Unnamed - Two Great Danes

A couple of weeks ago, there was an e-mail from the Companion Animal Adoption Centres of Quebec saying four Great Danes in that province were needing new homes. Toronto Animal Services South offered to take in two of them and they were transported to the shelter last week.

I spent some time with the two of them on Saturday.

The blue female Dane is purebred. She is approximately two years old, which for a Dane is barely out of adolescence. Her coat is a beautiful blue, almost purple and she has very long legs. She's unfortunately very malnourished. I'd say she's at least twenty pounds underweight. I couldn't keep her outside for more than five minutes before she started trembling from the cold.

Despite the neglect at the hands of her previous owner, she is still a real sweetheart. She is a little shy at first but once she knows you are friendly, she becomes very affectionate. She is not leash trained but doesn't pull too badly. She seems to know her sit and down commands in French.

The day I saw her, she was sneezing and snorting like she had a bit of a head cold. Now I've been updated that she started throwing up and TAS had to send her to a vet clinic to have her tested and monitored. I hope she makes it back okay.

The second Great Dane is a fawn. She is not purebred but she's definitely got a whole lot of Dane in her. She's certainly as tall as a typical Dane. Something about her face makes me think maybe she's got some Lab in her. Also the colouring of her coat reminds me of a Lab's.

She is also approximately two years old but this girl has been used for breeding.

I got the feeling when I was walking her that she may not have been allowed outside much, if at all. She may have been kept in cage for most of her life, as many puppy mill dogs are, as she is reverse house trained in that she pees as soon as she is brought back into her kennel. She's also got some skin irritations which suggests she may have come from a dirty living environment.

When I took her outside, she was extremely curious but somewhat cautious about nearly everything: the snow, vehicles, buildings. She is also somewhat malnourished though that may have something to do with her recent pregnancy.

Regardless of this girl's breeding and history, she's got a Great Dane's gentle disposition. While it seems she hasn't had a lot of contact with people, she wants to meet them, find out what they're about. I hope she's not disappointed.

More on these two here.

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.