Meet DJ Kelly, A Very Special Guy!
DJ turned 11 years old on November 23, 2015, and we had a big celebration with party hats, presents, and cake! We’ve had him since we found him listed on RescueMe six months ago. He was surrendered to us by his owner, who purchased him at the age of 8 weeks, and he made his way up from TX to NJ where he will live out his life in foster care. He had been living outside because he was said to be incontinent, but otherwise healthy. While The Deeg had had consistent vet care for the first five years, he hadn’t seen a vet in his later years. He is definitely NOT incontinent (he’s never once had an accident in 6+ months inside) but he is completely deaf from chronic ear infections, largely blind due to cataracts, and HW positive. His age, combined with his HW status, makes him a surgical risk, or we would have had his cataracts removed so that he would regain some sight. He was covered in calluses and had open sores on his face and heavy scarring from untreated hotspots.
Despite his various infirmities, DJ is a delightful and endlessly cheerful housemate. He has his “posse” of five female Bullmastiffs, all of whom dote on him, hence his new name DJ for “Don Juan”. He revels in his various comfy beds placed throughout the house, and he digs industriously before he lies down to be sure that his pillows and blankets are just right. He has gotten stronger with some regular exercise, so he often climbs up on the couch for a nap these days too. No more hard surfaces for him, so his huge calluses are slow disappearing and the sores on his face have healed completely and his hair has grown back. The largest of his many unsightly growths was removed with a local anesthetic – he was perfectly content to lie quietly while a skilled surgeon removed it in a flash and sutured him up, wagging his tail throughout the procedure.
He is a demanding beast – anxious to cram a lot of living into whatever time he has left - and his family is happy to oblige. He craves companionship so he is seldom left alone. He loves car rides so he is a frequent traveler (most often to the local ice cream shop for a vanilla cone – his favorite!) and his engaging personality wins him friends wherever he goes. He demands his morning walk with his foster dad – bouncing up and down by his leash, waiting for the inevitable scuffle to get his collar around his neck before he grabs his leash in his mouth (and sometimes that of a sibling) and charges out the door. He has many area followers who stop en route to work to have a quick visit with him. He dines on home-prepared meat and vegetables, washes his neck every time he takes a drink (after all, it’s important to be clean and fresh even if you leave a lake behind!), and he runs right into our dog shower stall as soon as he realizes it’s bath time – he absolutely loves being scrubbed and rubbed. He’s even discovered toys! It took one of our Bullie girls months of relentlessly beating him on the head with her fuzzy toys to convince him to pick one up, and since that first try, he has made it a point to zoom around the house collecting toys (sometimes right out of the mouths of his housemates) and piling them up on his cushions. He is rarely seen these days without a fuzzy toy, or two, dangling from his mouth, and sometimes he even takes one on his morning walks.
His most exciting adventure to date was his trip to the breed club’s National Specialty held in Ohio in October 2015. He charmed everyone there with his wonderful personality and beautiful expression, and he took third in both veteran sweeps and regular veterans classes, as well as being crowned Best Shark in Show as he cruised around the Eukanuba show site in his new shark costume, leash firmly clenched in his jaws. According to DJ, the very best part of the trip was coming home to his dad – they are inseparable.
DJ came to us with AKC registration papers and a full pedigree. He is royally bred – except for the very last generation, where his well-bred sire was used on a puppy mill dam – proof once again of how important it is for breeders to be careful where they sell their puppies and to stay in touch with the buyers. His pedigree goes right back to the very first Bullmastiff we ever saw, the dog who started us down the path of our long and committed association with the breed. While it is incredibly sad that such a beautiful dog (both inside and out) wound up in rescue, we are so happy that DJ is here with us – it’s almost as if he has come full circle and he will live out his days with his distant relatives here in New Jersey.
We are delighted to indulge his every whim (yup – we are basically his personal slaves) for whatever time he has left. We hope it’s many, many years!
Patrick and Andrea Kelly
Despite his various infirmities, DJ is a delightful and endlessly cheerful housemate. He has his “posse” of five female Bullmastiffs, all of whom dote on him, hence his new name DJ for “Don Juan”. He revels in his various comfy beds placed throughout the house, and he digs industriously before he lies down to be sure that his pillows and blankets are just right. He has gotten stronger with some regular exercise, so he often climbs up on the couch for a nap these days too. No more hard surfaces for him, so his huge calluses are slow disappearing and the sores on his face have healed completely and his hair has grown back. The largest of his many unsightly growths was removed with a local anesthetic – he was perfectly content to lie quietly while a skilled surgeon removed it in a flash and sutured him up, wagging his tail throughout the procedure.
He is a demanding beast – anxious to cram a lot of living into whatever time he has left - and his family is happy to oblige. He craves companionship so he is seldom left alone. He loves car rides so he is a frequent traveler (most often to the local ice cream shop for a vanilla cone – his favorite!) and his engaging personality wins him friends wherever he goes. He demands his morning walk with his foster dad – bouncing up and down by his leash, waiting for the inevitable scuffle to get his collar around his neck before he grabs his leash in his mouth (and sometimes that of a sibling) and charges out the door. He has many area followers who stop en route to work to have a quick visit with him. He dines on home-prepared meat and vegetables, washes his neck every time he takes a drink (after all, it’s important to be clean and fresh even if you leave a lake behind!), and he runs right into our dog shower stall as soon as he realizes it’s bath time – he absolutely loves being scrubbed and rubbed. He’s even discovered toys! It took one of our Bullie girls months of relentlessly beating him on the head with her fuzzy toys to convince him to pick one up, and since that first try, he has made it a point to zoom around the house collecting toys (sometimes right out of the mouths of his housemates) and piling them up on his cushions. He is rarely seen these days without a fuzzy toy, or two, dangling from his mouth, and sometimes he even takes one on his morning walks.
His most exciting adventure to date was his trip to the breed club’s National Specialty held in Ohio in October 2015. He charmed everyone there with his wonderful personality and beautiful expression, and he took third in both veteran sweeps and regular veterans classes, as well as being crowned Best Shark in Show as he cruised around the Eukanuba show site in his new shark costume, leash firmly clenched in his jaws. According to DJ, the very best part of the trip was coming home to his dad – they are inseparable.
DJ came to us with AKC registration papers and a full pedigree. He is royally bred – except for the very last generation, where his well-bred sire was used on a puppy mill dam – proof once again of how important it is for breeders to be careful where they sell their puppies and to stay in touch with the buyers. His pedigree goes right back to the very first Bullmastiff we ever saw, the dog who started us down the path of our long and committed association with the breed. While it is incredibly sad that such a beautiful dog (both inside and out) wound up in rescue, we are so happy that DJ is here with us – it’s almost as if he has come full circle and he will live out his days with his distant relatives here in New Jersey.
We are delighted to indulge his every whim (yup – we are basically his personal slaves) for whatever time he has left. We hope it’s many, many years!
Patrick and Andrea Kelly
