Today I want to tell you the story of that piece of dog that was Mastiff 🐶, our giant stuffed animal, one of the most noble and good dogs I have ever met…. A real peacemaker! 😇 But of course, as it could not be otherwise, being from MasTorrencito, his arrival here was anything but normal? 😅 MasTorrencito’s Mastiff Titurí
Many years ago, we were on the terrace as usual, enjoying a quiet afternoon 🌅. Suddenly, all our dogs, Markos, Manuela, Masto, Maky and Mamas, started barking like crazy 🐕🔊 . We quickly got up to see what was going on and then we saw him…. A piece of dog that looked like a horse! 🐴 Our guys, especially Maky, looked like stuffed animals next to him. They were all after him, barking at him to go away. Maky, who is oblivious, was even hanging on his neck! And I just thought… “HE’S EATING HIM!” 😱😂
After a while we managed to gather our people and we closed them at home, while the big guy disappeared down the road. But the next day… more of the same 🕛, and so on for weeks. We had no idea who he was or where he came from. We started asking around and finally found out that he belonged to a farmhouse on the other side of the river 🏞️.
We called his owners and told them that the dog was here, to come and get him 🏠. But of course, this was repeated every day, morning and evening…. It was a real nightmare! 😩 Our dogs went crazy every time he showed up, and the stress was enormous, both for us and for the clients who freaked out at the sight of such a spectacle. But with time, they got used to it too…. 😂.
Weeks went by, the end of the summer arrived 🍂, the clients were already few… but Mastiff kept coming every day. Until one day, finally, our dogs accepted him 🥰. What a special day that was! From then on, he would lie on the terrace like one of the others, the customers would cuddle him and he…. He didn’t want to leave! 🛋️ So, the first night I let him sleep in the chill out, the second night in the entrance… and the third night…. I found him sleeping on a sofa, with ours next to him! ❤️
I decided to call his owners, who were some gentlemen from Barcelona who had him to watch over the farmhouse, but it was Masovera who really cared for him. She loved him very much, but she understood that Mastiff preferred to be here, where he could play with ours and receive cuddles all day long. He was spectacular, he commanded respect! 😍
I told Masovera: “Tell his owners: either they come to pick him up, tie him up, lock him up or whatever… or the next time I come I will keep him and take him to the vet to be neutered (because he had some pieces of… 🐾)”. And you know what they answered me? It’s amazing! 😮 “I was told to keep him… he’s not worth anything”, they told me. And I thought… he’s not worth anything! Well, nothing, we’ll keep it 😂.
And that’s how Mastiff stayed with us. Do you know what day it was? December 31st! 🎉 And do you know what Mastiff did that day? He went to the house where he came from, said goodbye to Masovera and came with us…. And he never came back! 😢🏡
and those moments that remind us why these furries are so special in our lives. ❤️
Mastiff… the king (Part 2)
That’s how, without realizing it, Mastiff became one of the herd. 🐾. Although, of course, he occupied by three …. He was a giant! 😂 But he earned it, insisting every day, even though my people wanted to kick him out. He, stubborn, R that R, and in the end he got it. 💪
Christmas came, and on the 31st, all of a sudden, we couldn’t find it? Strange, strange, strange! 🤔 He spent the whole day without appearing, and at night… there he was! But do you know where he had spent the day? In his old house 🏡. He went to say goodbye to Masovera, who loved him very much, and stayed with her all day. In the evening, he came back to us. 😌 Impressive… and I knew it because she herself called me to tell me about it. That gesture showed her nobility and fidelity in a way that left me speechless. Mastiff knew it was time to say goodbye for good, as if she had closed a stage of her life. 😢💔 On second thought… it makes all the sense in the world, but for a dog to be capable of something like this…. It surprises and moves you!
