Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

A very nice mailman was doing his rounds when he spotted a very emaciated black Great Dane in a woman's backyard. He watched him for a couple days and was extremely worried that he wasn't going to make it if he didn't do something, so he called Animal Control. An officer showed up at the residence and the owner was disabled and unable to care for him, so she agreed to release ownership and he was promptly taken to El Paso Veterinary Clinic in Derby, Kansas.

January 31, 2007

Dr. McKinney took over his care and decided to call him Angus. She was appalled by his condition and said he scored a 0-1 on his overall body score. He tested negative to heartworm, but they did find roundworms in his fecal and gave him a dewormer to begin treatment. He was also vaccinated while he was there and won the hearts of all of the staff members! Luckily, El Paso vet has worked with RMGDRI previously, so they called us and asked for our help with finding him a new home.

One of our local volunteers, Kim, went and picked him up that afternoon and took him home to her house. He quickly made friends with her Kuvas named Moose and followed him everywhere he went. He was a little growly with Sam the Lab mix and Molly the Dane, but he warmed up after a little while and just appears to be unsocialized. Despite being locked outside most of his life, he amazingly did not have any accidents while with Kim and her family.

February 2, 2007

Kim and another volunteer named Sarah transported him to Colby today where he hitched a ride with our volunteers Ed and Irene. They met Hillary and Scott in Stratton and Angus finally made his way to Parker where his foster family lives. Everyone who meets him is touched by his silly personality and brave spirit! We are hopeful that we can get some meat on his bones and get him neutered soon so that he will be ready to go to his forever home. We will keep everyone posted regarding how he settles in at his foster home.

February 6, 2007

In the words of his foster mom, "Angus is fabulous!" He is incredibly loving and sweet and is getting along wonderfully with all the other dogs, cats, and kids in his new home.

He has mastered the stairs which were something new and scary for him after being locked outside all of his life. His back end seems to have troubles when navigating the stairs up or down, but we are hopeful that is just because he is skin and bones and he doesn't have any muscle in his hind end. His back legs are pretty much atrophied from malnutrition and lack of proper exercise.

On a good note, his appetite is good. He has been eating a solid 3 cups mixed with wet food in the morning and evening and we will gradually be increasing the amount per feeding as soon as his stomach is ready!

Angus panicked in the crate the first night, so his foster mom let him sleep right next to her bed and he slept through the night. We will be slowly introducing him to the crate to get him more comfortable since he will more than likely need to be crated due to his age.

Angus is a very smart boy and and he has mastered the dog door. He was left with free roam of the basement yesterday and there were no accidents when his foster family returned, so he is quickly learning to embrace his new life of indoor living

Once he gains weight and is neutered, he will make someone a wonderful dog!

February 22, 2007

Angus continues to make wonderful progress health-wise. His foster family was a little worried that he wasn't putting on as much weight as one might expect after several weeks, so we decided to get him to the vet for another check-up. He originally weighed in at 62.8 lbs at the vet in Kansas and today he weight 82 lbs, so he has put on 20 lbs! The doctor said she would still like to see him put on another 20 lbs before neutering him. They also gave him another round of Drontal Plus in case there are still any roundworms in his system. Everyone at the vet loved him and he did really well! His back end is also building muscle and he isn't nearly as weak as he was originally. He is able to go up and down stairs without a problem for the most part. Sometime she loses his balance and has to start over, but he really maneuvers them quite well now. All in all, we are very happy with the progress Angus is making and hopeful that he will be ready for adoption in 2-3 weeks.

March 5, 2007

Angus continues to put on weight and is starting to look like a real dog now! He eats like a horse and his foster moms have been spoiling him with chicken and rice added to his dry food. He does guard his food around the other dogs and has to be fed separately, which is no big surprise considering that he was starved to death previously. Angus is still learning that there will always be food available and he will never have to go hungry again. His back legs are getting much stronger from good nutrition and going up and down the stairs from the house to the yard all the time. He is extremely loving, eager to please, and listens well. Angus is a very happy boy and has one of the wiggliest behinds of all times! We are all very anxious to get him neutered and ready to go to his new home soon.

March 11, 2007

Angus was finally neutered earlier this week and surgery went very well. He went to his forever home with Mike, Tara, and their son, Jaden, in Parker today. He has a Border Collie/Dalmatian mix sister named Chelsea to play with! It was love at first sight for them all and they were all very touched by his story and special spririt. They will make sure that Angus never has to worry about being fed or getting enough attention for the rest of his life. He will be very loved and spoiled.