Mastiffs that have been adopted (continued)
Dahlia
Dahlia is doing great. She has really bonded with Sarah (daughter) which I was glad for as Shawna is really my dog by no question and Sarah wanted that too.
Now the dogs both sleep in Sarah's room. I walk them once a day and Sarah
does in the afternoon
usually. They almost always go at least one walk
anyway. They now eat, sleep and hang out together.
Dahlia is so precious when she runs in circles or tries to jump with joy.
She is really a great dog.
So, I gave Dahlia a big hug for you. She has really filled out in her body
to look healthier. Her nose is almost healed and her eyes hardly ever need
cleaning though I wash her face every day because she likes it. We have had
no sign of infection and I think her weight gain has actually firmed up the
skin so her eyes look pretty normal with not so much closing.
Sarah left this morning for a few days with her brother and Dahlia was right
at the door perked and watching her leave. She slept with me after Sarah
Left (430am to catch the shuttle to St. Louis) for her flight. I am sure
Dahlia will miss her. Dahlia also misses Bill and hugs and snuggles him
when he gets home. She has been out in the yard with me and never runs off
to others walking or anything. She is definitely part of the family.
We are really glad to have her. Thanks for all you did for her until she
found a home.
Update on Dahlia 12/10/99
Dahlia is such a great dog. She has really become part of the
family. We are going to Biloxi Mississippi for Christmas and new year. The
dogs are both going in the motorhome. Some day I may get a new pup but
not while Dahlia's around.
She is really a great dog. She is always hugging and kissing and actually
jumps and plays when it is time to eat or go for a walk, etc. I cut her
food back a little to 3 cups twice a day because she was getting heavy. I
caught it in plenty of time but her and Shauna just follow me around and
sleep unless we go for a walk or go out to play. Two peas in a pod."
Adam
Adam is a young boy that had a very rough start in life. At about a year
old, he was confiscated along with almost 40 dogs from a cruelty case in
Georgia. He didn't have the best socialization and had some problems. He was
adopted by a couple who after several months decided that they
couldn't keep him. After many months of foster care, socialization and
training, a family in Miami adopted Adam and they LOVE him! He is a very
lucky dog to have gotten such a devoted and loving family. Here is their
update...
From the moment we layed eyes on Adam's picture from the website it was
love at first sight. We were already mastiff parents, we have a
magnificent 2 year old fawn male and we were looking for a brother for him.
We eagerly drove 4 hours to Sarasota, Florida to pick Adam up. We immediately
knew Adam would be at home with us. There were a few exchanges of barks and
growls between him and Bull but they have been inseperable ever since. They
sleep side by side and LOVE to wrestle and play. It was challenging to get
Adam to eat but we finally found that fresh feeding him is what works,
that is as long as I stand close by and assure him he's ok. Adam needs alot
of assurance and reassurance. He
needs alot of attention, patience and most importantly love and we are very
willing and eager to give him all he needs.
Adam is definately part of the
family, he has found a sanctuary in my room and feels very safe here.
Wherever I am in the home there you'll find Adam he follows me around all
day. We have 2 children who love to kiss and hug him and Adam loves to be
on the receiving end. We also have a cat who gets many "baths" from Bull
and Adam. We are so happy with our boys, they have added so much to our
lives. They make up a major part of our every day, between cooking for
them, grooming them, taking them to vet appointments, cleaning out ears, flushing
out eyes, administering Heartworm prevention and flea
prevention, excercising them, bathing them and loving them we hardly have
time for anything else - and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Thank you all for giving us Adam and for being such an inspiration to all
of us who love these dogs. Keep up the great work!!
Sara and Hobbs
Hobbs and Sasha are by far gifts from God to my husband and I. Hobbs was
the first one that we adopted a year and a half ago. He is now ten and my
only regret is that I wish I could have met him years earlier. We adopted
him knowing that we could only share a few precious years with him, but
what ever time that we can steal with him will be a blessing. He was an
owner give up with many medical problems. He was a mess! He came to us with
a vacant stare and now my old grumpy man has a spark in his droopy eyes!!!
Hobbs has taught us what true and unconditional love really is. He doesn't
love on us like the others but he sure shows us love when he is wiping his
drool on my leg!!
Miss Sasha was also an owner give up at 6 years old. She is now 7. She was
not neglected like Hobbs was but she was left outside in an enclosed,
cement floored, porch. Her legs are very bad but she is living very well!
She claims our bedroom as HER bedroom. She loves to sit in her bedroom and
watch out the big picture window. She loves to play and snuggle. Miss Sasha
Marie also passed a test as a therapy dog. She gives and gives and I sure
hope that I give as much to her as she does to us. Along with my two
adopted wonders, we also have three more (not mastiffs) in our house. Each
day I see my babies, I am so thankful that I have a chance to share the
love that they give.
They are litter brothers who had been living on chains outside their owner's home. Through Rescue they've found new names and a new life with Molly and Tom in Raleigh, NC. Below are some excerpts from Molly's e-mail reports on the "Dynamic Duo":
McArthur and Sebastian have been with us a week now. They are two 4 year
old brothers who have charmed not only the family but the entire
neighborhood. (The only exception is our cat Gabby who is upset because
the boys play too roughly with her toys.) Although our "children" are 25
and 22, we have been getting lots of visits from the younger set who want to
play with our new "treasures."
We're really surprised at how gentle these big guys can be. They especially
enjoy cuddling and getting their bellies scratched. While I was worried
they would be double trouble, we've found out that they are double the
pleasure!
Tonight, I found Sebastian was dipping into the kittys' food. He had three
cats staring him down like vultures. Gabby was the only one who verbally
chastised him.
Each day just gets better with the dogs.
It's been a week and a day since we brought them home. Although I know they
are comfortable and seem very perky, I realized today that they are not
quite convinced that this is home. Poor Sebastian still flinches when one
pets him by surprise.
But I do see moments where they let their guard down. If a cat is passing
and they don't think we are looking, McArthur will do this slight lunge
towards the critter. Yesterday, I had my lunch perched next to the stairs
so I wouldn't forget to take it to work. There was a hole in the bag and
the sandwich was gone when I was about to leave. Neither of them fessed up
nor would they rat on the other.
Thanks again for all your help and advise. Ten days into the experience, I
would have to say that pretty much all is going well. The two goobers are
asleep at my feet now and seem to be adjusting. But each day is a new
adventure.
The boys are settling down. Today was their first one alone while we went
out to earn the dog chow. Matt [son] was the first one home. He said that
Sebastian was overwhelmed with joy. (Like they think we would just give them
the house and leave them????) I have no incidents to report...and that's
good news in itself. I might add that we people learned a lot last week
(i.e. no leaving lunches on the landing) which contributed to the peaceful
tone.
About McArthur...I think that he may not have gotten a lot of attention in
his earlier life. He is rather a goober when it comes to getting some
loving. He reminds me of a 16 year old boy in a strip bar...there's a lot
of what he wants around but he doesn't quite know how to handle it. When
you give him some scratching, he'll almost knock you over because he leans
so hard. And the tails can really pack some power can't they? If only we
could find a way to harness the strength and do something productive with it
like washing floors.
I wish you could know how fortunate we feel to have them. They have really fit in
beautifully here. So many of our conversations revolve around them. I
think we all spend a lot of time just scratching their backs and patting
their heads. We realize that Sebastian truly needs that extra reassurance
and McArthur needs to learn how to be loved. Sometimes, when we sit on the
floor with them, they trip over themselves to get attention. It resembles a
version of doggie Twister game.