Board Barkings

Part of this job I hate is the time I have to spend in local Animal Shelters. Safe to say all here at GDRNT spend more time in shelters in one week than most people get in several lifetimes. The biggest heartbreakers are the ones suffering from what I call "shelter shock". Usually these are a animals that most likely lived in homes and knew some love, have never known aanything but the confines of a crate or pen, or have never experienced a loving hand.

Joey came to rescue with a nasty nasty case of Shelter crud that presented itself as a dangerous upper respiratory infection... so with lots of love and medication his dedicated foster home got him well and ready for adoption. Not all our danes would be cool with three very very active loving boys under 6 but that Joey LOVED all the attention!  He ate up the little ones attention and was unphased by the constant motion that comes with children of that age.  Joey let the two year old walk him around and patentily watched while the boys showed him how they jump on the trampoline.

Today GDRNT took into our program SEVEN Danes! So since Friday our ranks have grown by NINE.... All pulled from kill shelters. There was not a hoarding or seizure.... Just nine Danes sitting on death row of shelters desperate to reduce ranks so none have to die. To say that it takes a village is an understatement. It takes an army. Today alone there were countless hours spent coordinating transports, foster homes and veterinary space. Hours and miles spent in personal vehicles to get these danes to the vet and the shuffling of households to get ready for another foster.

Do great Danes make good apartment dogs? The answer may be a surprise to anyone who has not been owned b a Dane... YES Danes can be great apartment dogs. Anyone who has a Dane will tell you they are more likely to be on the couch than running the fence. Certainly Great Danes need to walk and regular exercise but they are happiest just being with their people. The New York Times recently asked three dog experts what breeds they recommend for apartment living and each and great Danes on their list.