A “Tail” of Two Ladies
As published in 1998 for Southern States Mastiff Fanciers- By Jennifer S. Bowers-
"We (Michael and I) now have three Mastiffs and one mastiff exerciser (lab mix named George). As SSMF (Southern States Mastiff Fanciers), and MCOA (Mastiff Club of America) members for many years we read with interest the “tails” of efforts by mastiff lovers throughout the world in assisting this breed and thought that our experiences might bring a smile and some thought to the SSMF membership. Our experiences are probably not much different than many other mastiff owners throughout the world." ~ Jennifer S. Bowers
We became mastiff owners in 1989 with Sir Hemingway Baskerville, an eight- week old male puppy who entered our lives as a companion to George- the exerciser. The breeder wanted to get rid of Hemingway because he had an umbilical hernia and was thus not able to be shown. We don’t show dogs so having a pet quality dog was perfectly fine with us.
Hemingway immediately stole our hearts and our house and pretty soon we began to want a female to continue his line (no-one can have just one mastiff). We wanted to breed for a puppy, not as breeders per se. Hemingway’s line is Altoms Paula’s Pride and we wanted a female to compliment his qualities so contacted Donna Bahlman (Old Schools) in Virginia to acquire a female. After waiting almost three years for a suitable female from her she called to tell us that she had gotten one of her female puppies back from an unhappy purchaser. Allegedly the female had a “skin condition” and was therefore “defective” so she had the female returned to her at age nine months very underweight and frightened of men.
This female-Brony- is a daughter of Major Premo Remo, one of the renowned mastiffs of all time and Donna had her for three months with no signs of a skin condition. She was very concerned that Brony had been treated ill though had no specific information regarding the previous placement. Donna feared Brony would not take to a new home, but told us that we were welcome to come and see her and if willing give her a try. She was adamant that if Brony did not thrive with us that we would return the dog to her and indeed retained half ownership to assure her control. All this we did and Brony settled into our home without incident.
She had very definitely been mistreated and still bears the scars. She is absolutely terrified of men wearing hats and even after five years of love and a permanent couch position she retains the fear of strangers and sudden movements. We believe that she was neglected, beaten, starved, and had Donna not been a reputable and concerned breeder she would have wound up in a rescue situation. Puppies for us were not to be and now as a spayed and happy female she resides in a home where she is secure.
We were going along, happy with our two mastiffs and George when a terrible situation occurred in Gilmer County Georgia. A puppy mill was raided with over one hundred purebred dogs confiscated and turned over to our local Cherokee County animal shelter. Among them were fourteen mastiffs, four adults and ten puppies. The horror of Brunswick flashed through our minds when we heard of this and we immediately contacted the director of the Cherokee shelter to lobby for the mastiffs to be released to MCOA or SSMF rescue. Unlike the judge in Savannah, this Gilmer county judge was serious about these dogs. He mandated several things:
· First- that the Cherokee Humane Society make all adoption arrangements;
· Second- all dogs and bitches would be spayed or neutered prior to release;
· Third- all potential adoptive homes have a site visit prior to adoption and then every year thereafter;
All involved learned very quickly that these animals could not be treated in the same way that other breeds were and asked Alma Bowman to assist in their placement. Alma single-handedly made this rescue effort a success. Of all the pure-breed rescue coordinators clamoring for these animals, Alma was the only one consulted regarding placement. Her consistent and careful intervention allowed all these animals to be placed in good homes.
And then along came Sara!! I was asked by the humane society to go down to another county’s shelter and tell them what they had. No-one was familiar with mastiffs and with dogs scattered throughout the Atlanta area the Cherokee County animal shelter was desperate for any help they could get. Well…. What do I do? I immediately called Alma Bowman in a panic. What to do? Should I bring home any mastiff they had?? What do we do with a mastiff that has been tied to a tree for two to three years???? How do you acclimate a new dog with three others??? On and on. Alma saved me and she saved Sara. It went something like this….
I went to the Cobb county shelter to view the four dogs they thought were mastiffs. Three were Neapolitan’s and one was a brindle mastiff female. The dogs had to be moved either back to the Cherokee shelter or to foster homes within twenty-four hours so I agreed to take the mastiff as a foster. Needless to say within twenty-four hours the mastiff female had her pajamas, her toothbrush, her food bowl, and was ready to move right in.
We named her Sara as she had no known name, piled her in the van, and took her home. The first fifteen hours I must have called Alma twenty times as Sara immediately got out of our fence, tore down another fence, panicked when she was more than two feet from either of us, and chewed up everything in the house.
Hemingway and George thought she was OK, but Brony and the cats took and instant dislike to her. We were overwhelmed. This was our first foster situation and we were woefully unprepared for a full-grown mastiff that was not acclimated to living at the Ritz Carlton. Alma helped us determine what to expect and how to cope and within two days Sara had calmed down completely and even Brony was glad to have a buddy. That was about eight weeks ago and Sara has gone from 118 pounds to 145 pounds, been spayed, had and recovered from a snake bite, loves everyone and everything.
Despite her very cruel and horrible existence prior to being fostered she is thriving and happy. Sara has in eight short weeks learned about housebreaking, sit, go to bed, no (big one), and come. She has also traveled to meet Alma and been pronounced a fine mastiff by one of the best judges we know of. Look for her at a SSMF fun match soon. She will be the one lying on her back smiling with an exasperated fat lady at the other end of the leash
These two females despite being mistreated- Sara in the cruelest manner and Brony at least starved and neglected- have responded to just normal care and are thriving. In Brony’s case her breeder recognized her plight and rectified it. In Sara’s case the breeder may not know, or care, that she had lived chained to a tree in her own excrement for two or three years giving birth to how many litters of puppies that may have been sold into the same or worse situations.
These two dogs have been “rescued” into a loving and stable home. How many others must we retrieve? Breeders don’t put these animals in the situations in which we found our two ladies. If you find the buyers are coming up with unreasonable complaints about the dog, be responsible and insist on having the dog back. Refunding money is never a pleasant experience, but the dog’s experience may be worse. If you can foster a rescue dog, do so. You can help make the next “tail” of two ladies or gentlemen have a happy ending as well.
Happy Mastiffing!!!!
~ Jennifer Bowers