| JAKE'S HAPPY ENDING
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After losing my four and a half year old
mastiff, Ozzy, to cancer I swore I would never get another dog (i.e.
mastiff) because I didn’t think I would ever get over the heartache.
But, of course, about 7 months after his death I found myself
looking at breeders online. Just looking I kept telling myself.
While “looking” I ran across the SSMR website and returned to it
quite often checking out the mastiffs for adoption. I filled out an
application but it took a long time and a weak moment for me to send
it, but I saw a young male mastiff that I was interested in and
thought he might be “the one”.
In just a couple of days Erica Wright, SC Coordinator for SSMR contacted me to set up a home visit and the next day she and her husband Darrell arrived with one of their mastiffs, Russell (which is another story in itself). I was a little worried that since I live in a condo and don’t have a yard of my own I might have a hard time adopting, but I passed and Erica was soon looking very hard for one that would fit in with my lifestyle. There were several but for one reason or another they just didn’t work out. I was beginning to get discouraged and thought it just was not meant for me to have another one, so I became a volunteer doing a lot of transporting just to be able to be around these magnificent creatures. Of course Erica and Darrell both encouraged me and told me to just wait, the right one would come along. Well, in January 2007 that happened. I received an email from Alma Bowman that Kelly Meyer in Savannah, Ga. had just been contacted by the Animal Shelter there that a one year old male mastiff had been turned in. Alma and Kelly emailed me the information and pictures and I decided to take him. His name was Jake and when I met Kelly in Orangeburg, SC to pick him up it was like he knew exactly why he was there but couldn’t understand what had taken me so long to finally rescue him.
Jake was this skinny, big headed puppy and a little rough
around the edges. He was scared of almost everything except women
but wanted so much to ple |
ase,
and believe me, he has done that. It wasn’t all a bed of roses,
believe me!! He had severe separation anxiety and did not want me
out of his sight. Also, there have been numerous “incidents” such as
eating part of the chair rail in my dining room, an antique oriental
rug, a hole in the wall as big as his head in the foyer and if I had
not walked back in when I did this would have gone on through to the
dining room. Oh, yes, and the day I came home and he was soooooo
proud of his decorating skills. He had decided that my new Ralph
Lauren (Egyptian Cotton) Comforter looked much better all over the
room rather that in one piece on the bed. These things are now good,
funny, conversation topics for parties. He is still a little scared
of men when he first meets them but wants so badly to let them pet
him and give him a good belly rub, he just has to warm up to them.
And those that he doesn’t warm up to...I certainly trust his
instincts.