Distinguished Livestock Guardian Award 2023

CH Karaboudjan’s For What It’s Worth “Şarki”

Şarki joined our family when he was 11 months old.  We had only had Şarki for a couple of months when the baby goats were born.  It was obvious right away how strong his instincts were to care for and watch over the babies.   I didn’t know how strong, until the babies were about 10 days old.  That night I had let Şarki out ahead of me and opened the door to the barn for him to go by the baby goats pen they were in.  I went back inside to prepare the bottles to feed them.  Şarki hadn’t been out there, but maybe a couple of minutes and I heard frantic barking.  I didn’t get too concerned, I thought he probably saw something concerning outside the fence and he chased it away.  But the barking didn’t stop and then I heard him clawing and jumping at the back door.  He had never done that, so I thought I better go see what was going on.  I opened the door and he was just frantic and ran back to the barn.  I looked in the barn and the one baby goat had blood spurting out of the top of her head.  I had just disbudded their horns 3 days before and I have never had a problem.  It had been bleeding for a little bit because there was blood everywhere.  I picked her up, ran to the house to get some towels to stop the bleeding.  Şarki was running with me every step of the way.  I applied pressure until it stopped bleeding.  The babies head started to go limp.  Şarki kept licking her face to try to keep her going.  She was ok and I gave her some glucose to give her a boost.  I was truly amazed for a 13 month old Anatolian that he already knew that he needed to come and get help and to be so persistent amount it.  He definitely saved her, because she had already lost alot of blood and even a few minutes more and the outcome might not have been so good.