Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network

10/13/2026

Candy Cane had a long day at All Heart Veterinary Center today! She is one of our adoptable LGDs who lives in the pasture, so we can’t say exactly what happened, but her back leg was swollen and she licked the top of her foot raw from the pain/irritation. We’ve dealt with copperhead bites, and in those cases, the dog doesn’t typically lick the wound, at least not THIS much. I thought maybe this was a spider bite, as Candy’s presentation was similar to Gretl’s case a few years ago. I have stepped on a locust thorn that punctured the sole of my shoe, so that was another possibility I mentioned. But Dr. Meier didn’t find anything to suggest any of those as the cause of Candy Cane’s issue. She said the injury seems more like you would expect if something heavy had been dropped on her foot and quickly rolled off. Our longhorn bull MoonPie lives in the pasture where Candy Cane has been living, so maybe he stepped on her foot? It seems unlikely, as the LGDs and longhorns tend to keep their distance from each other. But that’s the only thing I can think of that might explain her injury. Whatever the cause, the wound has been cleaned and treated with the cold laser. While Candy Cane was sedated, Dr. Meier also took the opportunity to clean her teeth.

Through it all, Candy Cane was sweet and easy to manage. Which is more than you could say for me if I had been in her place!

I’ll take Candy Cane back on Friday for another laser treatment and a bandage change. Until then, she’ll get antibiotics and pain meds, and she’ll stay in the house so it will be easier to keep her bandage (mostly) clean.

10/13/2026

Does anyone remember the musical/movie about 💃Gypsy Rose Lee? Her most famous song was "Let me entertain you" which included the line 🎼 "I'm very versatile."🎵 That's the song and line that keeps playing in my head as I look at these photos of handsome Anatolian Shepherd Mr. Bastrop. This sweet boy spent most of his time at Windsong Ranch outdoors -- sometimes in a play yard with his sister Birdee and/or other dogs, and sometimes in the pasture with our Nigerian Dwarf goats and working LGDs. Then he went to a foster home where we were expecting him to get some experience living in the pasture with sheep, as we get a lot of applications from folks who have sheep and need a livestock guardian to protect them. But from the looks of these recent photos, Bastrop is learning as much about AC and cushy beds as he is about sheep. 😄 (The first three photos are from his foster home and the last two are at Windsong Ranch.)

We think Bastrop might enjoy a hybrid lifestyle -- time in the house with his people, especially during hot ☀️summer days, plus time in the yard with other dogs or in the pasture with goats and other LGDs. He does seem to be happiest when he has another dog to keep him company. He has had some exposure to chickens and barn cats, but with animals of any species, he would need proper introductions and supervision in a new home. Bastrop is about 2 years 10 months old and weighs about 115 lbs. He gets along well with other dogs and can be either friendly or shy on meeting new people -- it seems to depend on the setting. Even in cases where he is shy at first, he warms up and becomes affectionate.💕

Bastrop is currently back at Windsong Ranch in Whitewright TX.

If Bastrop seems like a good match for you, send a PM to the page to start a conversation. Or visit our website (Linktree in our page bio) to complete the application.

10/12/2026

Akbash puppies Dexter, Brynner, and McQueen are 4 months old and have had all their vaccinations. They had a rough start in life on the ranch in Gatesville TX from which we have so far removed 62 dogs and puppies. Like most of the Gatesville pups, these boys are all very shy, but they allow me to handle them. I would SOOOO love to find foster homes or adopters so each puppy could get more individual attention than I can provide.

They were born in the pasture and since coming to Windsong Ranch, they have lived in one of our barns with a small yard. They like playing with toys and with each other. They could benefit from moving to a home with a confident dog who will show them that humans can be trusted. They are young enough to start training as a future livestock guardian, OR to move inside and learn what it means to be a family pet. (Just to clarify, our goal would be to move each puppy to a separate home so they can bond with others instead of staying bonded to each other.)

If you are interested in fostering or adopting, or if you can devote some time to come to Windsong Ranch (Whitewright TX) to help socialize them, please send a PM to the page to start a conversation.

10/11/2026

Gatesville puppies Bronson and Vaughn are 4 months old now and have had all their vaccinations. Two weeks ago, they weighed 36 and 38 lbs respectively. They are growing like weeds, so they could end up topping 100 lbs each by the time they're a year old. Like most of the dogs we have rescued from Gatesville, we believe these puppies are likely a mix of Great Pyrenees and Akbash.

As you can see from the photo, these puppies are being raised inside the house. They are learning about house/potty-training and crate-training. They are not thrilled with leash-training, but it's something their foster mom is trying to convince them is not punishment.

We have other dogs and puppies who can be adopted as future livestock guardians, but not this pair.

If you're interested in adopting a puppy (or an adult!), please visit our website, where you'll find information about our process, along with the application. Linktree in our page bio has links to various pages on our website to make it easy for you to find what you want.

