I promised you another and here she is. Meet Tyra, English Mastiff extraordinaire. She's just back from her spay and gastropexy so she only got a short walk today but even on her short walk, she turned a lot of heads.
TAS did not want to risk a repeat of what happened to George happening to Tyra so they decided on doing the gastropexy which is an operation that tacks the stomache to the abdominal wall to help prevent bloat - bloat being one of the major causes of death, and a painful one, in giant breeds.
Not to be mercenary about this but whoever gets Tyra is going to be getting one helluva deal. I'm not sure how much brindle English Mastiffs are going for these days but a couple of thousand or more wouldn't be unrealistic. On top of that, add the giant breed spay cost and the gastropexy and we're looking at a few thousand dollars worth of dog.
And Tyra is one amazing dog. Of course she's spectacular to look at and she's also totally luvable and easy going. She does pull slightly on the leash but that's more just her weight walking along and will be easy to correct.
One look at her jowls and it's a pretty safe bet she'll be a slobber bus in warmer weather. I'm sure it's nothing a bath towel can't handle.
At first, I thought there was something wrong with the base of Tyra's tail but, nope, it's just naturally huge. She could probable break planks with that thing.
Look for both Tyra and the other giant, Rufus, on CP24's Animal House Calls this coming week, Tuesday at 5:15 and repeated throughout the week.
A little more about Tyra here.
For adoption information on Tyra and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.
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10 comments:
AHH! I love her! Thanks for posting this.. Glad to see she's doing good. Her spay/pexy took 2 hours!
She's magnificent, Fred!!!! :) :)
Hey Fred - can you get a pic of her next to someone...I'd love to see how BIG she really is! I know...I'm SO demanding!
Thanks for all the pics, though, I LOVE them. What a beautiful girl!
Emily:)
Emily, sure if I get a chance next time I'm in at TAS but in the meanwhile, Tyra is 163 pounds so if you imagine someone 163 pounds on all fours, that's about the right size.
Oh, she's adorable!! I hope she finds a home quickly!
By the way: My Dane Jill is 175lbs, so Tyra is definitely a big girl!
I walked Tyra (as a volunteer) over the weekend & she's so wonderful! Such a great personality. -TK
Fred, is Tyra still there? I've been idly surfing Mastiff rescue groups for a few months now. My last mastiff passed away nine years ago, and this is the longest in my entire life I've ever been without one.
FrogDogz, as far as I know, yes she is. Are you thinking about getting a big ol' mastiff as a playmate or a mattress for all your Frenchies? Either way, the photo ops will be boundless and hilarious I'm sure.
Well, a bit of both, as witnessed in this photo --
Honey Bee & Murf
That's Honey Bee, using Murfee as a big giant drool encrusted pillow.
I can't find Tyra's adoption info.. I guess I'll call.
FrogDogz, Honey Bee may be using Murfee as a pillow but I think Murfee is using Honey Bee as a hat - quite handy in the winter I imagine.
Tyra's info isn't up yet but I think will be soon. They're keeping her back a bit longer to make sure she's fully recovered from the gastropexy.
FYI, I haven't seen this myself but one of the staffers was saying that Tyra seems to show a bit too much interest in smaller dogs. As far as I know, they haven't tested that out yet to see if she's just curious or worse. Whenever I've walked Tyra by another dog, big or small, she does show interest but it's pretty easy to draw her attention away - which I do, not so much because I'm concerned about her getting out of my control but more because I don't want to risk the possibility of her getting excited with the staples still in her.
If you're going to give TAS South a call, ask for James.
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