Tennessee

Misha (pronounced Mee-shah)
For six months prior to being given up by her owners, Misha was chained outside. Her owners did not want a large dog anymore, so they left her at a vet clinic. After treating Misha for parasites, testing for heartworm (negative), and giving her vaccinations, the vet called MCOA rescue.
Her papers say that she is nearly 5 years old, but she does not look and act that old.

Misha was adopted in March 2003 and her adopter, who had another mastiff named Barkley, had the following to say about her a couple months after adoption.
"My two kids are doing well! I cannot believe 2 months went by since I last talked to you, but so far so good. I am continually learning about Misha and her mannerisms so that is always valuable. I am surprised how fast Barkley took to her and how much attention he gives her. Not to say I don't get attention from them both, but they are content to go outside for an hour at a time and lie under the pine tree and sleep. Barkley has had to adjust to a few things, such as sharing toys and food, whereas he didn't before. He is a beta-male as I see it, and bows to her at the water bowl, food bowl, etc. She came in and established herself as the more dominant one I feel. She also got protective of her environment and he has followed suit with her. Now when she barks at my neighbors, or the water meter folks, he runs along with her barking and jumping around. I found out that she hates lawnmowers and has a habit of bringing me items from my room (such as shoes) as an "offering" when I come home in the evenings. She has unfortunately chewed 3 different comforters now and will do so and not feel she has done anything wrong. I will tell her "No!", but she usually wags her tail and leaves the room. I do wonder how she does around other groups of dogs, and especially children, in case I take her to a dog-outting here in Nashville. She also has a habit that I cannot quite figure out: When I am playing with Barkley, usually with a jolly ball or something, she will come up to him from behind, bark at him quite loudly, and nip at his ears and neck. She isn't going for the toy, or me, she is simply barking and growling at him. I don't know if she feels left out of that particular game or if she is being protective of me and feels that he is being aggressive towards me. Either way, it has been puzzling. Also, I think Barkley has become a little more protective and territorial since she arrived as well. He barks more, feels competition when I play with her, and even gave a low growl at the vet that only I caught when he was in a group of people. He was acting scared while we were there, which is odd for him, and I wondered if something had him spooked. When we left, he was fine."

North Carolina

Burns
Burns is a 7 yr old, fawn, intact male. He is heartworm positive. He was placed in the care of his owner's mother when the owner was sent to jail. The lady put him in her backyard and left him there by himself. When he developed hot spots that became infected and covered with maggots, neighbors convinced the lady to let them take him to the vet. They contacted Rescue and then talked the owner into releasing Burns to us. 
The volunteer who evaluated Burns says that he is a large, friendly boy with nice manners and a classic mastiff temperament.  He is good with most dogs, but does have problems with other intact males. This may change after he is neutered. We have started his heartworm treatment.
Burns was adopted.

October 24, 2004. In the words of his foster parent --
Well, Burns has made it to his new home. Cris picked him up today. We decided it would be best to just keep going so we trucked him on over to his new home tonight.
Burns greeted his new family with enthusiasm and a lot of sloppy kisses. They all welcomed him in with open arms and allowed him plenty of time to do his ritualistic "sniffing about the house." An hour later he was on his back and the daughter was on the floor rubbing his belly. Burns was so happy he even started talking to them, not the barking but mastiff talk. You know the groanng and wining they do when they want attention.
I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of this experience. It really warmed my heart to see this old guy happy and loved. We live only a half hour away from him so I suspect he might get a couple of follow up visits from us.
Thanks for the memories, Burns. We'll stay in touch.