
Gentle Guardians
Nestled high in the Guatemala mountains, 5,000 feet above sea level, three Tibetan Mastiffs are lying in the rich, green grass. Suddenly, they become alert. All six eyes fix on the front gate.
As the guard opens the gate to admit a visitor, Bohdi, the oldest of the three, walks forward to inspect, then approve the newcomer. As he does, the other two Tibetan Mastiffs walk over to the children in the playground, closing ranks around them. They know their duty.
With its limestone-bedded jungles, active volcanoes and coastlines that touch both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Guatemala is a beautiful, rugged country. But in cities and towns, it struggles to recover from the ravages of a 36-year-long civil war that ended in 1996. In its aftermath, 60 percent of the population was left living in poverty, and half the survivors were under the age of 15. According to Human Rights Watch, 25 percent of all Guatemalan children today are orphaned or abandoned, competing for survival on the streets and especially susceptible to the lure of gangs. Lacking social services, these street children are drawn into a vicious social cycle of hopelessness and poverty. They live in appalling national institutions that perpetuate this social order instead of interrupting it.
On four acres in Parramos, Guatemala, Semillas de Amor (“Seeds of Love”) is a privately funded orphanage that is home to 23 children, ranging from newborns to 12-year-olds. In stark contrast to the violence and struggle that are a daily reality in the life of most other Guatemalan children, they receive age-appropriate education as well as art and music lessons. It is a life that is as close to family life as one can have, without having a traditional family.
It is also a life with Tibetan Mastiffs.
Semillas de Amor was founded by Nancy Bailey, a professional woman and entrepreneur whose life changed in November 1992, when she visited an orphanage in the western highlands of Guatemala. There she found 45 children, ages two to 12, with little adult supervision and no play activities. The children were needy, just wanting to be loved and held. The dirty, runny-nosed, lice-infested kids found their way into her heart. She promised to come back and visit, but nobody believed her. The kids had been visited by many people who had made the same promise, but never kept it.
But Nancy did come back – every three months for a period of four weeks, for the following 18 months. She brought medicine, toys, clothes and art supplies for the children. After several trips she realized her visits could never provide the type of help these kids so desperately needed, which consistent, constant, limit-setting, loving adults in their lives. They also needed activities to stimulate their learning and creativity.
Bohdi and Dooney in a relaxed moment.
In February 1994, Nancy decided go to Guatemala and spend a year developing an enrichment program for the children. Within a few months of her arrival, she knew she could not leave after a year and return to the United States.
Nancy researched breeds to meet her needs: a guardian-type breed that was good with children. It had to be a large breed, because in general, Guatemalans are afraid of large dogs. She narrowed her list and became intrigued with Tibetan Mastiffs. They seemed to fit the bill. Although they are relatively rare, she wanted to investigate further and see how available they were.Nancy contacted several breeders via email, asked questions, and settled on me at Aujudon Tibetan Mastiffs. But there were snags. At first, I was skeptical of her location. She told me she was in Antigua. I kindly but gently told her that the tropical island’s climate would be too hot and humid for a Tibetan Mastiff. Wrong Antigua! She immediately wrote back and said it was Antigua, Guatemala, and she lived high up in the mountains. Known as “the land of eternal spring,” Antigua has temperatures that are always in the high 60s to mid 70s F.
Nancy flew to Atlanta when her puppy was nine weeks old to pick him up. Nancy felt like an old friend I had not seen in a while. We spent two days together, and our friendship bloomed. She met my adult Tibetan Mastiffs and got to spend time with them, which only cemented her belief that a Tibetan Mastiff was the breed she needed.
That puppy was Bohdi, the first Tibetan Mastiff to go to Semillas de Amor. A beautiful blue/gray with a very full mane that shrouds his neck and chest, he resembles a large blue lion. The oldest of the home’s three Tibetan Mastiffs, he is their natural leader. Kind and gentle, he loves the children, but usually sits a bit apart, taking an advantageous view, so he can watch over them.
Almost every day, for many weeks, I would get an email with a Bohdi story. Most of the stories included the children – how he was interacting with the older kids, how he “helped” the caregivers at snack time by doing clean-up duty behind toddlers, how, at 5 months old, he chased and cornered an employee who was sweeping because he felt the broom was a threat and needed to be stopped.
“Bohdi sees the kids as needing to be looked out for, to protect them and watch them,” Nancy says. “He would give his life for them.” Bohdi paved the way for the next two Tibetan Mastiffs at Semillas de Amor. Dooney arrived three years later. A striking black and tan, Dooney has a very noble appearance. While also an excellent guardian, he is much more interactive with the kids, rolling in the grass or playing games with them. Kids straddle him and often use him for a pillow.
And last year, Gracie made the trek to Guatemala. Also a black and tan, she is learning how to guard from her older Tibetan Mastiff “brothers.” Because she is the youngest of the bunch, the underdog, the kids are super protective of her – they relate.
Semillas de Amor has an “open door” policy for its Tibetan Mastiffs: They are permitted wherever the children are.
A typical day for the Tibetan Mastiffs at the children’s home begins by exploring the perimeter of the five acres, checking to make sure all is secure. Next is breakfast time for the kids. The dogs wait patiently, hopeful for a handout. Classroom time finds the dogs lounging in the classrooms, listening to children read, watching them color, or listening to them practice English. In between, the dogs wander the hallways, entering classrooms at will. There is a strict “open door” policy. The dogs are allowed into any room the children are in. They can also be found hanging out in the administrative offices, lying on the couches.
