Dog abandoned at Malden park is rescued, life saved by Good Samaritan and Malden Police

‘Big Momma’ has life after emergency surgery and new foster ‘Dad’

By Steve Freker

A dog’s life has a bright future after a succession of compassionate and generous people stepped to the forefront and helped save her. It’s so hard to imagine why someone would abandon her, scared and shivering, tied to a pole in Trafton Park in Maplewood.

“Big Momma,” as the mastiff has since been named, was found in the cold the night of Dec. 14 on a pole in Trafton Park, “whimpering and screeching for help,” said Kevin Alkins, Malden Police’s animal control officer. She also had a massive, 13 lb. tumor on her belly.

A good Samaritan brought her to Malden police, and local kennel owner Bill Bowdridge immediately took over care of “Big Momma.” “It was the first dog I’ve ever witnessed that cried real tears and the more we wiped the more the tears came. It would break anybody’s heart,” he said in an online report.

Bowdridge, who owns Big Daddy Doggie Daycare, is fostering Big Momma and will try to adopt her. “She’s not the same dog. Being with us now, she lays on her back with all four legs in the air,” he said.

As for now, Malden Police and Officer Alkins are looking for who left her in that park. “We feel the culprit of this planned this out, and we do not believe it was a Malden resident,” said Officer Alkins, who, unfortunately has had to deal with several other animals abandoned in this city in the past year.

A GoFundMe account was started as the generosity continued for Big Momma and extensive surgery was done. The tumor is benign, and the two-year-old mastiff is in good health otherwise now, according to Malden Police.