Linus

We foster for the Bullmastiff Rescue and Linus arrived in our home at 9pm on a cold winter night. It had been a quick decision to get him out of the shelter because he was lethargic and not eating. While he had arrived at the shelter emaciated, the vet had found no other major medical issues.

A couple weeks before Linus arrived, our family had lost our bullmastiff to cancer. As a family, we had decided to take a little break from having a family dog. Maybe we would get a bullmastiff puppy in the spring. In the meantime, we would continue to foster and support Bullmastiff Rescue.

A Bullmastiff Rescue volunteer signed Linus out of the shelter and drove him to our house. We let our 6-year-old and 9-year-old sons stay up late so they could be part of the greeting committee.

We were all shocked by Linus’s condition when he arrived. He was skin and bones with ribs, vertebrae and hips sticking out. He had several large bald spots on his back and tail that were likely pressure sores from being crated too long. Most notably, he stunk despite being bathed and remarkably clean. His ears were so infected that the bacteria was producing the odor.

As a family, we were so overwhelmed, we all had to sit down. Without hesitation, Linus walked over, sat on my feet and put his head in my lap. By morning, he had positioned himself in the family – he fit into the routine, become the protectorate of the children and my shadow. He had decided he was our new family dog.

Linus is gentle and playful parading around with his stuffed frog whenever we come home. Instead of tugging on his toy rope, he simply holds his ground when a child is pulling on the other end. Any child that comes to play becomes his charge and without aggression, he puts himself between the children and anyone he does not know.

Going our boy’s football practices was hard for Linus at first because he made himself responsible for all the children on and off the field. He was friendly but vigilant becoming tense around the ill-mannered dogs who choked and pulled on their leashes. Linus judged them to be a threat to the children. Fortunately, he has learned to relax and has become the team mascot wearing the team banner with pride and loving all the attention it gets him.

Linus is a wonderful, loyal companion and we all agree he is the best dog we have ever had. Any training we had to do with him was short and easy because he wants to please. With the exception of one small bald patch on his back as a reminder of his history, he is a healthy and fit dog of undetermined age. This summer, we took him on our family vacation to Maine a bit worried there were no fences and miles of woods to roam. He never once wandered. After all, he already chosen us.