Last week I got a phone call that I have dreaded. On the morning of 1/28/2009 we lost our first Morrigan baby. Shelley Smith lost her beloved Lane. Even after more than a week I am having a hard time writing this because it makes it very real that our dogs are middle aged in Mastiff years.

When Lane was born I knew I was going to keep a male puppy from this litter but I was afraid to choose. I had a really hard time choosing between Lane and Trojan and I kept Lane at the house until he was nine months old. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to keep both when I got a call from a lady that was looking for a male mastiff. Our conversation continued and I was reasonably convinced that this person would do very well as an owner for one of my dogs BUT at the time I still wasn't convinced that I wanted to part with Lane. Then I found out that she literally lived across the pasture from me! I did choose Trojan over Lane mostly because Trojan was James' dog while Lane was considered mine. I figured if I ever needed Lane he was pretty accessible!

So Shelly got Lane and they were perfect for one another. Lane may have been the most socialized of all our Mastiffs. Shelley took him EVERYWHERE. Lane probably met more school children than most teachers! Shelley eventually opened a petting zoo with a friend of hers and Lane was the star attraction right up to the end.

Lane, Trojan and Lilly

One day about a year ago, Lane and his friend, a female Rottweiler managed to escape. They made their up to a main road where the girl was unfortunately hit and killed. The female dog was lying in the center of the westbound lane. I got a call at work (everyone knows about my dogs around here) that there was a mastiff in the road. Needless to say, I was on my way. I got there to find Lane standing in the road facing oncoming traffic. The accident had occurred at the end of an 'S' curve and people were seeing him late and really having to work to avoid him. When I arrived there was a 'crowd' of three. One of the men asked me if he was my dog. I said I bred him. He said to be careful because he wasn't letting anyone near the Rottweiler. I walked over to Lane, Kneeled down and said, "Lane, I am so sorry." The dog sighed, walked over to me and buried his head in my chest. If a dog can cry, Lane was blubbering. I loaded him up into my car and put the girl on the trunk. The same man walked over and said, "you know, he has been here since before 8:00." It was 11:30. Lane was a Mastiff.

Rest in Peace, Morrigan's Cuchulain, Mastiff, Loyal Friend
08/09/2004 - 01/28/2009