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A Local Hero and Loyal Lifesaver
By Regan Michelle White
From the moment Ann and Brian
Palormo met yellow Lab Mangus,
they knew there was something special about
him. It was in Rio Rancho, NM where Brian first happened upon Mangus, the only
yellow Lab puppy in the litter from a chocolate and black Lab Show and Field Trial
Champions. Mangus stood out in the litter as he always has for all who know him
– one of a kind. The
Palormos originally acquired Mangus in order to help prolong the
life of their then
eleven-year-old beautiful white Pointer/Mix named Al, who came out of the
Kentucky woods to enrich their family many years earlier. Al passed his
qualities onto Mangus and lived another five years as a result.
At the beginning, Brian’s primary
objective with Mangus was for the two of them to become involved with their
local search and rescue organization. Brian started training Mangus in that
manner during his early months and soon he was able to track Ann from her car
into any given building on the university campus while working his way amongst
dozens of students. Unfortunately,
Brian’s increasing health problems put an end to that effort before it really took
off, thus Mangus had to settle for becoming the finest companion any human
could ever hope to have. “He has never been away from me more than 3-5 hours at
any one time and we rarely need anything more than silent communication to
comprehend one another” states Brian.
A Local Hero and Loyal Lifesaver
Because of his intuitive nature,
Mangus becomes instant friends with nearly everyone
who has crossed his path – from the elderly to infants. At a family gathering of more than 50 people,
Mangus sat down next to a toddler known to be fearful of dogs. Mangus just sat next to him and waited. “By the end of the
day he was crawling all over Mangus,” Ann said. “His mother’s only concern was
that in the future he might think all dogs are as friendly as Mangus. I’ve
always believed that even in (his) puppy days he knew the appropriate behavior for the
people around him. It doesn’t matter if it is small children, teenagers or senior citizens, Mangus responds appropriately.”
Mangus also made a name for himself as a local hero in the
Tucson, Arizona area after saving two children from being struck by a
rattlesnake during a Thanksgiving Day festivity by racing down from a third
floor staircase to put himself between the rattler coiled near them, narrowly
missing being bitten himself. “It was at dusk and no one had seen the snake,”
Ann said. “He (Mangus) only backed down when Brian told him to, so that he
wouldn’t get bitten.”
Mangus’ protective nature of
everyone around him knows no bounds. He has proven on more than one occasion to
be a lifesaver for Brian who is diabetic. “Mangus has saved my life at least ten times in the
past ten years by waking me at night before I went into insulin shock,”
Brian said. As for Ann, Mangus has taken to saving her when she’s swimming
whether she wants to be saved or not. Whenever anyone goes swimming, Mangus has
to be left inside or else he’ll jump in, grab the arm of whomever needs
“saving” and pull them to the steps.
Aging Gracefully
Lately, it has been Mangus’ many
friends that have had to keep a watchful eye over him. Mangus was diagnosed with
diabetes earlier in
February 2005 and then in March and April, a mysterious infection left him with bilateral facial
nerve paralysis and Horner’s Syndrome affecting the nerves in his eyelids which
renders him unable to blink.
The past few months have been difficult for him
physically but Ann and Brian have been happy to see the spirit of the same old
Mangus return. “There were two weeks we were trying to get him to eat…. was
just so frustrating,” Ann said. “And one day he just said, ‘I’m going to eat
now.’ And his energy and spirit returned. He’s mostly his old self although he
doesn’t have the stamina he used to have.”
Ann and Brian have found that even
in aging, Mangus’ spirit has remained formidable and spunky as he adapts to his
new physical conditions. “Labs adjust to the physical conditions they have and
move on,” Ann said. Due to the Horner’s Syndrome, the Palormos must moisten Mangus’ eyes with
artificial tears. Living in Las Cruces, NM, the arid climate has also posed a
unique problem to Mangus’ condition. To avoid further drying out of his eyes
while on walks through his desert home, Ann and Brian have outfitted Mangus
with goggles or “doggles” more appropriately. “He’s been a fashion statement in
the neighborhood,” Ann said with a laugh. “He attracts a lot of attention. He’s
always been a bit of a local celebrity and the goggles just add to it.”
Mangus also attracts a lot of
attention around the holidays. He loves to open everyone’s Christmas presents
and at Easter the Palormos stage an Easter egg hunt for him using plastic eggs filled with dog food. Ann
and Brian are quick to point out all that there is to love about Labs. “In
Mangus’ case it’s a combination of his spirit and his devotion and his all
around great disposition,” Ann said. “He likes to have the whole family
together and it’s important to him.” Mangus’ animal family includes canine
sister, five-year-old Sasha, 16-year-old calico cat, Yeager and 13-year-old
tabby, Shadow. Brian and Ann also have two daughters, Melissa of Chicago and
Cynthia of Los Angeles.
In the heaps of stories that
abound about Mangus and the lives that he has touched, it is clear that he
isn’t your everyday Lab – particularly to those who know him best. Over the
years he has developed his own little fan club that spans the world, thus he
receives numerous inquiries into his well-being on almost a daily basis. “He’s
this wonderful combination of his personality, of his being able to tune into
his surroundings and knowing how to behave and how to respond to people,” Ann
said. Examples are best shown in the little things and the small ways that
Mangus perceives and responds seamlessly to those around him. He’s known
five-year-old Lara Teich since the day she was born. “When she was a toddler,
Lara was quickly walking down a path and there was a place
where she would have fallen but Mangus got there and slowed her down so
she didn't fall,” Ann explained. “He may
have lost some of that since he was sick … but not too much. We are looking forward to
many more rewarding years with him."
….And so do we!
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