And yes, he adapted very well to his new life 🌟. He became the leader of the herd, bringing peace and order among the little ones, Masto and Maky. His ability to keep calm in the yard was incredible. 🏡. He would not allow the dwarves to run off or bark uncontrollably; he would stop them in their tracks. Sometimes I wondered how he was able to sense what they were going to do… but Mastiff was always alert and attentive 👀. As a good Mastiff, he was always in protection mode, vigilant, looking out for all of us. He gave us the occasional frightening night, but always protecting his pack. 🛡️
He was super affectionate and cuddly, a giant cuddly toy 🧸. He was very imposing when we would take him around…. He was a horse! 🐴 I remember when during the pandemic we started to fence the house…. He was so mad! 😅 As we were advancing with the fence (well, let’s make a digression… when I say “we”, it was actually Jordi who was working, I just watched and gave orders 😜), Mastiff was always by his side, watching every meter we were advancing. He would stand behind the fence, as if he knew that we were taking away that space where he was escaping… and then he would check the whole fence, just in case Jordi had left a little hole to get out… He was smart and stubborn as a dog. 😂He was as smart and stubborn as he was! Until we finished (well, until Jordi finished), Mastiff did not leave his side for a moment. 🛠️
That summer, the summer of 2020, was a gift for Mastiff 🎁. All the clients were in love with him… They took him every day to the river, together with the kids! 🌊 Just think, after months of being locked up, when they finally let us out, people were euphoric and Mastiff…. in glory! He was going with his friend Manuela, opening the way and watching that no one was coming. And behind, Don Markos, making sure that no one was left behind. He was the milk! 😄
Summer went by, and there were always people in the house… every day, the herd was happy. But then… they closed us down again! Again… 😓 As if it were a flock, all for the fold and “without going out, the wolf is coming…” 🐺. And so we were left alone in this paradise 🌳… Christmas came, and we were allowed to go out again, and once again Mastiff was happy, taking the clients to the river. It was great to see him enjoying himself… but, after Christmas, we were closed again… and again… The poor guy couldn’t understand anything, how could it be that sometimes a lot of “little friends” came and other times, nothing…? 😕 And so on until Easter… and after the holiday, another closing…
Mastí Titurí King of MasTorrencito (Part 3)
And that’s how it all started… it looked like he had choked or had something in his throat. Well, we thought, as we all did in the beginning…. “in a couple of days it will pass”. It didn’t seem alarming, he didn’t have a fever, he played, ate… everything was normal. But already on the third day, we started to worry, so we took him to the vet for a check-up. 😟
Fuck, going out in the street with Mastiff was a spectacle, everyone turned to look at him…. He was so impressive! 🐾😮 He had a complete check-up and they thought it could be a kind of pneumonia… that had to be watched. Well, nothing, antibiotics and home. The days went by, some better, some worse, but nothing alarming… although the cough became more worrisome, and then he started to vomit drool. 😨 It was at that point that we really freaked out. But it wasn’t just a little drool, it was lots and lots of drool! 😧
I called Judith, one Sunday, and when she heard me so worried, she said: “Go to the clinic and I will see you there”. In less than three minutes we were at the clinic. When we got out of the car, we took a short walk, and when Judith arrived, her eyes were already telling us everything… and nothing good, by the way. 😔 She looked at me and said: “Miguel, I think it could be this… I am not sure, since the blood test does not show significant positive or negative values, but from the symptoms… it could be Macroesophagus”. For those of you who don’t know, macroesophagus is a dilation of the esophagus, and in simple terms, when Mastiff ate, the food didn’t go where it was supposed to, which caused regurgitation… in other words, he vomited. 😢
She told me: “Go to Canis, they are super equipped and they will do all the tests”. So, with the pandemic upon us, at home we had Yoyo, a friend who was unemployed. So as not to be left alone, she decided to spend the second lock-in with us. We thought it would be about seven days? and it lasted three months! 😂 But well, we called Canis and there we went, starting with the tests.
Inciso: What we saw in Canis was… amazing. I had never seen anything like that… it looked like the unemployment line 🏥. An incessant movement of incoming and outgoing dogs with their owners, all the ailments, all kinds of injuries … it was like the emergency room of a hospital, and honestly … it was scary 😬.
After an hour, the doctor came out. She had done X-rays, CAT scan, blood tests… and confirmed the diagnosis. She told us that there was no solution. That if we wanted, we could try to feed him standing up to help him digest the food and keep him like that for an hour…. Imagine my face… Hmmmm… HE’S NOT A POODLE! 🐕 We’re talking about a critter of over 80 kilos…. And he tells me: “That’s the way it is”. He also prescribed some pills to calm him down, antibiotics for the irritation of the esophagus and cortisone for the pain. 😢
We went home, almost crying… but when we saw Mastiff so happy, we said: “Maybe he will be like Manuela… and get over it”. Sure, we were used to the immortal Manuela, who always dodged death, but this time…this time we were wrong. Mastiff was not Manuela. 😥
The days went by, and Mastiff had good days, very good days… and bad days. But little by little he was losing weight. Reading things on the internet became a torment… my stomach would shrink and tears would come to my eyes as I saw other cases. And I had it clear… I would never let it get to that famished state. 😢
We went back to Canis… total revision, x-rays… and the same result. We were told that there was one last test that could be done, but it was only done in very few cases. It consisted in sending a blood sample to the USA for a possible new treatment. Of course, we decided to do it, even if there was only a 0.001% chance. But the result was what we had feared…. It was not compatible with the treatment. 💔
And the time came to make a decision…. I was very clear about it, but I had to consult Mireia. Between sobs, we decided to call Judith to open the clinic and put him to sleep. We could not be so selfish as to want to keep him with us for a couple of months more while he was dying inside. 😔
The last day, before taking him, I was alone with him…. I didn’t say a word to him… I looked him in the eyes… and he was looking at me…. And I swear to God he said to me, “Thank you.”😢🙏
He left calmly, calmly, as always… a gentleman. And this is how we will always remember him… 🕊️
TIRURI TiRURÁ MASTIFF… 🌟
From MasTorrencito we wish you a good day and that your dog accompanies you !!!!
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