Author: SgtGrit

The last 10 years I have shared my home and my life with a pure blood Old English Mastiff I named Moose because he would eventually become one of the largest dogs on the planet. As he neared his ninth birthday Moose settled at 235 pounds, just before he was diagnosed with Nasal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, one of the most agressive and of course deadly cancers. We had a surgery done immediately and the prognosis was good, tests showed that they got it all, but they had to carve a big ugly gouge in the middle of his face, No matter I still had my Moose and he was pretty much the same old friend and companion, he lost some (a lot) of weight, down to 165 but he's happy, he eats good and still plays with the cats, but a recent checkup has indicated the cancer has returned. There was talk of CT scans and radiation and after over seven grand in the past year I just don't have another eight to ten thousand. I am proud that I could give him another year, I am a Vietnam Vet with 70% PTSD and Moose has carried me through a lot, I owe him big. My only hope now is that he can hang on til Nov 18, his tenth birthday, my only other hope is that he lies down to take a nap and just does not wake up instead of makeing me have to make the decision when his quality of life has reached that point.. I will miss my big buddy, we have been inseperable since he was seven weeks old, the breeder was a friend and she let me take him early and I even gave him his last set of puppy shots. If ever a dog was truely representative of what it means to be a Marine it is the English Mastiff. What a history they have, from Ghengis Kahn to Hannibals trek across the Alps in his attempt to bring down the Roman Empire and creating several large breeds along the way. The Nobles kept great kennels and used them for sport from deer to bear a pair of Mastiffs were formidable, then during WWI they were almost wiped out but a few had been brought to the states and the breed exists today because of that… read more