I met Georges in Rigaud, Quebec on Thursday to pick up BHRR’s Ocean and as soon as I saw her; I found her to be ‘cute as a button’ and I have nicknamed her ‘my wee button’! The Shelter had given her a bath that AM so she was so sweet smelling too! I am positive that within the next few weeks; I am going to call her a ‘mule’ too FOR she is another survivor. The pictures I have taken(it was dark when I got home) with Sean do not show how emaciated she really is. 😥 She is as bad as BHRR’s Dana when Dana first arrived in our program last November and almost as weak too. She has absolutely not one inch of fat on her body and you can see the muscle wasting that has gone on. I just well up with such emotions over seeing such incredibly sweet creatures in this condition. The ‘story’ that we have on her is that she is an o/s(the people originally said she was a stray they found) and there seems to be some ‘question’ as to whether this home had her since she was a puppy or did get her about 8 months ago from a Breeder or a ‘friend’, who really knows. The paperwork says that she is spayed(Shelter also feels she is) and I am sure in the car when Océane(that was her name given by her previous owners and we are calling her Ocean) splayed on her back with all four feet in the air 😛 that I saw her spay incision. I will look closer at the Hospital tomorrow when I bring her in for a HWT(we learned that she was born in October 2007 – day not known – AND I did feel from looking at her pictures that she was around 1 year of age and her teeth place her about 1+ year too); do a fecal(her stool was soft yet not badly formed and smelly!) I have put her on Sentinel(The shelter has recorded that they gave her Advantage on December 19th, 2008) and I shall begin to de-worm her tomorrow as a proactive measure – The shelter did one de-worming on December 12th, 2008 but she was due for another one at the end of December); do a skin scraping on the side of her head behind one ear(not sure at this time what that is – could be any number of things and I am going to hold off posting any of my own speculations until I confer with my Vet on her own thoughts; but I am not overly worried right now); exam etc. I noticed that the Sherbrooke Shelter had given her her DHLPP and I will be holding off on any Rabies etc. until she is healthy. The weight that the Shelter had recorded back in December(no date given as to when this weight was taken) was 71.28 pounds(32.4 KGS). To put this into perspective, I did a ‘rough’ tape measurement on Ocean when I got her home(happy wiggly monster she was) and she stands 32″ at the whithers. THAT is one very painfully thin Great Dane in the height/weight ratio.  😥 Another perspective is looking at my 5 month old Great Dane that is only 27″ at the shoulder and yet weighs 80 pounds AND he is nice, healthy and properly ribby as a Great Dane should be. We will see how much she weighs tomorrow. She is quite feminine in her mannerisms(for now! LOL) and her body type is ‘typical’ of what we see come out of that province. She is not a shrinking violet either this one. She is very social with humans(men, women, kids), dogs and the Shelter says also with cats. She has proven herself to be housebroken and has asked several times to go outside yet I would not be surprised if she has an accident or two during her adjustment with us. She has been very quiet in her crate(no issues getting her in) and has been fully integrated with all but 2 dogs here at this time(No playing allowed with Lil Linus due to his head and KB/JB due to what we believe is osteosarcoma and are awaiting further testing). She has ‘no fear’ yet is almost ‘wild’ and ‘untamed’ in her manner. Handshy is not what I would say she is, just undersocialised, independent and wants the love when she wants it and at times, she really wants it but when she is ‘done’, she is done! LOL She is a little bit shy yet I believe that has more to do with her new surroundings for she has just jumped right in here as if she has always been here for the most part. She can be ‘flightly’ with some sudden movements and I can confirm that she is DEAF. Through time, we will see if she can detect ‘tones’ or some ‘sounds’ etc. The paperwork that they owners filled out for the Shelter says that she has leash manners and Georges was quick to tell me that this was not the case! LOL His message to me that he was on his way even said that Ocean was trying to drive the car with him! Georges did say that she eventually settled down and slept most of the drive to meet me. When I got her, other than one moment of trying to get in the front; she settled down with a nice meaty knucklebone and traveled great!!! She does not know her name or any other signs that I can determine at this time despite what the previous owners have stated. When you tell her ‘no’ she just looks at you and walks away and if you try to ‘call’ her; she just looks at you and walks away and if you try to tell her to ‘watch’ you, she just looks at you and walks away! LOL That does not surprise me. When we are told that people have gotten rid of dogs as the ‘issues’ with their Danes are that they ‘jump’ & ‘bark’; we pretty much know they have had little to zero of the proper obedience. Ocean loves to drink and she could drink and drink and drink some more. I limit her water intake and if need be, I will run a UA on her. She has ‘mysterious’ aura about her and I am looking forward to really getting to her ‘depths’ of which I have NO doubt she has many layers to learn more about her. She is very intriguing and ‘oozes’ inner strength, dignity and kindness. She is the type of dog that you just ‘notice’. There is just ‘something about Ocean!’ 😉 She was also very gentle in taking treats from my hand. The one thing that really makes me realise is that when she stands next to BHRR’s Lil Linus; I realise what a ‘moose’ he really is! LOL What a contrast between her feminine bone structure/frame and his ‘tank’ body and he is nice, healthy and properly ribby himself! She is just so precious……..I am so happy that she was not put to sleep that Saturday(THANKS Cindy & Georges!) and that BHRR was called to assist for I will never forget how my heart sank when I received the message that she was slated to be put to sleep that same day if we could not step up to assist. SHE deserves SO MUCH better than what she has received in life to date and my promise to her is that she is going to be taken care of now and for the rest of her life. She shall never again experience the pain and suffering she has had in the past. I cannot wait for people to meet her for she is going to just captivate the world!!!! When I look deep into her soft blue eyes; I see what Sean commented on as well; a ‘tinge’ of Snowball’s similar stength plus shining beauty and we know how special Snowball was; a one of a kind Great Dane and Ocean is the same.  I know that BHRR’s Ocean would really appreciate any/all emotional and financial supporters to her rehabilitation for it is going to be some time before she is ready to be adopted.

BHRR’s Océane(Ocean) – January 22nd, 2009