What’s Big and Sweet and Orange and comes from Florida?

 Note:This is the second installment in our ongoing mastiff saga. The first appears in “A Tale of Three Wagging Tails,” in which our seven-year-old mastiff Cadfael, who had been with us from eight weeks of age, was joined by two rescue mastiffs: Molly, a feisty older girl, and Aubrey, a younger dog who was found, diseased and starving, and nursed back to health by his foster owner before coming to live with us. Early in December, we noticed that Cadfael’s front leg had swollen at the joint and he was limping. Thinking it was probably just a simple sprain, we took him to the vet’s, only to learn that he had osteosarcoma (bone cancer), which had already spread to his lungs. We decided to keep him on painkillers; the end came two days after Christmas, when our very kind doctor came to the house and our good boy Cadfael went to sleep forever out in the garden that he loved so well.

Molly and Aubrey were a great blessing during this sad time, but I found myself talking with Aubrey’s foster mom and “just looking” at the rescue pages. Through word of mouth, we heard about a family who was moving to Cairo and needed to place their beautiful four-year-old girl Sarabi in a home that was accustomed to and appreciated mastiffs. We drove up to Fredericksburg with Molly and Aubrey, and we drove home with Miss Sara (as she soon came to be called) in her crate in the back of our “new” cargo van, which we had won at government auction for $301.

Now we had three big, cream-colored dogs and a big, cream-colored van. There was plenty of room for three mastiffs - and maybe more. Yes, I had been looking at the rescue pages again, and saw a gorgeous apricot-coloured dog named King….

The Story Of King

King was described by his foster dad Steve Shaw as a four-year-old neutered, A.K.C. registered, English Mastiff male who weighed in at about 200 pounds. His family decided to place him in rescue after a personal tragedy; it was and is clear to see that he had been a beloved and well-cared-for pet. Steve described him as relatively reserved and anything but an alpha male. Sounded perfect for our ménage!

We had already filled out all our paperwork in order to adopt Aubrey and had our house inspection. We contacted Steve and, while there were a number of potential adopters, we were lucky enough to come out on top of the list. Now, I should say up-front that we are not travelers! We love to go to nearby Richmond and the nearby beach and the nearby nature trails; the operative word is “nearby.”

We live out in the country in an old farmhouse on about 20 acres and most of our non-working time is spent there with our doggies, our garden and our bees. Here we were, planning to load up the Mastiffmobile (as we had immediately named our van), and drive 1500 miles down to the Sarasota environs. It was going to be a challenge, but it was also going to be a lot of fun.

Thanks to our bosses for arranging our vacations so quickly! Thanks to the hotels which had pet friendly policies. (No, we were not foolish enough to ask “Do you have a weight limit?” or “How many pets can one have before you start feeling less friendly?”) Thanks to the tire company and our hometown mechanic who fit us in so the Mastiffmobile would be sure to be roadworthy. Thanks to Walmart (for easily accessible eats and a safe place to park) and Starbuck’s (for invaluable caffeine!). Thanks to the friendly rest stop attendants in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, who made sure we knew where we could get plenty of fresh water and where the dog walks were.

 But our biggest thanks go to Steve, King’s foster- pictured with King sitting at the picnic table (right). We emailed back and forth on a daily basis, and his encouraging, can-do attitude gave us a lot of confidence.  His advice on routes and stopping points were invaluable, but even more important was his obvious desire for us to succeed, not to mention his dog savvy. We will be sure to pack Bach Flower Remedy and Dramamine on future trips! They helped Miss Sara settle down and enjoy the ride (and because she did, we did)! Talking to Steve was like talking to Robert Young on Father Knows Best. His voice fills you with calm and self-assurance. (No wonder he is such a good dog trainer.)

And so, on the third morning after we began our trip from Virginia, we woke up in our little cabin a couple of hours north of Sarasota. The palm trees and warm (in March!) weather had already been exciting enough, but I was blown away by seeing a real, live grapefruit lying on the ground outside our window, then going outside to see more of them clustered on the tree. We took the dogs in turn down to the dam near where the cabins were located and then got on the road to meet Steve and King at a park near Sarasota. The Mastiffmobile unloaded and out came Molly, Aubrey and Miss Sara. We all spent several hours at the park together, getting to know each other and seeing how the dogs reacted to each other. Steve had brought water, iced tea and his own dogs’ (he has two mastiffs) favorite treat: Cheese Puffs! My, that made some friends pretty quickly.

At last, as the sun began to slant to the west, we said good-bye to Steve. King hopped right up into the Mastiffmobile, where he took his position behind the driver’s seat. We spent another night in our little cabin, and then took off early Saturday morning. This was probably a crazy thing to do, but we drove all the way home in one go (of course, with numerous rest stops along the way). We got home in the wee hours on Sunday morning, turned on the heater, brought in the dog mattresses out of the van and all collapsed on our respective beds. The next morning, we started getting King accustomed to his new home and his new family.  And a new climate, too, because there was a dusting of snow on the ground!

Four months after the adoption, King has truly become part of the pack! Two boys and two girls are a nice combination; lots of tails whacking against the wainscoting in the kitchen when you come home from work.

Despite our creating a special private space for King in the bedroom with a futon, he has developed a major crush on Molly the Mastiff Matron and spends most of his snoozing time on her bed. He dogs (pun intended) her steps and likes to sidle up to her, lift up her ear with his nose, and give the insides a big lick. He sleeps touching her, even now, in the summertime. He is deferent to her and also to Sara and Aubrey.

King is definitely the low man on the totem pole, and that doesn’t seem to bother him at all. I’ve taken him several times to Jamestown, where I am a park ranger, and he enjoys meeting both staff and visitors of all ages. He is playful, smart and loving!

We have kept in touch with both Steve and King’s former owners, sending emails and pictures. We were so fortunate to have adopted four wonderful dogs over the past year. Mastiff Rescue is a very special community with very special people, particularly the fosters like Marguerite (who brought our Aubrey, starved and abused, into her home and gave him a chance at a happy ending) and Steve (who worked so closely with King’s first family and us, his second family).