I never thought it would happen to me... When I got Hank, I was doing a bunch of remodel work for a neighbor friend named Barbara. She had a friend with a litter of English mastiffs and she was getting a female. I told her I had loved mastiffs since I was a kid but I'm a dog adopter, not a dog buyer so I'll probably never get one. But that's cool, because working at Barbara's house so often I would get to watch her Zoe grow up. So that week I get a call from her breeder friend who says if you're a friend of Barbara's you're a friend of mine. And she offers me a male, for free. That weekend we drove to Cameron, Tx and picked up Hank. We also picked up Zoe for Babs. Barbara had been feeling weak and tired for a few weeks and had to be hospitalized when the puppies were ready to go. I told her I would keep Zoe as long as it took for her to get back on her feet. We had Zoe about ten days and Babs called and said "Bring me my girl!". The dogs got together frequently for awhile while I was working there, but I moved on to other projects, and after about a year Barbara got sicker and sicker. I would go by now and then, but after awhile she didn't want visitors. And Zoe was moved out to an outdoor run 24/7. Two weeks ago Barbara's son in law called me and said that Babs had finally realized that she wasn't being fair to sweet Zoe and wanted to know if I could take her, either permanently or at least as a foster until they could find her a home. I said "This is her home. Bring me my girl." Zoe came back home to us last weekend, and my friend Barbara died three days later. She was a tough old Texas lady, maybe a bit stubborn at times, but she put these two in my path and I will forever be grateful. They haven't missed a beat.