STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A Sip n’ Shop will be held on Friday to benefit a dog rescue that was the subject of a film shown at the Sun Valley Film Festival this week.

“UNEGA: Tales of the Guardians” zeroed in on the nonprofit Unega Mountain Dog Rescue near Timmerman Hill that rescues and rehabilitates big white Pyrenees and Akbash that have been left behind in the mountains surrounding Sun Valley while guarding sheep.

The dress shop at 520 E. 4th St. in Ketchum will furnish the sips. And 15 percent of all purchases made between noon and 4 p.m. on Friday, March 1, will go to the dog rescue.

“We’ll have special doggie goodie bags for our four-legged furry friends and treat for our human guests, too. Plus, we’ll be launching our fabulous March collection that day,” said Sarah Howe.

Tiffany Larson and Gary Tickner opened the ranch in October 2020 after their Ketchum condo became too small to house all the dogs they were rescuing.

Their mission started with a 3-month-old Pyrenees Tiffany’s son found in a ditch near Kelly Mountain. The puppy had parvovirus and was near death, unable to keep up with its herd.

They took the dog home, nursed it back to health and soon their condo was bursting at the seams with rescue dogs.

In 2020 they were able to secure 133 acres of sagebrush in foothills of the Pioneer Mountains near Timmerman Hill, where they bought a tiny house and put up two 400-square foot dog houses, outfitting them with dog beds and sofas. Over the years, they have made further improvements, including digging a pond and outfitting a patio deck with more dog beds, while planting trees for shade.