Hi, Dog Buddies! Man, I love my job! I get to do cool stuff, and meet awesome pets! This week, I interviewed three bull mastiffs who work in an art gallery on the beach! I’m not woofin’ you!
I admit, bull mastiffs are one of the breeds I thought I wouldn’t want to pop in on, unannounced, if you get my drift. They were originally bred to fight other dogs and bears, for Lassie’s sake, and back in the Middle Ages, they hung out with Roman soldiers. PLUS, they are heavy, really heavy, from 150 up to 200 or even 300 pounds.
These three work in The Laughing Dog Gallery over on Cardinal, and I wondered how that was working out. I was picturing sort of a bull (mastiff) in a China Shop situation – but was I ever in for a surprise.
The gallery is great! Your humans would LOVE it. (If you ever go, here’s a Tip: watch your wagging, especially if you’ve got a long tail. Just sayin’.) There’s all kinds of cool art and craft stuff, but dogs are the stars – dog art everywhere.
Anyway, I walk in (carefully), ready to meet Sophie, Sherman and Stella. They’re extremely well-groomed, with pale, golden coats and slightly smushed black faces – and so friendly. Sophie is the oldest and definitely the leader of the pack. Her human Mom, Susie Wilber, says “Sophie’s large and in charge. She takes no (poop) from anyone!”
Sophie grinned. “No worries, Mr. Bonzo. Somebody’s got to keep this family in line. l think of myself as a Benevolent Dictator. I’d like you to meet my dear friend, Sherman – he’s 3. And this is our new pupster, Stella.”
Sherman is a big good-looking guy, quiet, kinda laid back. Stella is 4 months old, your typical pupster, full of wiggles and curiosity. After wag-and-sniffs all ‘round, she plopped down on my assistant’s feet for a small snooze.
“Well, Miss Sophie,” I said politely, “I see you’re the Spokesdog, so please tell me all about your family.”
“I come from a long and prestigious line of show dogs up in Ohio,” she began, settling in next to her Mom. “I have a very fine pedigree, as we all do. At first there was me, my dear friend Angus (another mastiff), and Sherman. I adored Angus. We were so close, and then,” she sniffed, and shook her big head, “then he passed away. I was devastated.
“But Sherman sort of came out of his shell, and stepped up. He’d always been in Angus’s shadow, you see. Mom and Dad (he’s Jeff) weren’t thinking about getting another dog but my breeder called and said a litter was on the way – four girls, four boys. She e-mailed pictures every week. When Mom and Dad finally decided they wanted a girl, all but one were spoken for.”
“With all those puppies,” I commented, “how do they tell them apart?”
Stella popped up. “Oooooh, let me tell. Let me tell! See, Mr. Bonzo, the breeder puts a special ribbon on each of us, different colors an’ stuff. So Mom and Dad flew up to Ohio to pick up the last girl puppy. Mom didn’t know which one it’d be but, from the e-mail pictures, she hoped it would be the one with the checkered ribbon. And,” Stella paused dramatically, “That was ME!”
“Awesome,” I said. “Tell me about your home life,” I turned to Sherman.
“Sure, Bonz. We have our own room and our own comfy beds. Well, my little sis is still being crate-trained. Sophie and I have an elevated feeder, and Stella tries to climb up and grab our grown-up food. She’s a silly pooch, but she’s still on puppy food. We get our baths right in the shower with mom. We have to look (and smell) professional when we’re at work. We wear matching bandanas, mostly black and white checked.”
“Spiffy,” I said. I noticed he kept shifting around, trying to get comfortable, so I asked, “What’s up? Hurt your back?”
“Soph and I have trouble with our legs. Happens a lot with us big breeds. We’ve both had knee replacement surgery. I tell you what, don’t ever get leg trouble. It’s rough. Rehab took 14 weeks on an underwater treadmill. Then laser treatments and acupuncture. Soph had it rougher. I got stem cells so I got better quicker.”
“Oh, man,” I managed.
“We’re good now. We stay mostly in the A/C. Get daily walks. And, of course, we have our jobs here in the gallery. Sophie barks whenever the front doorbell rings. And she keeps tabs on the FedEx humans, got ‘em trained to bring treats. I’m in charge of Packing and Recycling: I disassemble the cardboard boxes. Stella’s getting to be a pretty good greeter. And she enjoys removing the hanging tags on all the stuff in the store.
“Actually, Bonz, not to brag, but we’re pretty famous around here. Our pictures are on the gallery website, and everyone who comes into the store loves us just like our human family does: There’s Mom and Dad and Grammie Jeanne, and the rest of The Pack here at the gallery – Emily and Tara and Steve.”
I thanked them and left, thinking that, although they were big local celebs, they were really just friendly, down-to-earth pooches at heart.
Till next time,
The Bonz