Mastiff Information

Micah the Mastiff, a super-sized Gabriel’s Angel, makes a tiny friend in the protective custody group home until one day something happens and…

Therapy Dog Micah & A Boy Named Sammy

© Mary Watson, Therapy Dog Handler - TheDogPlace.org

After attending Gabriel’s Angels annual “Unleash the Love” breakfast 7 years ago, my husband and I decided to look for our second English Mastiff. We had lost our first giant tragically and too soon. We knew we had to find one with the most excellent breeding for both health and temperament, as we were convinced that these Gentle Giants would lead us into the wonderful world of pet therapy.

We found him in Indiana, flew him back to Phoenix and went immediately into training to become a Pet Partners therapy dog for Gabriel’s Angels.  Why Pet Partners? We weighed the differences and felt that Pet Partners cared as much about our dog as the people he would serve.

Gabriel’s Angels, a non-profit organization delivering healing pet therapy to over 16,700 abused, abandoned and at-risk children in Arizona, happily welcomed Micah as their biggest angel. We were placed in service at a protective custody group home which houses approximately a dozen teens from various backgrounds and a smattering of infants with their teen moms.

That’s where we met Sammy. Sammy was there with his teen mom and Micah immediately went to him and kissed his little toes, snuffled his tummy and gave him one more butterfly kiss on the forehead as if to say, “Hi, little one! I’m going to be your best fur-buddy ever!”

With every visit, we watched Sammy grow. Soon he was climbing on Micah’s back, poking his jowls and whacking him with the wrong side of the brush. Micah lay patiently as Sammy learned about “soft touches” with the brush and that hugging Micah was better than pulling his tail.

In what seemed the blink of an eye, Sammy was walking, running, and taking flying leaps through the air onto Micah’s back. One of his first words was, “Micah!” At one, he was showing signs of aggression but with unconditional love and caring, his tough side melted when Micah came to visit.

My favorite memory of Sammy is seeing him peeking through the blinds as we approached the door, shouting, “Micah here! Micah here!” As soon as an adult opened the door, he flew barefoot and diapered to my 200 pound “baby”, threw his little arms around Micah’s neck and buried his face in his fur.

At 18 months, Sammy would look at me sternly and say, “Micah Wah!” He wanted to get Micah’s bowl and to pour his water. Then he would say, “Micah TOWAH!” Yes, English Mastiffs drool, and Sammy would get the sterile towels from my bag and wipe his fingers after pouring Micah’s water… and then go mop Micah’s face.

At Christmas time, a new toddler arrived, and Sammy took over the role of teacher, showing little Alex the proper way to pet, water and mop Micah’s slobbery mug.

When Micah cut his paw and we missed a visit, I explained to Sammy, now two and very bright, that Micah had hurt his foot and had to go to the doctor. Every visit after, he would sit between Micah’s front legs, look at me with furrowed brow and ask, “Micah foot?”, and clapped his hands when I told him Micah was all better. “Micah bedder!”

Micah and Sammy were tight. On visiting day, I would ask Micah if he wanted to go see Sammy, and he would bolt to the leash rack, wagging furiously. “Let’s GO, Mom!”

One early evening, we pulled up to the group home, and Sammy wasn’t at the window. We came in and Micah began searching for him, sniffing Sammy’s favorite places deeply. That’s when one of the staff advised us that Sammy and his mom had found a foster home and wouldn’t be returning. Onward. Micah had new children with a million questions about the giant who just walked in the room. I must admit that when I loaded Micah in my car that particular evening, I slid in the back seat with him and mingled my own tears with those of some of the children’s. “Good job, Micah. Good job, my sweet giant.”

To be in the business of pet therapy, one has to have a compassionate heart, and it’s difficult, if not impossible to avoid having feelings for these children. But I’m fortunate, you see, I get to see the miracle of Sammy happen over and over again, and speaking of miracles, one of the staff at Gabriel’s Angels refers to Micah as the “John Coffee of Therapy Dogs” (those of you who have seen “The Green Mile”) will say how very true. This 204 pound gentle giant takes all their pain away.

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