Astro was the first dog that was “mine”. We had always had dogs and cats while I was growing up, and I shared in the care of them, but I never really connected with them.
Astro was different. At the time I was dating a woman who had a show mastiff, and I got really involved in the care, training, and the showing of her dog. When she had a litter of puppies, I got me one, and I picked Astro.
Astro got his name from The Jetsons, as his first day he did a big alley-oops off the back patio.
Astro was an athletic mastiff, he was probably 175#’s most of his life, and loved to walk and run, chase balls and toys, and play with other dogs at the dog park.
Astro was also a champion show dog. Being a big, well put together male, with great movement, he was a cinch to finish, as at the time, there were tons of giant, fat, poor moving mastiffs on the west coast show circuit.
When I first got Astro, I was working graveyard shift, so Astro would sleep all night, then sleep with me during the day. The perfect dog.
Unfortunately, I began traveling a lot, so Astro spent a lot of time being sat. My mother, my girlfriends mother. He was happy being anywhere.
The main issue with the giant breeds is that their life expectancies is too short. Astro did well, making it to almost 10. He really struggled the last year. He had been neutered at the age of 8, and put on a lot of weight. Alas, when the end came it brought a lot of sadness to the Anderson household.
He is still missed to this day.
Coda The real sad thing was that Astro was from the era before digital cameras, so I have far too few pictures of him.