This is my youngest dog, Sam, when she was a wee puppy. The day we brought her home, she weighed an impressive 4 lbs, and she hadn't even been dewormed yet. Over 2 years later, she is a happy, one-eyed, 140 lb English Mastiff who hogs the couch and passes gas louder than most grown men.
At our house, pets are family. They sleep on the couch, sometimes in our beds, follow us everywhere, and 'talk' loudly when they want something. We got Sam from a breeder in Michigan. Because of her one-eyed status, she was available at a serious discount. I know many people have a problem with breeders because there are so many shelter and rescue dogs out there, but our plight was similar to many others who have tried to go the rescue route. We wanted a pure bred because the temperament and characteristics fit our family, and with the potential to be such a large dog, we wanted to know she wasn't an unpredictable mix of breeds.
Many rescues (I would say most, but I did not research every single one) have some serious, unbendable rules. I understand that rules are necessary, however, the fact that we had never had an English Mastiff in our family was nearly always an immediate disqualification. Our two children also disqualified us from most lists. In the end, we found our girl, paying only a slight amount, which I doubt covered their expenses for her.
She joined our now 7 year old Cocker mix, George.
It's unbelievable how much George has changed since bringing Sam into her life, but they became buddies over time, and now George will even try to protect her sister when their 'cousin', Smudge, plays too rough.
Having all three of them at my house sounds like it should be a chaotic mess, but it's actually a blast. We take our pets pretty seriously in this family, and they love us unconditionally. My sister-in-law even brought home a sister for Smudgie this summer. Next year it will be quite the adventure watching all four of them run around and play in the sprinklers.
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