Hasar is not even a year old. But this is one big puppy with a big job to do.

Hasar is a Mongolian bankhar. Once, the bankhar dog was common in central Asia. The dogs guarded livestock that grazed the rolling hills and high, flat plains of Mongolia. But when we say “once,” we mean hundreds and even thousands of years ago.

Today, there are almost no bankhars left. Not in Mongolia—or anywhere in the world. The Mongolia Bankhar Dog Project wants that to change. The group is working hard to bring back the bankhar dog. It has a center near Mongolia’s capital city. Scientists used DNA testing. They found 10 pure bankhar dogs. Those dogs are being used to breed more bankhar puppies.

Pure bankhar puppies stay at the center until they are four or five months old. Then they go to live with a Mongolian herder’s family.

Hasar works all night. She guards a herd of sheep while her human family sleeps in their tent-house called a yurt.

If a leopard, wolf, or bear comes near the flock, Hasar sounds the alarm. Her bark frightens the other animal away. The sheep are safe with Hasar watching over them.

The Mongolia Bankhar Dog Project has placed 15 puppies with herding families. It hopes to add more each year. One day, the bankhar may be common on the Mongolian plains again.