The first time I saw him (Wednesday) he was barking ferociously and, quite frankly, scared the dickens out of me. His info sheet said he had been there almost 3 months. On Saturday I returned to the same animal shelter to get my 90 year old mother a cat to help ease the loneliness of my fathers death and casually asked about the black Mastiff. The man at the desk told me he was there but scheduled to be euthanized Monday. I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind so I asked if I could meet him. He was still barking, to the point the girl was afraid to put the lead on him but as soon as she did he knew he was free and he rushed us to the "meet 'n greet" area. He sniffed around for a minute or 2 then realized he needed to make a good impression so he came over, plopped himself on my feet, leaned back and dropped his head in my lap with his big old tongue hanging out. He had to be neutered so I had to wait another day to pick him up. At 5 am Sunday morning I was crazy worried I had made a mistake, but then the vet called and told me he was a LOVE BUG and a pleasure to be working with. From the moment I got him home he has been my shadow. If I even look like I am leaving his line of sight he is up and following. By the end of the first day he didn't need the leash and responded to voice commands. I take him to work with me where he lies quietly, chewing a bone or sleeping or just watching the day pass by. In spite of his noisy start, he almost never barks, isn't dog or food aggressive, doesn't usually pull on the leash and doesn't bother the 40 or so peacocks that eat and roost in our yard. SAVE A RESCUE. You won't ever regret it. Oh-yeah! My mom LOVES her "silly Sylvia".

VICTORIA PIERCE
CHATSWORTH, CA