This is Simon and Mel

[fairlight]

Premission to cross post from my mastiff forum.

FYI:
Today I got an e~mail from my local city shelter (NRH) about a mastiff & dane that were surrendered by their owners.
I immediately rushed to the shelter to get more info and some pics.
The Male Mastiff is Simon and he is 6 yrs young and a big old goober.
He was as sweet as a Mastiff can come and he gets along with everyone, kids, cats, Male & Female lil & big dogs.

The dane is also 6 yrs old and severely underweight, I dog tested her without Simon with a very hyper border collie and she did great. She does get a bit protective around her big brother though. She was also kid & cat tested and did great. She wants to eat & play & give kisses in that order.

I wish they would have given them up 6-8-10 months ago.

It is so hard on their internal organs when they get so very thin to near starvation.
I am more worried about the dane than I am the mastiff.........what I worry bout with both is Heart worms.

Danes tend to go into organ failure when you begin to put weight back on them. She is beyond emaciated.
Maybe 50-60- lbs tops <UGH> I am surprised she is still able to stand.
All I can say for her is if she does not make it.........the last few days of her life were filled with love, kindness and a full belly!

Simon The Mastiff was 240lbs in 2007
Now he is appox 120.
Dane rescue is coming for the girl this morning. YEA!!
Simon need some TLC before he goes anywhere.
We will be vetting him Monday.

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I then asked some questions to the assistant moderator and asked if I could cross post to here.
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North Texas Dane Rescue picked up Mel this morning. She is a mess and needed immediate care.
As far as Simon........he is a big happy goofball. He will get spoiled rotten and get a bit healthy before we start pushing vaccinations into his frail body. He is a big goober though. Big Smiles and body waggs!

Val they were owner surrenders and just as you described. The man lost his job the wife lost her job and the dogs got fed less & less until I think all they got were bugs they were catching in the yard, the man who brought them in was heartbroken. The AC officer stated he cried & cried. She had been asking him for 2 weeks to surrender them and he finally did. He should have called rescue.

They might be HW positive.....I just don't know....what I do know is this took months to happen.

Simon does suffer from seizures. He like my Abby takes daily meds and since his levels were stabilized 3 years ago he has not seized.
Thank god we have phenobarbital in out home...............Is that fate or what.......as I have said alot of times before.......we do not find them..........they find their way to us.

Simon was also CGC certified and used as a therapy dog.

please feel free to crosspost.

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I looked at these pictures and was angry yet heartbroken at the same time. The owners wanted to keep their beloved animals thinking day by dad that things would financially turn around for them. They watched their dogs dwindle along with their hopes.

I pray every day hoping for our economy to turn around and jobs to be plentiful again.

This is Simon and Mel.

[alimel]

It breaks my heart to see this. I hope Mel will get the help and medical attention he needs to fully recover.

[alexis rose]

How heartbreaking! It is good to know they are going to be taken care of now though. I feel bad for the old owners in a way, loving them and not being able to care for them.

[fairlight]

Originally Posted by alimel

It breaks my heart to see this. I hope Mel will get the help and medical attention he needs to fully recover.

You and me both. I started a thread a couple of weeks ago out breeders lowering their prices. The majority said no. This is just an example as to what we are dealing with in our particular area. These people did not want to give their dogs up. Granted they let it go way too far, but there were always dreams of finding a job and getting their lives back to normal. I'm glad they finally realized that they had no choice but to give up their beloved dogs. I hope Mel does make it....and hope that Simon can finally be on the mend.

[fairlight]

Originally Posted by alexis rose

How heartbreaking! It is good to know they are going to be taken care of now though. I feel bad for the old owners in a way, loving them and not being able to care for them.

When do we say enough is enough? I do not know the former owners. I hope none of us are ever in the situation that they were put in.

[rubyred]

That is just heartbreaking!! I do hope they both will be able to regain some weight and have good health. Poor babies.

You know many of us have said that we would do without and all of that before our animals suffer, but if my husband and I were both out of work and with our current mortgage what it is and the housing market what it is, things could go down very quickly. If we had several larger breeds such as that, that makes it only harder as the cost of food and vet care/medicines is always more for the giant breeds. I can see how things to go downhill very quickly as hard as it would be. I hope I am never faced with that.

[alexis rose]

I couldn't imagine living without my dogs. Just thinking about it just about makes me cry.

I really hope those dogs make it and get the love, attention, and food they need for the rest of their lives. They are definitely in my thoughts.

[FairyDogMother]

Those poor babies! I hope they recover completely and have a wonderful rest of their lives!!!

[dobermom]

Poor dogs!

There are more and more stories like this, these dogs were loved. Sounds like at one point they were really cared for. I just hope they get the medical attention they need.

[golden&hovawart]

With this economy,I think we will,sadly,see a lot more of them!.
I hope they can find a home,soo cos they are really emaciated!.