk through together, and we want to, because the right home for Ollie isn’t intimidated by a little complexity. They’re just the right fit.

Watch this video. And if something in you says I want to know more, reach out. DM us, comment, email us. We will talk to you about this boy as long as it takes.

🤍 Ollie has earned his people. Let’s find them.

05/29/2026

🐾✨ THEY MADE IT. ✨🐾

Last night, Carrie Anne and her boys Claudius and Caesar walked through the door of their forever home, all three of them, together.

Just weeks ago these sweet souls were facing euthanasia after losing the only life they had ever known. Today they are safe, loved, and right where they belong.

This is why we do what we do.

Thank you to everyone who shared, who reached out, who refused to let these three slip through the cracks. You helped make this moment possible.

Mama and her boys. Home. Forever. 🤍

💛 Unega Mountain Dog Rescue

Address

Ketchum, ID

Telephone

+12087213349

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Unega Mountain Dog Rescue posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Unega Mountain Dog Rescue:

Shortcuts

Share

Category