Hi all...been reading a LOT of the forii, and enjoying it in spite of my apprehensions.

I've always been a fan of Bullmastiffs, and we just rescued one here in western Texas.

Turns out, that she doesn't seem to be carrying a lot of the baggage I expected from a "rescue" dog, though she certainly seems to be runty.

She's significantly under weight (about 25% so), but we're working on that. She's a little nervous about foul weather, but we've been able to distract her with brain exercises. She's learning not to pull and I hope I don't need to buy a prong collar (so far, so good).

We took her to town (about 60 miles each way), and stopped at a sandwich shop for lunch. I fed her lunch, and then the wife, son, and I sat in the car eating our sandwiches, and she just lay there on the back seat hoping for some provolone to drop, but never made a move.

She's completely (so far) housebroken, and stands by the back door to be let out when needed.

She does have some callouses, and a couple of scars where she has been in a fight, but they don't seem to bother her. I'm taking her to the vet on Friday to get a baseline for bloodwork and weight, though I'm feeding her well using BARF.

She has bonded so closely, so quickly, that I guess I just need to let you all poke me with pins to make sure I'm awake.

I'm only nervous that I'm missing something somewhere, and that she's too good to be true.

If I can figure out how to upload a picture, I'll do it with my next post.

In case I haven't said it yet, this is the best forum I'm ever wanted to be a part of.

Aha...found a place to host her pic

https://5zihnq.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pSwMZM8f4ExtYntxGDHMg-4LiQ0hDt4hkkmGFQWApFgmXYnQDbImiMtVnny808MGa3WbKrFTUhYYKzcQeq1CEbY6ovHwwX3da/Gee-Lee.JPG

We took her to the vet Friday, and she's been given a clean bill of health (WOOHOO!), she has put on 6 pounds in the 8 days we have her, so, keep you fingers crossed for us.

Could be just the pic, but she doesn't look very underweight to me. She looks a lot like a Boxer cross. Very pretty. Sounds like a very nice dog who is lucky to have found a very nice family!

Post a link to a pic with her standing.

I'm with Angela, she looks good in that pic. How old is she?

Very good looking girl.:smile: Welcome to the forum.

Nice looking pup Frank. Welcome!

she's pretty! what's the area just in front of her hips been shaved for?

i agree w/the others, her weight looks about right to me. don't let your vet (or anyone else) talk you into making her too fat!! she's better off thinner, just like us.

She's up to 78lbs, and according to "growth charts" she should be close to 100. She's between 2 and 3 years (no one seems to know for sure), and I'll never let her get too fat. We have a 13 year old who will keep her from that.

For what it's worth, she is the best. She has bonded with my son, though it took the last coupld of days for her to figure out that when he runs towards her, he's not going to hurt her.

The shaved part on her back was for her heartworm treatment. She was heartworm positive, and the foster had her treated before we got her.

The dirtbag that she was rescued from kept her tied to a fence on a concrete pad, and she has some callouses on her bony joints (hips and elbows) that probably won't go away, and scars where the fur has grown in black, but her anxieties are almost all gone.

I think the man without a father that had her before the rescue beat her, too, as she still tucks tail and ducks when I approach her too quickly. Once she learns that she'll never be hurt again, she'll be much happier for it.

Sidenote...sometimes I think about how hard her life has been before she was rescued, and it makes my eye water for some silly reason. Keep in mind, I'm 6', 215 lbs, of blackbelt earned, gun-totin, mean as heck, Stetson wearin', Texas cowboy with an attitude, and every time I look at her, I'm almost acting the same as I did when my son was born. It's like I want to rescue them all.

I posted a bunch of pictures (some might be duplicates) to my Windows Live account. I'll add the link, as long as the boss (Mr C) doesn't get mad about it. I don't think you need an account, as I made the pics public.

Check her (Gee-Lee) out at https://cid-382391370f6fef74.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Gee-Lee

Thanks all.

I agree, I think her weight looks just fine.

Very nice looking dog.

She could stand to gain a few pounds, but in no way is this a 100-lb dog. I'd say 5-6 more pounds would be fine. (84-85 lbs).

Sorry to hear about her past. I have a dog that was neglected (he was 15 lbs underweight when he got to me, and that was after having been fed square meals for a month).

Our rescue gets starved dogs in, we have one now that was abandoned (just left in the yard) when his owner moved away, he is in sad shape. Hoarding cases are the absolute worst. I just can't believe what people do to animals.

Thank you for saving her.

Welcome Frank,

Gee Lee is beautiful - and I agree, she looks like a perfect weight right now. It sounds like she's settling wonderfully with her new family and I'm sure she recognizes what a good life she's been introduced to. Thankfully, dogs don't suffer from the same hang-ups people do when it comes to the past. She may have been ill treated, but once she feels 100% comfortable and safe in her new home, she won't dwell on what a difficult existence she used to live... she'll just be happy, secure and as full of love for you as you obviously are for her. Thank you for rescuing such a sweet girl.

~Natalya