TL;DR
Wyoming ranchers and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office are asking people not to remove livestock guardian dogs from rural areas simply because they appear to be strays. Rancher Martin Wissner said a neighbor took his Akbash, Faith, to a Cheyenne shelter; he had to retrieve her and pay a fine. Officials and shelter staff say people should contact authorities rather than transport an unfamiliar dog themselves.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is asking people not to pick up large dogs they see in rural Wyoming, after ranchers reported that livestock guardian dogs were being mistaken for strays and taken to shelters. Rancher Martin Wissner said a neighbor removed his Akbash, Faith, from his property and brought her to a Cheyenne shelter, leaving his sheep without their trained guardian until he retrieved her.
Wissner said Faith had been working with his sheep on his ranch near Carpenter when she disappeared. He called animal control in Cheyenne and learned she had been dropped off at a local shelter after a neighbor spotted her just outside a fence on his property. According to Wissner, Faith wore a collar with a rabies tag and a halter plate displaying his name, address and contact information. He drove about 30 miles to get her and paid a fine to retrieve her.
The sheriff’s office said it frequently receives calls about people who pick up livestock guardian dogs and take them to shelters. In a public statement, the department described them as working dogs on open range and urged people to leave them alone. Wissner said his dogs stay with the livestock around the clock, watching for predators and alerting or defending the flock.
Carey Sullivan, manager at Paws for Life Animal League in Riverton, told Cowboy State Daily that people have brought guardian dogs to the shelter after finding them in rural areas. She said those people generally mean well, but ranchers can be frustrated when a dog is kept from its work. Megan Manning, operations manager at The Pet Connection in Lander, said her shelter directs people who call about loose dogs to contact law enforcement rather than bring the animal in.
A Missing Dog Leaves Livestock Exposed
Removing a guardian dog can disrupt a ranch’s protection for sheep, goats or other livestock. These dogs are not simply pets roaming away from home: they are trained to live alongside the animals they guard, often far from a rancher’s immediate view. If one is taken away, its flock may lose an important layer of defense while the owner searches for it.
The consequences can also extend beyond the immediate absence. Wissner said a guardian dog can cost about $1,000 and may need one to two years of training to learn property boundaries and perform its role reliably. His account shows why a well-intentioned rescue can create practical and financial costs for a rancher, even when the person who intervenes believes the dog is lost or underfed.
The public reminder is relevant to anyone traveling through ranch country: an unfamiliar dog’s presence outside a fence does not, by itself, establish that it is abandoned or in danger. A call to local authorities allows someone familiar with the area to assess the situation without immediately separating a working dog from its animals.
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Guardian Dogs Work With Their Flocks
Livestock guardian dogs differ from herding dogs. Herding dogs move livestock from place to place; guardian dogs generally live among the animals they protect and respond to threats. They may be alone with a flock while the rancher is elsewhere, so their presence in an open or unfenced area may be part of the job rather than evidence that they have wandered off.
Wissner said Faith is an Akbash, a Turkish breed used to guard livestock. He told Cowboy State Daily that Akbash dogs can look thinner than breeds such as Great Pyrenees, even when healthy. The report does not establish that every dog seen in ranch country is a working guardian, but it explains why appearance alone can lead to mistaken assumptions.
Shelter practices also vary. Manning said The Pet Connection in Lander is often at capacity and reserves kennel space for strays brought in by police. The shelter’s approach gives law enforcement a chance to determine whether a loose dog is lost or working before it is brought inside.
“Our LGDs do a yeoman job 24/7/365 of watching over their livestock and alerting/defending them from all sorts of predators.”
— Martin Wissner, rancher
How Often Dogs Are Taken
The report includes accounts from ranchers, a sheriff’s office and shelter workers, but it does not provide a statewide count of guardian dogs taken to shelters or a trend over time. The sheriff’s office said it frequently receives related calls; no figures were given to quantify how often the incidents occur.
Details about the neighbor’s decision to take Faith, including whether she tried to contact Wissner before taking the dog, were not reported. The account also does not specify the exact fine Wissner paid or the shelter’s procedures in his case. The available information does not establish that all loose dogs in rural areas are working animals; it supports caution and contacting authorities rather than making assumptions.
The sheriff’s office is asking the public to leave livestock guardian dogs where they are and seek help from local authorities if a dog appears injured, in immediate danger or clearly separated from its animals. Shelter staff in the report also advised against automatically loading an unfamiliar dog into a vehicle and taking it to a facility.
Residents and visitors can follow local law enforcement or animal-control guidance when they encounter a loose dog. The report did not announce a new enforcement program or a deadline for further action; the immediate development is the public reminder and the request that people check with authorities before intervening.
Key Questions
Why are ranchers asking people not to pick up these dogs?
Livestock guardian dogs live with and protect flocks. Taking one away can leave livestock without its guardian and keep a trained working animal from its duties.
What happened to Martin Wissner’s dog Faith?
Wissner said a neighbor found Faith just outside a fence on his property and took her to a Cheyenne shelter. He retrieved the Akbash and paid a fine, according to the report.
How can someone tell whether a dog is a guardian rather than a stray?
A dog’s appearance or location alone may not answer that question. Guardian dogs may be working away from their owners, so the sheriff’s office and shelter staff advise contacting local authorities instead of assuming the dog is abandoned.
Are all loose dogs in rural areas working dogs?
No. The report does not say that every loose dog is a guardian animal. It urges people to avoid removing a dog based only on an assumption and to ask local authorities for help assessing the situation.
What should someone do if a dog appears injured or in immediate danger?
Contact local law enforcement or animal control and follow their directions. The report does not give a single statewide procedure, so the appropriate contact may depend on the location.
Source: cowboystatedaily.com
