Our Danes – JonCJennings

Cassie was my first Great Dane. I always wanted one and knew how smart they were. I was in no way prepared for the friendship and loyalty they present to you. She was bought from a breeder in Cumberland Virginia. Because she was a merle the breeder told me they were prone to some health issues and were not the desirable color type. She came up to me and curled up on my left foot. I told the breeder without even looking at the others that this was the dog for me. She told me that they would almost let me have her but had to charge a fee.

We rode home together with her on my lap all the way down 460. She never moved. We let her have her own couch and she kept Malynda company when she was pregnant with Charles. She slept with us in her loveseat until Charles was born. Then she would sleep in his room under his crib. He would sniffle or cry and she would come to the bedroom and Snoof at us.

She was a character and loved to be outside. She would hang out by the garage door and watch me work. Many days she would sit on the couch and enjoy cleaning Charles while he ate. They were long and close friends growing up.

It took a while after Cassie left us for the family to be ready for another Dane. I was contacted by a rescue about Duke. The owner was in a bad way and needed to find him a home quickly. So quickly that she brought him to work and he spent the day at the bank in the IT department! This fellow turned out to be a complete gentleman. He was the best dog I ever knew and was able to change my mother and I honestly never saw her care as much as she did for Duke.

He was supposed to have issues being in the house. When I got him home he would stand on his dog house and watch me through the window. This went on for a few days and we decided to see how he did in the house. He was just fine. He ended up being a companion to my mother during the day and a watchful guardian over Charles when he came home from school. I would here my son telling Duke stories about his day at school and he would sit and listen. He only had one issue and it was our turtle. He came in the first day and drank out of the turtle pond which annoyed Wink. Wink decided it would be a great idea to bite Duke on the jowl and hold on for a ride. That started the long feud between my Danes and Turtles.

After being with us for far too short a time Duke developed bone cancer in his rear legs. He held on and stayed with us through the summer but it became too much and he now watches over us in the Living room.

Tatum was a surprise. I was contacted by a breeder in Kentucky and told that she had to repossess a Dane and he needed a good home. We got together on a Friday night, rented a SUV at the airport and set out to meet our possible new friend. We met with Robin at Aiden’s Great Danes and then went to see Tatum for the first time. He was in a pack of Danes and honestly was smaller than the pack.

He came up to me on the porch and while I was talking to Robin he sniffed me and was extremely friendly. He was supposed to have problems with men and smaller children. (He still has a solid dislike for people under 4 feet.) But we decided he was worth the trip and would take him home with us. He was quiet and very well behaved on the trip but was hungry. I popped through a drive through and grabbed some nuggets and cheeseburgers. I can say that from the moment Tatum took the first Cheeseburger he was my boy.

He has had ups and downs. I don’t know what my mother did but he became hyper protective of her and stays with her all day. They watch TV and she gives him treats. For a few years his puppy zoomies were amazing. He would run in circles until he fell into a pile. Today he is calmer and stays with me when I come home and sleeps with Malynda when I leave for work.