I let a vet talk me into taking off a fatty tumor on Luna's leg while she was having her teeth cleaned. It had been biopsied twice before and was known to be just fat. But this vet said we should take it off. Over $800 later, Luna has managed to chew out all the stitches 2 days post-op. Then 9 days after she got a bunch of staples, and she was on her road to recovery, I came home to find she had gotten her big collar off and eaten through all her staples. Her wound was wide open, muscles had been chewed on, etc. So, she got closed up for the 2nd time plus she has a drain tube. Now I'm spraying something on it to help it heal which tastes bad, plus she's got the collar on, plus she's tied to the end of her bed so she can't reach her leg, plus her bed is smack in the middle of the living room so we're watching her like a hawk and I've got a muzzle if I need it. I mean, even when I take her out on a leash, in a second she'll try to swing around and grab ahold of the drain tube.

So I left her with my husband this morning while I went to a dog show in Lexington (you can see pics at www.whitedane.shutterfly.com) to see what show Danes look like. Was pretty impressive. Although a few didn't look "show" quality to me and I wondered if they were "breeders". And I decided I'd never own a Newfoundland (170 lbs. of gorgeous, but high-maintenance fur) but could own a Borzoi. The French Bulldogs are little characters, loved their expressions. And I saw a handler open his Dane's mouth and spit a loog in it and then close it right before the judge came over. Found that rather odd (anyone know why?). Anyway, some dog people said they never would have had her fatty tumor removed. They usually just leave theirs alone. Regardless, it's done and I feel terrible for the old girl. Bought her a super big knuckle bone to keep her mouth busy.

And on a side note, what is happening with the Danes Available page? Did the Board decide that it's not important to the Rescue? The old site had more Danes on it (both pics and info) and it was updated more often than the page on this site is.