Zeke was an owner surrender from Maryland. His “family” had decided to renovate their basement (which was where Zeke had lived for 7 years) and they needed his outdoor pen for storage of the construction materials. His deadline was the delivery date from the lumberyard – either Bullmastiff rescue took him in, or they would arrange to have him euthanized. He was said to be healthy, though they did mention that he had a horrible smell and a skin condition.

When he arrived for foster care, the stench was overwhelming. He came with only his “bed”, a stinking scrap of flimsy carpet. They took his leash and the rusted, dented water bowl that accompanied him in the car, claiming that they might need them for their next dog. Not a toy or anything else remained to give him a familiar scent from home. Neither of the people who accompanied him even bothered to say goodbye, or cast a look of regret in his direction.

As we walked him away from the curbside where his “bed” remained, it was obvious that Zeke himself wasn’t the true source of the odor – it was mostly the carpet. A quick bath resolved the problem, and his “skin condition” amounted to a few red spots and some scaly bits, all of which disappeared after a few baths. Zeke proved himself to be an exceptional houseguest for his foster family – not destructive, totally and reliably housetrained, friendly, sweet, and with a wonderful sense of humor. In fact, after his neutering, his foster family kept him for much longer than necessary, mostly because he was such a delight to have around the house. Eventually, though, they recognized that Zeke deserved to have a family to call his own, to spoil him and love him and give him everything he didn’t get from his original owners.

When the day came for Zeke to leave with his new parents, he hopped into their car and rode off without ever looking back. He was going HOME. He had a new family, and most importantly, he had his very own kids to love and protect, and he took that job VERY seriously. From the first moment that he met the two little boys, it was apparent that Zeke had found his purpose in life.

Zeke went everywhere! He accompanied his boys to school, family gatherings, shopping, sports activities. They were rarely out of his sight, and never out of his thoughts.

Sadly, he only lived about 18 months before bladder cancer took him. But what a wonderful 18 months it was…he was the happiest dog in the world for that brief time, and his family has honored his memory by adopting another brindle boy from rescue.