Amanda was brought into rescue after witnesses saw her being thrown from a truck. She was thrown away on the side of a road, no longer wanted, like yesterday’s trash.
She could barely walk. Her thin, frail body was extremely weak from being so malnourished. Her nails so long, they curled to the ground. A Corsciana Animal Control Officer answered the call for help and picked her body up and took her to the Corsicana shelter. Great Dane Rescue was contacted and Amanda was rescued the same day she arrived. She immediately went to a foster home where she began eating well and slowing gaining weight. She needed help standing up and wobbled while she walked. She frequently fell down, as she was very unsteady on her feet. She slowing started coming out of her shell as she got excited and wagged her tail when she saw her foster family.
Being a senior and in such poor shape, we felt Amanda would live out the rest of her days with us in rescue. But this story has a very happy ending! We are pleased to announce that a loving family has come forward and officially adopted the very lucky Amanda the first weekend in September. It will take months for Amanda to regain muscle strength in order to walk like a normal dog. Her new family is very happy to provide all the love, care, and hope for Amanda to see her through to full recovery. We in rescue along with her new family, see Amanda has a treasure to cherish and we are glad that we could be there for her and were part of her life.
Your donations were much appreciated to help us buy the proper medications and food for her recovery. Further donations for Amanda’s Fund will be put towards the next Dane that is carelessly thrown away like trash.
Read about Amanda in Sat. Sept. 13th’s Dallas Morning News by Larry Powell
Amanda recently sent a personal letter to her foster moms. Below is the letter:
Dear Mommies Allie, Bobby and little Clara,
Thank you for saving my life. Your love and attention is more than I
ever expected. I have never in my life been that important to anybody,
so I never knew how good being loved could feel. Because of all your
hard work and caring, I was able to get healthy enough to go to a
forever home. Thank you for giving me that chance.
As it turns out, I’m fitting in very well here. My new mom and dad
think I’m really special. Flower and Jake and I are the mature doggies
here, but together we do a good job of putting up with Ben, the pesky
puppy. He’s not actually that bad and he even gives me space and tries
really hard not to jump on me. He mostly just barks at me when I walk
by one of his slobbery toys, like I’d put one of those things in my
mouth anyway! The kitties have taken a little longer to warm up to me.
I guess they’d never seen a dog as big as me. But since I’m so sweet,
some of them are already walking up to me to touch noses or to rub their
head against me. I get to sleep in the big bed with my mom and dad
every night, along with lots of my other siblings. I’m learning to
cuddle and spoon really well.
Guess what else? My back legs are almost always standing straight
underneath me now! I don’t hold them out wide anymore and only loose my
balance occasionally. I am also as strong in the evenings now as I am
in the mornings. My mommy works hard with me on my posture, holding my
back legs strong and straight — with the help of some massage and
“range of motion” exercises to lengthen those muscles and several short
walks a day to help strengthen them — and holding my head up high. My
mom’s also teaching me a new command “look at me” so I can learn that
it’s safe to make eye contact with people.
And. . . I had my first swimming lesson on Wednesday. Can’t say that
it was my favorite activity, but my Mom thinks it will grow on me. The
worse part was wearing that darn life-jacket!
My dad says he sees me do something better (like walking) and something
new every day. Yesterday when my dad was working upstairs in his
office, I barked at the front door to let him know I needed to go potty.
He was really proud of me. We also found out yesterday that I’m afraid
of thunderstorms, but my Dad brought his laptop down and cuddled with me
on the bed til the storm was over.
I’m still pretty partial to mom, though I am feeling closer to my new
Dad everyday. When Mom’s at home I won’t leave her side, but she seems
to like having a great big shadow. My mom and dad left the house
together the other day (to take the boat out), for the first time since
I’ve been here. It was kind of scary but I just stayed on the bed with
Flower snoozin’ and before I knew it everybody was back home again.
Also, since I’ve been getting so strong so quick, I may get to go on my
first boat ride this weekend if the sun cooperates. Its a bit of a walk
down to and back up from the boat dock, but my Dad (who’s pretty
protective) thinks if we take it slow, I’ll be able to make it just
fine.
Oh yeah, they lost their list of favorite first names and meanings
before they got to sit down and talk about it together. So now they’re
thinking maybe that’s a sign that I’m supposed to keep my name, Amanda,
especially since it means, “worthy of love.”
I’ll keep you posted on how things are going here. I can never thank
you enough for all you’ve done for me and how much you loved me. Just
know that there’s not a day that goes by, that me, my mom or my dad
thank their lucky stars for all of you at GDRNT.
– Amanda