Likes: Sleeping, being with people, rides in the car, fetch, tug-of-war
Pet-Peeves: Being told no
Favorite Toy: Grimmy stuffed animal, squeaky lion, tug-of-war, giant tennis ball
Favorite Food: Rib bones
Favorite Walk: Not crazy about walks
Best Tricks: Snoring, giving paw, fetch
Arrival Story: On July 4, 1995, my husband and I were in Tacoma, WA celebrating the holiday with some friends. We had spread out a blanket and were waiting for the fireworks to begin. As we sat and talked, a man sped by on roller blades. Out in front of him, only too happy to be pulling his human along, was the most beautiful animal I had ever laid eyes on. I had to know what breed this handsome creature belonged to, so we stopped the man the next time he came by and he told us that his furry friend was an English Mastiff. That was all it took. From that day forward, I knew that I had to have one of my own.
For many years after my first encounter, my heart ached every time I saw an English Mastiff. But, my husband was in the Army, and the timing never seemed to be right for getting a dog of that size. We adopted Ariel, a beautiful and sweet Husky/Shepard mix, from the military animal shelter. From the day we brought her home, we could not have asked for a better dog. Topping out at 70 pounds, she was a good size for no matter what type of housing we were in.
In 2001, my husband got out of the Army and we settled down in my hometown. We had a home built and, shortly after moving in, we got suckered in by the sweetest puppy face we had ever seen. Chloe, a Shiba Inu, was adorable. She looked like a tiny little fox cub. We soon found out, however, that looks can be deceiving. She tunneled under our fence, ran out the door every chance she got, and dug a hole in the middle of our living room carpet. It took three years of persistence, but she is finally a sweet and loving dog that we wouldn’t trade for the world.
Even though we had these two sweethearts, I still yearned to have a magnificent Mastiff. Then, I found out that one of my clients had a beautiful female. He brought her to my office every now and then and shared everything he knew about the breed. Everything he told me about his baby was reminiscent of what I had learned through my research.
Then, during tax season, a client who fosters dogs came in. She was looking at all of my pictures and was telling me about her current group of rescues. One was a mastiff mix, so we naturally ended up discussing my desire to have an English Mastiff. She told me that I had to check out a website; then she wrote down SOSMR’s web address (www.sosmastiffrescue.org).
For months, I visited the site, looking at all of the dogs. Finally, my husband convinced me to fill out the application. The dog we were interested in was already adopted, but we went ahead and set the appointment for the home visit so we could get our approval and be ready the next time. Steve, our volunteer, had surgery, so we had to wait a couple of weeks to do the home visit.
When Steve came to the house, we talked for quite some time. We introduced him to all of our fuzzy babies (Chloe & Ariel, our two cats: Frostbite & Tigger, our prairie dog: Tubby 2002-11/30/2006, and our marine snail: Gary, who is not fuzzy). After a while, he asked us if we would be interested in meeting Bo Jangles. He was a hurricane victim who had been living in the wild. He had been treated for heartworms and conjunctivitis, but was otherwise healthy. He was so new to SOSMR that there were no pictures, but Steve thought he’d be perfect for us. We agreed to meet the following day. We spent the rest of the night trying to come up with names and hoping that we all liked each other.
The next morning, my husband, my daughter, my daughter’s best friend, and I started the one hour drive to the state forest where we were meeting Steve & Bo Jangles. When we arrived, my heart skipped a beat. There, waiting for us with Steve, was a handsome, 125-pound, fawn-colored Mastiff.
As we walked toward him, he watched us very closely. As I got close to him, he let out a bark and tried to hide behind Steve. I stopped where I was. I was not afraid of him, but I wanted to make sure he was not afraid of me. After a minute, Steve handed me the leash and stepped away. Bo Jangles tried to follow, but then realized who had his leash. He was no longer scared, so he sniffed my toes for a minute and then let me walk with him. Each one of us had to go through the toe-sniffing ritual, and one by one we passed the test. He was soon staying near the kids and noticeably more comfortable with us. We decided that we would take him home.
For the first few days, he seemed sad. He would wag his tail from time to time, but he was not your typical happy puppy. We just kept telling him what a good boy he was and playing with him. A few more days went by, and he was soon wagging his tail all of the time. After about two weeks, the sad and quiet dog that we had brought home had melted away and was replaced by a happy, energetic, 134-pound clown.
He now plays every moment that he is awake. He has bonded with Ariel and Chloe, although he clearly prefers Chloe. The three of them are constantly rolling around the house. Their favorite thing to do is to jump on my bed. They go running across the house, jump on the bed, wrestle around, then jump down and do it again. They play tug-of-war and like to chase each other around the yard.
Since he has come to live with us, not a day has passed that he has not done something to make us laugh. He greets us every evening after work wagging his tail so hard that his rear end wags with it. Whether he is playing with the other dogs or chasing his tail while laying on his back, he is a constant source of comedy and happiness. It seems that our family is finally complete. We named our little boy Morpheus. Morpheus is the name of the Greek God of Dreams, which we thought was fitting, as he has made our dreams come true.
The whole adoption process was not nerve-racking or frustrating. It was more a process of making new friends and then taking love home, once the right dog came into the system. The whole experience has given me the inspiration to become a volunteer myself. I am looking forward to giving as much joy and happiness into a deserving family’s home as our sweet boy has brought into ours.
