Mastiff Archives - i Still Love Dogs

Volunteer Rescuers Carry Exhausted 190-Pound Mastiff Down Mountain Trail

Floyd, a 3-year-old, 190-pound Mastiff, managed to hike up the Grandeur Peak mountain trail in Utah on Sunday afternoon with his dog dad. But when it was time to head back down the trail, Floyd refused to budge.

As the sun began to set and the temperature began to drop, other hikers who saw the duo called 911.

Volunteer first responders with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SLCOSAR) team immediately sprang into action. “They had no hesitation whatsoever, even when they heard it was a dog,” Sgt. Melody Gray, of the Unified Police Department, told CNN.

Armed with a stretcher, the team “headed up the trail to make sure Floyd could get off the mountain … before it got too cold,” SLCOSAR posted on its Facebook page Sunday.

During their four-hour rescue effort, the team strapped Floyd onto the stretcher and carried the big guy all the way down the trail. At one point they had to walk across a narrow concrete beam above a creek, but neither they nor Floyd seemed the least bit nervous.

“Floyd was a good boy and was happy to be assisted,” SLCOSAR wrote in its Facebook post. “Floyd, his human and all the team members got off the mountain around 10:30 p.m.”

In a comment on the Facebook post, Amy Sandoval wrote that Floyd is her brother’s dog. During their hike, her brother took a wrong turn and the two had to find their way back to the trail. By then, Floyd was exhausted.

The Mastiff is fine and has been getting plenty of TLC at home. “Hopefully, Floyd will be up and hiking again soon!” SLCOSAR wrote. (And hopefully those future hikes will be on flatter trails!)

The all-volunteer SLCOSAR has over 30 members who are on call 24/7. All members are trained and equipped to handle any type of outdoor emergency. It’s pretty impressive that these heroes perform nearly 100 rescues every year, all free of charge.

Each of these rescues costs SLOCSAR about $12,000. If you’d like to make a donation to help the team continue their heroic efforts, visit their website.

Photo: Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue/Facebook

Losers Break into San Bernardino Shelter and Set Dogs Free

Less than two months after Jason Johnson broke into the Riverside County Animal Services shelter and set dogs loose, two other losers attempted to do the same at another Southern California shelter.

A surveillance video shows a white sedan pulling up to the City of San Bernardino Animal Control shelter around 7 p.m. last night, the San Bernardino Sun reports. A man and young boy got out of the car and cut through a chain link fence to get inside the shelter.

Just as Johnson had done in Riverside, the man cut through locks on several kennels and set the dogs free. Seven minutes later, he and the boy drove off with one of the dogs, a male, brown-and-white Pit Bull mix.

Another dog, a red Mastiff mix named Lobo, escaped from the shelter. When employees arrived this morning and discovered the break-in, Lobo was in the parking lot. Unfortunately, the employees were unable to catch him and he remains missing.

“Obviously you never know what the intent is of someone coming into a facility like this to take animals,” Lt. Rich Lawhead of the San Bernardino Police Dept. told KTLA. “Are they taking it because they want their animal back, or do they have more malicious intent with the animal? That’s a very serious concern.”

The Pit Bull mix had been brought to the shelter Oct. 29, the Sun reports. Police officers contacted the dog’s previous owner, who did not have the dog. KNBC reports that investigators said they had a possible lead concerning the dog.

The five other dogs who had been set loose were accounted for and unharmed.

Anyone with information about the break-in is asked to call the San Bernardino Police Dept. at 909-384-5742.

Photo via Twitter

Big Mastiff Flying First Class Is Seizure-Detection Dog for Rescue Founder

“Holy shit I just saw the literal fattest dog,” Madeline Sweet tweeted Monday from an American Airlines boarding gate at LAX, with a photo of the big Mastiff that’s gone viral.

“It wasn’t until I boarded, I could hear whispers of ‘Oh my God, the dog is in first class,'” Sweet told NBC Los Angeles.

Most airlines don’t allow dogs that can’t fit into small carriers to fly inside the cabin, let alone in the front row of first class. The dogs must fly in the cargo area, which can be dangerous.

As it turns out, the Mastiff wasn’t getting any special treatment. Hank, who’s 3 years old and weighs 160 pounds, is a seizure-detection dog for his dog mom, Kari Whitman.

Hank was riding on the dolly because he’s recovering from recent surgery and cannot walk, Whitman told NBC Los Angeles.

And about all those fat jokes: The average weight for a male English Mastiff is 150 to 230 pounds, according to the American Kennel Club — so Hank is actually at the low end of that scale.

Whitman, an interior designer from Los Angeles, happens to be the founder of Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue, which has saved thousands of dogs from high-kill L.A. shelters on the day they were scheduled to be euthanized. In fact, Hank was one of those rescued dogs.

She also created Greener Pup eco-friendly dog beds. All proceeds from the sale of these beds go to Ace of Hearts.

Whitman told NBC Los Angeles she and Hank always fly first class. You can follow their adventures on her Instagram, @hanktheworldtraveler.

To make a donation to Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue, click here.

Photos via Twitter; Instagram