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| Name: |
Atlas
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Age: |
Two years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Dogue de Bordeaux
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| Home: |
Davenport, Iowa, USA |
This is Atlas. He is a French Mastiff, also known as a Dogue de Bordeaux. Atlas came into our lives in an unfortunate incident. I was driving home from school when I saw this huge mammoth of an animal dart across the street. I watched in horror in my rear view mirror as he was hit by the car that was behind me. I stopped my truck and there was already a crowd around him, with nobody wanting to get near him because he was so big. I asked if this was anyone's pet and nobody answered. I told everybody that someone was going to have to take him to the vet. With this I got a reply "If you take him to the vet then you are responsible for the bill. I am not taking him." I got the same reply from everybody else.
I shook my head (in disgust at the reply I had gotten) and told a guy next to me to help me put him in the front seat of my truck. The poor dog was already going into shock. I drove up the street to where I knew there was a vet. I carried this plus 100 lb dog in and the Doctor told me he couldn't treat him because he had another medical emergency going on. So I carried him back to my truck and loaded him in. I went to the second vet's office. I carried him in and found out that it wasn't a vets office. It was a chiropractors office and the vet was around the corner. By this time I was starting to get tired and angry that I wasn't going to save this magnificent animal. I finally carried him around the corner and into the office and unfortunately the doctor was out to lunch and wasn't going to be back for a couple of hours. As I loaded him in my truck once more I looked up into the sky and told God. "Hey, I am trying to do a good deed here. How about helping me out." Little did I know my wish was about to be granted. I went to the third vet's office (Third time is a charm) and I finally got help. Dr. Moulton (Kimberly Pines Veterinary Hospital in Davenport, IA) x-rayed Atlas and we found out he had a broken hip. (Acetabulum was broken in a few places.) The owners finally came forward and they couldn't afford the surgery so they were going to have to put him down. That was not an option. I told them I would adopt him and pay for the surgery ($1400 later.)
Atlas now lives with my wife and me with our other five indoor cats. No matter what goes on in our lives Atlas is always there to give us comfort and a few laughs. I was never a dog owner before this happened. And I can tell you now, I will be a dog owner for the rest of my life.
Atlas is a very affectionate animal. Our little drool factory thinks as himself as not a dog, but a human. He always wants to jump on the couch with my wife and I and cuddle. This is an obvious problem since he is over 120 lbs. He sleeps by us every night and we actually had to invest in a noise maker because he snores as loud as a rhino. His favorite toy is anything you can play tug of war with. He loves everyone in the neighborhood. When he gets outside he immediately wants to say hi to everyone. He is defiantly still a puppy. He is a great addition to our family.
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