We are blessed to have these 2 wonderful Great Pyrenees! And the beauty of puppies as well. I love these dogs as I'm sure all of you do too!

We have a challenge arising in the community regarding the care of these animals and perhaps a lack of understanding of the purpose of these dogs.

1. The purpose of these dogs is to be Farm guard dogs for our livestock.

2. We have had predation of our chickens and possibly of our lambs and calves. They need protection.

3. We did lots of research into guard animals and found that the Great Pyrenees is one of the best in that arena; plus we have previous experience with this breed here at Sunrise.

4. They are best as a breeding pair.

5. The puppies are intended to be an income stream and are not an option for any resident to purchase.

With that said, Alec is in charge of these animals and he is training them for the purpose stated above. As such we want to be clear about the following:

1. Alec is the focus with Cassies help and it's not fair to them or the dogs for any of the community to develop a relationship with these dogs. Plus it will render their purpose and training ineffective.

2. These dogs are not pets. They are working farm dogs.

3. Alec chains up Zaas for a reason and purpose and the last 2 nights someone has set him free. Then Alec, thinking Zaas is on his run, lets Zuzu out for a purpose assuming Zaas is contained. But Zaas is loose, they find each other and disappear.

4. Now Alec has to spend emotional energy (are they going to fall thru ice , is the neighbor on Greenridge going to shoot them, are they going to get run over by a car, etc ....you get the point.) Not to mention he has to waste time finding them versus doing the farm work for the community.

5. Also, the dogs aren't doing what they are supposed to do and they are developing bad habits.

6. The dogs are less effective if they have multiple human relationships and we don't want that. You can Google it and read about it if you don't believe me.

7. Soon Alec will be purchasing the Electric Fence system and begin training the dogs in a very specific boundary program that is designed for the Farm , it's animals and layout and to maximize protection of our livestock.

Starting Today please observe the following:

1. Stop releasing the dogs from their chains or runs.

2. All Community members are to cease their connection with these Farm dogs. That means they don't come in your house, you don't take them for walks, visit them, develop a relationship with them, let them hang out with you, feed or water them. You can send them your love via Attunement at a distance or a simple passing by when you are down at the Farm.

3. Stop vetenary care. This is Alec's responsibilty and he will decide what and when that level of care is needed. If you have a health concern about the dogs, please use the care desk system.

4. Alec will make all decisions, along with me, for the dogs and that might mean he will delegate someone to move them or help with them in their capacity as Farm guard dogs.

5. Basically, no one is to have a relationship with these dogs except Alec and Cassie and me to a very minimal extent.

-Michael Costello