I went out that way looking for Scooter yesterday. No leads at all. I talked to the people at Al's Melons, and drove around for quite some time. I also bumped into some nice folks by Walt's so if you're reading this... that was me. Poor Scooter. It's a damn shame this had to happen.
On another note...
My home inspection is slated for Saturday for the Great Dane adoption.
The next step will be to meet the available Danes and choose.
I have never had to pick out a dog or a cat before. They usually find and choose me. Jake was the exception, though he was the last available Dane, so there really wasn't a choice.
Jake was purchased from a "hobby breeder", before we were aware of the negative aspects of that, as well as backyard breeding.
This particular lady was very nice, treated her dogs wonderfully, but still, was a breeder and sold the pups. We sent her a Christmas Card every year with Jake's picture on it to let her know that he had gone to a good home. We also let her know when he had passed.
A quick Google search will bring you a wealth of information about hobby breeders, backyard breeders and puppy mills.
The "problem" with any breeder right now is the pet overpopulation crisis, as well as the danger that the pups are sold to anyone with the right amount of money, rather than being sent to good homes. Often the unsold pups are secretly drowned or suffocated because they don't want to just give away their profits to a rescue or shelter.
Plus, the shelters and rescues are full of dogs needing good homes, and breed-specific rescues have pets available in just about any pure breed. Especially if a puppy mill has been shut down.
However, it has also been my experience that a "good home" can turn to a bad one, and people give up their pets for any number of reasons, from divorce ~behavioural problems ~to not being willing to properly train a pet to their liking.
An example:
One of the Danes we are looking at was given up by it's owner for stealing a meatloaf off of a counter top and getting into a fight with one of the other dogs over it.
IMO this is just as much the owner's fault as the dog's. Great Danes are huge, and can easily stick their heads over your kitchen table, or the counter, or the stove to see what you've got going on for dinner. It's called "counter surfing", and they will do it unless trained not to. And it's natural that two dogs will fight over such a treasure, which probably scared the owner more than anything.
My Jake never stole anything off of the counter, but if he had, it would have been my own fault for leaving something within his reach, and expecting him not to want it. Of course he will want it. The training comes in for him to know not to take it.
And if he had taken it, you go on to train him not to the next time, you don't give up a dog over that, even if it's his 10th time for doing it. You just try again, or find someone who can help, or better yet, you learn not to leave your dinner within his reach, especially if he's hungry, which they always are.
This poor guy was given up over a crummy meatloaf, and had he not been taken by a breed-specific rescue, he may have ended up being gassed to death in a shelter.... like Shiny's.
Another dog we are looking at is one that was chained to a tree and left. They say he was bone thin and has scars on his neck from his collar. They say he is huge, larger than most of their other adoptable Danes. I think this guy really needs our love and compassion, and a chance at a happy life.
Danes should never be left outside. Their fur is thin and their underbellies are nearly bare. There is no protection from the cold weather.
Puppies grow into adult dogs, and their collars get tight, and especially a dog as large as a Dane. The grow so fast too! They need extra large dog beds, and their food bowls need to higher up off of the floor to help them eat and drink. Danes are also susceptible to bloat.
And they do slime. Yep... I'll be washing my walls again on a regular basis. That's ok. I'm a wall-washer from way back. My mom did teach me how to clean a house.
I think how we will choose is to let our "Dirty Dog" choose which will be his buddy. Whoever he seems to get along with best will likely be the one we adopt, if there is such a way to tell. He seems to get along with most dogs, but this is something new. He was introduced into our home when we already had two here.
Jake was brought in as a puppy when I introduced him to Joey, which is a funny story. At first Joey didn't like the idea of a new puppy in the house, and we had to make sure that Joey wasn't mean to Jake. Within a few months Jake had outgrown Joey in size, so suddenly Jake had the size-advantage, but still maintained a respect for Joey, who remained the alpha throughout his life.
Guess I was chatty today. I've got work to do.
