Bubba the Mastiff

Thanks to mom Nancy for giving a second chance to sweet boy Bubba! Read the wonderful story of Bubba’s new beginning:

My household consists of my daughter and me plus two special needs mastiffs. Lucy was adopted from the Ukiah shelter about a week after my last dog passed. I wasn’t sure I was ready, but Lucy is a big bundle of love and if anyone was going to get me out of my funk, it was her. We then adopted Sadie, who I think we rescued from a rescue. She had been hit so hard in the head, we had to have 9 of her teeth removed. Needless to say, she had a rough introduction to life. We had a house full of girls.

I don’t know why I was looking another dog, but one day while I was cruising around on the internet, I came across the Muttville website. The very last dog on the very last page of adoptable mutts was Bubba. I showed his pictures to my daughter and her first question was “are we going to adopt him?” I laughed, thankful that she possesses so much compassion that she wants to save every dog in need, but thinking that would make three mastiffs in the house! I promised I would think about it, so I filled out the application to see where it would lead.

First, I heard from Deanne, Bubba’s foster mom, who let me know what a sweetheart he was and about his arthritis and neuropathy in his back legs. That didn’t scare me since we already had two special needs dogs, so what is one more? The defining moment was when we were told Bubba needed a house with minimal stairs and we have a one story house with absolutely no stairs! I think it was love at first sight for us….I mean who could not love that squishy face! We made the drive back from San Francisco back up to the Napa Valley and introduced him to his other sister Sadie and the three bonded immediately.

We learned quickly that Bubba loves his walks. Despite his arthritis (which I suffer from as well), I knew how important it is to keep moving and Bubba seemed to know that too. He is very vocal, so it has been easy to know when he wants something. When Bubba is ready to walk, he walks over to the leashes and starts talking. We live near a high school and often walked our dogs down there because there is a stream and open fields, but what Bubba likes best is the baseball field. The field is totally enclosed, so we took the dogs off their leashes and let them go. I didn’t know what to expect, but Bubba took off running…..and running….and running. The other two pooped out and were busy rolling in the grass, but as long as one of us ran, Bubba would follow!

Bubba has gotten stronger and filled out a little. He is doing really well and we love him dearly. When we adopted Bubba, we contemplated changing his name, but we were told he had a fan club and I realized how true that was when his picture was posted when we adopted him. We decided he was a Bubba and we would keep his name as is. We send pictures and are thrilled to keep in touch with the Muttville family. What a great organization and thanks to Muttville for saving our sweet Bubba’s life.

Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.