MOTM Interview By: Kim (Hankums)
Tell us about your life, and everyone that is special to you…. and what work and hobbies do you have?
I am married to Dale and we live on 25 acres in a small rural town in New Hampshire. We have two furbabies, Emma and Molly and a dozen chickens.
As far as who is special to me, without a doubt, that would have to be hubby Dale. Everyone that knows us knows that we are meant for each other. We will be soon be celebrating 25 years of marriage and even to this day, if Dale walks in a room, he can make me smile from what seems to start in my
toes until it appears on my face
Moreover, if he has been able to put
up with me all these years, he has to be special, LOL!
I work for the county sheriff's department with a crazy bunch of guys, gotta luv em! There is never a dull moment there! I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege in not elaborating on anything else about my job
When it comes to hobbies, I enjoy hiking and fishing and doing home projects with Dale, as well as riding on our motorcycles in the warm months and snowmobiling in the winter months. One of my other pastimes is gardening. I grew up on a farm and what was a chore back when I was a child has become one of my favorite past times in adulthood. I also enjoy quiet times where I can relax and express myself artistically by either painting or just simple charcoal sketches.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go and how would you like to get there?
I want to go to The North Pole, to meet Santa and visit his workshop! And I would like to get there on his sleigh, with Rudolph’s shining nose lighting the way!
Horror movies or Comedy???
Most definitely Comedy. I see enough horror in real life, sometimes almost daily because of my job, and there could never be enough laughter in the world.
Tell us about the first time you saw/encountered an English Mastiff and what made you decide to invite a Mastiff into your life.
We never encountered an English Mastiff before Molly. Emma is a Tibetan Mastiff/Rottweiler mix. We rescued her from a very bad situation. She grew to the body size of the Rottweiler but definitely got the Tibetan temperament, as she is very even-tempered, calm and patient. So when we decided on another dog, we knew this time that we preferred a shorter haired dog (a lot less brushing and grooming!), but with the temperament that Emma carried from her Tibetan side.
We fell upon the English Mastiff on a Google search of “Mastiff types”. The English Mastiff description was a match for us. So our minds were made up to start the search for our new baby. That was the hardest part, finding a breeder…and then came Molly!
If you could go back to the first days of owning your Mastiff and get a "second chance", what would you do differently and what would you do the same?
The one thing I definitely would have done differently is that I would have hired a limo to take us to the airport to pick up Molly, instead of driving there ourselves. That day was one of the worst possible days to drive to Logan Airport, the traffic was a nightmare, we got forced off the road to a wrong exit that took us to a construction site with no detours showing where to get out. We drove around in circles in a combat zone area for close to
45 minutes until I saw Boston PD and flagged him down. I explained to him our plight and he escorted us out of there (I could have hugged him!).
As far as what I would have done the same, I would call Molly’s breeder again, when we picked up our baby girl from the airport, in order to thank her once more and assure her we would take very good care of Molly now that she will be living with us.
We love to hear funny/cute stories about what our Mastiffs do….do you have any stories to share with us about Molly.
Molly loves to talk to the birds that are outside the glass door, while lying on the floor spread-eagle and tail wagging like mad. This is pretty much a daily ritual of hers. She is such a silly girl! She will lay there and cry out to them in a strange language for close to an hour sometimes!
That’s how long the birds can keep her amused. “Raaarrr, Rooooraaarraar, rrrraaarrrraaarrrroooraaaa.” I wish I understood “dog speak”! I included
a photo so you can see what I mean.
What has been the most helpful advice or tip someone shared with you about caring for a Mastiff?
I would say the most helpful tip was to wait at least until after her first heat to spay. Molly has not yet come into her first heat and I am dreading
it actually. Nevertheless, from what I have learned, it is the best for her in the long run, one of the reasons being that she has a slightly inverted vulva, so we are going to let her go thru at least one cycle, maybe two, then spay.
If you were able to ask Molly one question and she could answer you just once what would you ask her?
I would ask her if she could be so kind as to communicate to us in English instead of doggie noises. I mean, she is an "English" Mastiff, so it is high time she starts speaking English…right?
Which MOC mastiff would you most like to meet?
All of them!
I would not want to leave out even one. They are all equally special in their own way; some of them in their own silly and goofy ways, and I would not ever want to pick one over another. Moreover, I am greedy; meeting only one would be a tease. I love them all!
How did you find MOC?
Google search. It led me to the old board and I forgot now exactly how the trail from there led to this board. I know I clicked on something! lol!
Are there any members that you've met from our mastiff community, and if so describe the meeting to us.
I have not yet met any members from MOC, face to face that is, but perhaps that will change in the future.
Any comment or advice you would like to give to members or staff…please feel free to elaborate here.
MOC is an amazing site filled with a wealth of information, great people and furbabies. I cannot express how pleased I am to have fallen upon this site.
I love this place! And thank you to the staff for electing me as MOTM, you really caught me off guard. I never expected it!
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