Bluebonnet Animal Rescue is based at Windsong Ranch in Whitewright TX. Adopters must be able to come to our location to meet dogs and puppies.

10/10/2026

Saturday

Maybe you personally aren't worried about the pet over-population crisis that is plaguing this country, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats being killed in shelters due to over-crowding, and millions more dying OUTSIDE of shelters for lack of space in shelters, rescues, foster homes, and adoptive homes. Maybe you figure it doesn't impact you.

But there are MANY good reasons to spay/neuter your pets for your OWN benefit. One of the top reasons is that sterilized pets generally live a longer, healthier life. Why is that?

✅ Fewer accidents: Driven by s*x hormones, intact dogs have a strong urge to roam. This puts them at higher risk of getting hit by cars, getting lost, or fighting with other animals, which leads to fatal trauma, life-altering injuries or infections. We have rescued dogs who have been hit by car -- some survive and some don't. We have rescued one dog who was gored by the tusk of a feral hog. We have rescued two dogs who were caught in hunter's snare traps. We have rescued MANY dogs who were shot and/or hit by car, and in a few cases, a leg had to be amputated. We have rescued a few dogs who were attacked by either other dogs or coyotes -- we're not sure which, but the veterinarians were certain their injuries were caused by other canids.

✅ Less reproductive disease: Spaying eliminates the risk of fatal uterine infections (pyometra) and ovarian or uterine cancers in females. It also SIGNIFICANTLY reduces the risk of mammary cancer. Neutering eliminates testicular cancer in males and reduces the risk of prostate cancer and perianal tumors.

If you love your dog, make sure you get him neutered and get her spayed so you'll be able to enjoy their company for many years to come.

In case you're curious --

💕 Lulu and Donnie were adopted and continue to have a wonderful life.

❤ Buddy was adopted and had a great life for about 10 years and then was returned to us when the family went through some upheaval. Buddy will live with us for the rest of his life.

❤ Lindsey was adopted and returned twice because even though she's a companion dog/house pet, she has very typical guardian behaviors that need proper management. After being returned twice for truly normal behaviors, we decided to make her a sanctuary dog, since we know that WE understand her.

❤ Venus has lived with us for 9 years and was available for adoption for most of those years. But she started life as a feral dog, and even though she's got excellent house manners, she will always be shy. Sadly, most adopters just aren't interested in a dog who isn't outwardly affectionate. We took Venus off our list of adoptable dogs a while back, and like Buddy and Lindsey, Venus will live with us for the rest of her life.

10/09/2026

To close out International Animal Welfare Week, we have a really interesting product to tell you about, and it seems like the perfect way to start your week-end because it involves b**r!

We're all familiar with those ubiquitous plastic rings that hold together 6 cans of b**r or other beverages. They came onto the market in the 1960s, and by the 1980s, it was estimated that more than 100,000 marine animals and up to one million birds were injured or killed EACH YEAR by humans' careless disposal of these rings. My beverage of choice (Dr. Pepper) comes in plastic bottles held together by a plastic 6-pack ring, and every time I put those bottles in the fridge, I cut the rings apart to make sure they can't get caught on an animal. But even THAT is not enough, because some of the plastics that end up in the ocean eventually turn into microplastics -- small beads that are ingested by marine life, birds, and land animals alike. By 2018, National Geographic estimated that 18 BILLION POUNDS of plastics end up in the oceans every year, harming almost 700 species of animals.

The surf-loving folks at a small independent brewery felt compelled to do something about this problem. They came up with a new product that holds their cans of b**r together but is safe for the environment -- for the oceans, for animals, and for land. They used byproducts of their brewing process -- wheat and barley remnants -- to create a replacement for plastic 6-pack rings. They had to do a lot of testing to design a product that would hold the weight of their product and hold up in the humid conditions of refrigerated display cases where their products are kept for sale, but would also be biodegradable, compostable, and safe for any animal to consume. Saltwater Brewery is based in Florida, so the ocean is perhaps more important to them than it might be to a landlocked company. Other small breweries located close to the ocean have started using their "Eco Six Pack Rings," including Flying Tiger Brewery in Louisiana and Salty Turtle B**r Co. in North Carolina, as well as breweries in Australia, Scotland, and several other U.S. states. Corona is the first major b**r company to adopt the rings, though they are currently only using them in Mexico.

I hope more beverage companies -- not just b**r, but also bottled water and soft drinks -- will start using these (or other) eco-friendly rings to cut down on the harm that humans are doing to animals of all types with our affinity for single-use plastics and our careless handling of waste materials. You can do your part by looking for AND CHOOSING products packaged in more environmentally friendly ways that are less likely to harm animals.

**rco

10/09/2026

I can definitely identify with THIS!

10/09/2026