Taz and Mack: A Match Made in Heaven
Pictures by Rebecca Maysek
Taz and Mack: A Match Made in Heaven
Rebecca Matysek’s story about her dog rescue involves their family dog Jake that they had since she was in elementary school. Unfortunately, Jake passed away and it was hard for everyone in her family. Her mom loved him so much and he was just the greatest dog. He was fine one day and then they could tell that his health was deteriorating, and then suddenly, he just could not walk anymore. Her mom had to physically pick him up to go outside. She made the VERY difficult decision to take him down to the vet and put him down. She was SO UPSET! She didn't think she could ever get over him or get a new dog, especially because of what she went through. It's hard for anyone to lose a pet, and she didn't know what to do. A few months went by and they noticed that their other dog, Taz, was acting odd. She was usually so full of energy and she loved to go outside and run in the yard. She wasn't at her peak energy level at all, that was for sure, so they made the decision as a family to go get her another dog. And yes, Rebecca said go get HER a dog because they wanted her to have a friend. She had never lived without another dog, and they have had her since she was a puppy. Going from having someone around all the time to suddenly not having anyone around at all is a huge adjustment even for humans, so they knew they had to do something. They looked online for different options, because at that point they had no idea what kind of dog they wanted, just as long as Taz approved. So, they decided to take Taz with them to the animal shelter to kind of get acclimated to the different dogs they had available, and she was kind of not too excited about the first few. Then, the handler brought out this dog that had been in their custody for almost 6 months, which is a LONG time to have a dog in the shelter, so they figured, why not try him out? His name was Mach (Pronounced "mah-k") which was really weird for one, and they didn't really know what to expect because he was a pit bull mix. He was about the same size as Taz, and seemed to get her energy up a little by chasing her around the little strip of grass. He was the dog that she seemed to have the most activity with, so Rebecca and her family went for it. They didn't know what to do because they didn't know too much about the dog and neither did the people who worked there. All they knew was he had been in the shelter for awhile and that he was very well liked among the workers-laying by their side when they worked at their desks. Because he had been there so long, it's routine for him to be shipped off to another shelter. So, after they signed all of his papers, and employee came up to them and told them that believe it or not, that car that would be taking him to a new temporary home had arrived, and that they were thrilled that he wouldn't be on it. Rebecca and her family saved the dog's life THE EXACT DAY AND TIME that he would have been taken to another shelter with his fate unknown, they had opened our hearts to him and called him ours. Rebecca said that this detail is something that she will never forget about his adoption. They took him home and he was theirs immediately. They ended up changing his name to "Mack" because they said, and I agree, the other name was just odd. It's been 4 years since Mack became part of the Matysek family, and to this day he is one of the goofiest, most lovable dogs that Rebecca and her family have ever seen. These characteristics are one of the reasons Rebecca is such an adoption and pit bull advocate because they have a story to tell. You may not know what they have been through or where they came from, but the moment you bring them home, it doesn't matter to them-they love you like they've known you for years.