Our home had been dogless for over 2 years. Andrew and I were ready for a pup, but the timing wasn't right. Between renovating the kitchen, travel, and commitments to the community theatre, it wasn't fair to introduce a rescue into our lives. They have often had traumatic times anyway, we didn't need to compound their lives because we were impatient.
But the time arrived. I knew I wanted a Great Dane. We had babysat for our son during the summer while he was on vacation (a Great Dane and a Boxer. I had checked out several local adoption organizations, and then our son told us about LFAR. The more I read, the more I liked. We filled out the paperwork, had a phone interview, heard about Dolly who they thought would be a good fit, had the home interview, and them all that was left was to go get her. Her foster mom/family (Colleen & family) couldn't have taken better care of her. We went to meet her on a Tuesday and I went to pick her up that Friday (it was the week before Christmas). Since day one, she has fit right in like a hand in a glove.
She has found her favorite spot - either end of the couch with her head on the arm. She occasionally sleeps with us - not a major deal since she can curl up amazingly tight and sleeps at my feed and I sleep curled up as well. We just finished our 3rd obedience class out of 6 and we both are doing well. Our plan is that she will one day be a therapy dog. We go to Lowe's and walk around and she seems insulted that not everyone wants to talk to her.
The only negative aspect is that she had to have a final heart worm check, and that was pretty traumatic. Evidently she had some not great experiences at this vet and we were still getting to know her. Finally, using a muzzle and a lot of manpower they were able get a blood sample and she is officially heartworm negative. So we were able to OFFICIALLY adopt our Dolly. We are working with our vet to make going to the vet a positive experience. So far, so good. Lots of peanut butter and praise.
Thank you, LFAR. We think we have the best girl from the cute puppy store. And when we go to Lowe's, I tell them "We got a pony for Christmas!"
Debbie and Andrew Smith