RESCUES
Ron and I were heavily involved with MCOA Rescue both in S. CA and after our move to Atascadero in San Luis Obispo County. We fostered more than 70 Mastiffs over a 6 year period as well as numerous other breeds while I was volunteering at our local Animal Shelter. Since we had usually 3-5 Mastiffs of our own, I was careful not to keep any of the dogs that came thru our house….with three exceptions…Thor, Noah and Honey. They had many things in common. They all came out of shelters as strays or owner turn in. They were all seniors and they all had PRA (a retinal disease leading to blindness). Most important, they all had wonderful temperaments.
Thor came with us from S. CA. He was 7-8 when we pulled him from the shelter and had obviously been on the road for some time as he was about 50# underweight. He had some daylight vision, but none at night. Noah came from a shelter in the desert…a very tall emaciated dog that at 160# was a walking skeleton. He had wobblers disease probably from rapid growth as a young dog. At fives years of age he had some night vision and good daylight vision. His gait was awkward and he need some help getting up. Honey came from our local shelter as an owner turn in supposedly for jumping fences. Honey was 9-10 years of age, had obviously had many litters and was totally blind. In their own way each was a perfect addition to our family.
Thor lived another 6+ years with us reaching the age of 13….I guess he liked where he was and wasn’t going to leave before he had to. Noah was with us for 2-3 years and was the perfect dog for meeting our young Grandson. He was a true gentle giant. Honey raised 3 of our puppies, Caitlin, Molly and Mulder. She was a no-nonsense Momma dog, keeping the youngsters in line. Somewhere in her early life she must have been loved because she knew how to get up on our beds, blind or not, and knew to get off when she heard us coming down the hall to the bedroom.
THOR CGC
HONEY
NOAH
