November 1999
The Spanish Mastiff Podero
Owned by Melanie Matthews, Vancouver Island - Canada
Podero & Chica playing
This is my dog Podero, a pure-bred Mastin
Espanol - my favorite of all the great molosser breeds. His original name was Caspar but after I got him I have changed it to Podero (short for
poderoso which means powerful or mighty in Spanish). For a Spanish Mastiff, especially for a male, Podero is a comparatively small dog
standing no more then 26" (66 cm) at the shoulder and weighing about 115 lbs. (52 Kg) at 19 months of age. Although he may be small for his
breed, he is larger then most other dogs in our area and is the biggest dog on the block. Podero was the runt of the litter. By comparison,
Podero's brother Amigo stands 32 1/2" (84 cm) high and is nearly twice his weight! Because of his size, I've had him neutered since he cannot
be bred or compete at dog shows. Although his size is incorrect, Podero otherwise has the conformation of a good quality show Mastin
Espanol only on a smaller scale but I think that for a any breed, being fairly small and light has other advantages, he moves very well, he is also
is quite fast, agile and athletic.
Click on pictures to enlarge
Podero can leap over a 1 meter high fence with no problem. I would like to say that I did not get him from a puppy. I
adopted and rescued him from a local animal shelter when he was 15 months of age. For some reason, his original owners who got him from a
little pup (the pup was purchased from Cedar river Ranch located in northwestern B.C. which is Canada's first and only breeders of Spanish
Mastiffs) moved out and literally abandoned the poor dog with the house. He was left chained up in the backyard with no food or water for
who knows how long. The next family to occupy the house, the Wilson Family, discovered the dog all by himself. The new family looked after
him for awhile but they had three small children. Podero is good around kids but sometimes because he is still quite a young dog he has a
tendency to play rough and does not quite know his own strength and so he became too much for them to handle.
Click on pictures to enlarge
At Cedar River Ranch, they
had him micro-chipped as a tiny pup and the Wilson's were able to contact the ranch. Since the breeders at the ranch know me, they called me
to ask if I could do something to help this unfortunate dog find a more suitable home and family. Then my dad suggested he be sent to the
Chilliwack SPCA facility in the farming country east of Vancouver, where he would have a better chance of being adopted. By this time he was
urinating quantities of blood.
As he is a pure bred, rare breed, a good looking animal and because of my interest in him, he was sent to the
SPCA's animal hospital in Vancouver, where they continued his antibiotics and gave him a change of diet. The x-rays did not fortunately
indicate kidney stones, but rather the much less serious problem of crystals in the urinary tract. After a short few days in a foster home, I was
finally able to adopt him as my own. I have been dreaming for years about having my own Mastin Espanol and my wish came true.
Click on picture to enlarge
He is now
spoiled rotten, fed a good diet or raw meat mixed with cooked vegetables and grains, has his own bed and sleeps in the house at night. I love
to take him around many different places to show him off to the public eye, so more and more Canadians will get the opportunity to know
about and meet the breed in person but when before I take him any where to show him off, I often have to carry a sign to say what kind of dog
he is, because almost everyone who sees him asks me "oh is that a St.Bernard-cross?"
One of my main goals it to promote the breed in Canada
and beyond. The Mastin Espanol is one of the rarest dog breeds in North America, fewer than 50 in the United States and no more than 10 in
Canada. I'm also a proud member of MECA the Mastin Espanol Club of America.
The lighter colored dog that has appeared in some of the pictures is Chica - also a Mastin Espanol. Chica belongs to a friend of mine who lives
not too far from me. Chica is considered Podero's girlfriend. Before I got Podero I used to take her out for walks and dog-sit her. Chica is a
daughter of Tigre from Ivan Norona's Club MECA in the U.S.A.
Melanie Matthews, Vancouver Island.
Click on picture to enlarge
Molosserworld want to give Podero and Melanie the best wishes for the future.
Do YOU want to nominate a Molosser for Dog of the Month? It
does not have to be a dog who have achieved alot at shows, other reasons count as much to be Dog
of the Month at Molosserworld.
Send me suggestions!
Mail me
or
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