Bio: Morpheus was found wandering by a lady who eventually was able to caox him into trusting her and was able to rescue him. He was alone and living wild for at least two months. He was also heartworm positive. She turned him into the humane society and said she'd adopt him if nobody claimed him.
Nobody came for him, so she got permission to have a dog from her landlord. He made a surprise visit, and was not happy with the size of the dog. He said either the dog had to go or she did.
Well, having a child, she did the only thing she could and turned him over to Southern States Mastiff Rescue (www.sosmastiffrescue.org).
The rest is history. He is now a member of our family. With no nasty landlords to deal with, he will have a happy and healthy forever home!
We named him Morpheus (his old name was Bo Jangles), after the greek god of dreams, as he has made our dream of having one of our own gentle giants come true!
Forums Motto: God of Dreams
The Groups I'm In: Febreze® Pet Odor Eliminator™, Florida Mastiffs, Massive Mastiffs
The Last Forum I Posted In: English Mastiff Rescue
I've Been On Dogster Since:
Sadly, on July 17th, 2010, I lost my baby boy. I was out of town and got a phone call from my husband saying he was gone. My daughter had let all of our dogs out and, while they were outside, Morpheus got stung or bitten by something. He went into anaphylactic shock and, on the way to the emergency vet, he stopped breathing. Despite my daughter trying to give him nose-to-mouth and then the vets trying to bring him back, it was too late. Because of the shock, his body couldn't take the FL heat and his organs started shutting down. They said that, even if they were able to revive him, he would be severely brain damaged and not the dog we loved.
It has been an emotionally difficult week for me. I cry myself to sleep most nights. He was like a child to me and he was taken so suddenly. I never got a chance to hold him again or say goodbye.
RIP, baby boy. I pray that we will meet again some day.
After 18 years of being Mom's sweet companion, Tigger has gone to the rainbow bridge.
Her kidneys have been failing for quite some time and the vet said months ago that it was just a matter of time. Over the past few weeks, she had gotten painfully skinny and was having bouts of vomitting and would sway back and forth when she sat upright.
The whole family had made a point of saying their goodbyes over the past week and we had thought we would have to make her decision for her.
This morning, we gave her a bowl of water and left for work and school. When we came home this evening, she wouldn't come out when she was called. After looking all over the house in her favorite nap spots, Mom found her "asleep" under her bed. She looked so peaceful and beautiful.
Our hearts are broken and there is a huge hole that time will never fill. The only thing that makes it any easier is knowing that she is in a better place and that we'll see her again someday.
Well, it's me again. I decided that Mom's life was not eventful enough and decided to try to give her a nervous breakdown.
A few days after Christmas, Dad was feeding me and my two sisters pieces of really yummy chicken. He had a corn cob holder in his hand (which he now realizes was the first mistake) while he was feeding us. Well, I got greedy and perhaps a bit overzealous and snatched a piece of chicken from his hand. When I did, I put his whole hand in my mouth and sucked the chicken out. I caught Dad by surprise, and he suddenly realized that I had also gotten the corn cob holder too!
He started yelling at Mom to grab me and get my mouth open. I was so scared because I have never seen them act this way before. They both ran toward me, and naturally, I ran the other way. They tackled me to the ground and pried my mouth open. Dad looked like he was going to pass out. Mom asked what was going on and he informed her that I had just swallowed a two-inch-long corn cob holder!
Mom called somebody (I later found out that this was the emergency vet) and then asked if I wanted to go for a ride. Do ducks have webbed feet?!!
Well, I do NOT like the emergency vet!!! They stung me with something that made me so sleepy I couldn't move. Then they took pictures of my belly. Yup, that corn cob holder was in there. Then, I went home and Mom and Dad had to carry me into the house.
In the morning, Mom took me to the vet that I like. We talked to them for a while and then they took a picture of my belly too. What is the deal?!
Next thing you know, Mom left without me. I got very, very sleepy, and when I woke up, my tummy hurt. I wanted Mom, but she wasn't there. I waited for a long time and then the vet asked if I wanted to go for a walk. We went through a door and there were Mom & Dad! My tummy hurt, but I couldn't help but wag my tail wildly. I practically ran to the car! Dad had to pick me up (which is not easy, as I weigh 137 lbs!) because my tummy hurt to much to jump.
I slept for the rest of the afternoon and was not allowed to play with my sisters. Mom stayed with me for a long time.
I heard Mom say that they had to cut my tummy open to take the corn cob holder out. The vet told her it was too risky to wait and see what happens. I saw her show that corn cob holder to Grandma (the vet cleaned it and gave it to her for a souvenier) and I'm glad it's out.
It's been about a week. I have to take medicine because my boo-boo was hot and red and oozy, but that's okay. Mom wraps the medicine in cheese and I never have to taste the pills. Mom said my boo-boo is much prettier now that I have taken my medicine. It isn't angry any more.
I feel much better now. I'm back to my old self and running around playing with my sisters. Every now & then, my boo-boo stings me and I calm down very quickly, but other than that, you'd never know what happened.
Boy, I'm sure glad that's over. A word of advice though; Never eat a corn cob holder!!!
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