Lunch is next, and some outside time for the kids and dogs. Again, the Tibetan Mastiffs will check the grounds to make sure all is right. On Fridays, the three dogs go for a hike with the kids. They don backpacks loaded with snacks and bottled water for all. Some days, the kids and dogs go on field trips. They all pile into the van.
For the kids, not only are the dogs their friends; they’re therapists, too. Some of these children came from very abusive situations and they trust the dogs with their secrets and feelings. Or if they’ve had their feeling hurts, they will seek out a dog for comfort. The dogs provide a good avenue to teach about compassion, sympathy, empathy, kindness and even bullying.
“They provide stability and consistency,” Nancy says. “The dogs are always the same ... never good or bad moods. They provide unconditional love. If the dogs bark, the kids go into alert mode. They know the dogs will protect them on walks or if someone is at the gate.”
They are also excellent judges of character. A woman working at the children’s home didn’t like the dogs’ presence there, complaining that they smelled bad (they don’t) and just about the dogs in general. She tried to get them to sleep outside and complained to the office manager. “In hindsight, I thought the woman would’ve been abusive to the children, but was afraid of the dogs,” says Nancy, adding that the woman was later fired after it was discovered that she had lied about her previous employment. “The Tibetan Mastiffs are always so perceptive about people and their motives.”
A true Tibetan Mastiff is fearless, but gentle enough for even the youngest child to control.
Kathryn, a 5-year-girl at Semillas de Amor, has had difficulty being in groups of people. She has no noise tolerance, and was very uncomfortable in large groups of children and the noise they create. Instead, she much preferred to be with the dogs. She could be seen quietly sitting and petting them. “It was therapeutic,” Nancy explains. “After several months, she was able to be in bigger group situations, and could stay in the classroom better.
“Many kids were more comfortable because the dogs don’t expect anything from them,” she continues. “They just want to sit quietly with them, and the dogs are totally fine with that.”
Caring for the dogs has taught the children empathy. “They learned a tremendous amount of respect for other creatures and each other. They’ve learned no hitting, no kicking, no pulling of tails,” Nancy says. “They learned the dogs aren’t perfect, they aren’t perfect, and they’ve learned to accept things as they are. The dogs have taught them compassion, unconditional love and kindness.”
Eight-year-old Francisco astride his best friend, Dooney.
Nancy was brought to tears when she heard 8-year-old Francisco on a radio program responding to a question about what he wanted for Christmas: a bone for “his” dog, which is his favorite, Dooney. “The Tibetan Mastiffs have taught the kids how to want things for someone else,” she says. “They’ve also taught the kids how to be gentle and respectful and that the dogs have rules, too. They too, give commands to the dogs, and can say many commands in perfect English.” In Guatemala, in general, dogs are not treated well, certainly not anything like how we treat our dogs in the States. In general, big dogs are considered to be something to be feared. This works well for the Tibetan Mastiffs, as they help deter riffraff. Guatemalans are amazed to see little children playing and handling the large Tibetan Mastiffs.
Like the breed that has captured her heart, Nancy Bailey will fight to the death to defend the vulnerable children that call her “Mama Nancy.” Advocating for Guatemalan children for more than 20 years, she has garnered unwanted attention, as she works to unite in process children at Semillas de Amor with their waiting adoptive parents. She proclaims the rights violations, the unjustness and unfairness of these children to anyone and everyone who will listen. She has gone to hearings, court dates, meetings and in all she fights for the children’s rights. It has not made her popular with government officials. Her very forthrightness and tenaciousness for these children in her care is unequaled. In a country like Guatemala, it can be dangerous, too.
Dooney, Gracie and Bohdi pose for the camera.
Semillas de Amor is the very last private children’s home in existence in Guatemala. International adoptions ceased at the end of 2006. Only those adoptions “in process” under the old adoptions laws were supposed to be completed. At that time, about 900 children were in process. Today, six years after the laws changed, 350 of these children are still in limbo. The awaiting parents despair as these children they wait for, grow older, day by day, week by week and year by year, in institutions. Seven children at Semillas de Amor are still in process.
This March, Nancy left Semillas de Amor to visit her son in Taiwan. She arrived to the news that a government raid was in progress at the children’s home. For nine hours, the children and staff were relentlessly interrogated.
Luckily, the Tibetan Mastiffs were in the office, as they would’ve done what they are supposed to do – protect their children at all costs – and undoubtedly would have been shot. During it all, the Tibetan Mastiffs stayed with their children, allowing 4- and 5-year-olds to “hold them back.” At any time they could have broken free, but they chose to stay close to the children, protecting and comforting them.
It has been stated many times that a true Tibetan Mastiff is fearless, but gentle enough for the oldest woman or the youngest child in the village to control. In this case, high in the mountains of Guatemala, this trio is acting true to their history and heritage. Like their ancestors before them, these Tibetan Mastiffs are fearless, loyal and loving to their family and doing a job done for thousands of years, keeping their loved ones safe.
For more information about Semillas de Amor, or to donate to the school and children’s home, visit www.semillasdeamor.org or www.facebook.com/semillasdeamorguatemala.
About the Author
Audrey Lee of Aujudon Tibetan Mastiffs is a professional groomer and the owner and founder of Cedartown Pet Boutique, a grooming, boarding and training business in Cedartown, Georgia. Prior to AKC recognition, she owned the nation’s number-one Tibetan Mastiff, owner-handling him to 54 Bests in Show and three back-to-back national-specialty wins. Since AKC inception, she has finished many champions, and has owner-handled her Tibetan Mastiffs into the top five.