Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

Bay was purchased from a breeder by a family who lived in the mountains and she spent the first 2 years of her life chained to a pine tree and locked outside. With temperatures significantly lower in the area, you can imagine the conditions she had to endure. She most likely would have been dead by now if she had not been saved by a very nice woman named Mary who took her from the situation and gained custody of this sweet girl.

01-03-2006

Bay has not been released from Planned Pethood and remains in ICU. As with all Parvo victims, she isn't feeling very well and it is touch and go, but she seems to be stable for right now at least. They have her on an IV and subcue fluids because she refuses to eat on her own. She continues to have very watery diarrhea, but her urine is fine. She has a wonderful temperament, but she is clearly depressed about being there and we are anxious to get her in a home environment as quickly as possible. Please send lots of good thoughts her way and pray that she starts eating soon!

01-04-2006

Today we are making some progress. Bay has started drinking water and is no longer vomiting. They also were able to get her to eat a dog biscuit without throwing it up either, so we are very encouraged. The staff was very concerned that she had lost the will to live and was afraid to eat because she was beginning to equate food with the pain of vomiting. This is a huge step in the right direction!

Susan and Brian went to the hospital to meet their future foster yesterday and then again today for another brief visit. Bay just lit up when they came in and really perked up when they took her for a walk! It appears that she has found the perfect people to give her the love and support she needs during the recovery process.

We are hopeful that Bay will be released from the hospital tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed.

01-05-2006

Bay continues to improve. Last night, when it was time for the staff to close up and head home, Bay actually jumped up onto Katie as if to say "Please don't leave me!" She is clearly starting to feel much better.

They also discovered that she had conjunctivitis and have been treating that the last couple of days. Her eyes are really starting to clear up and they are no longer red and open up wide in curiosity.

This morning she ate, and boy did she eat! She finished everything in her bowl. The staff has decided to monitor her for today to make sure that she continues eating and everything successfully passes through her system without vomiting. As long as all goes well, Bay will be released from the hospital tomorrow!

01-06-2006

Bay was officially released from Planned Pethood today. She was very excited to be leaving and happily trotted out the front door in her new red collar as if she was ready to take on the world.

She is having a sleepover at Lindsay & Colin's for the weekend while her foster family is out of town. When she arrived at the house, she was pretty overwhelmed since being inside is still a new thing for her and she explored room by room wide eyed with curiosity. She set up camp on a queen size mattress where she took a much needed nap after all of the excitement.

Bay is drinking lots of water and picking at her food, but she isn't eating as much as we would like to see. She seems to only like canned food for the moment, but she is taking treats and especially likes the Spoiled Dog Barkery cookies. Her appetite will more than likely pick up as soon as she settles in and gets comfortable in her new surroundings.

Introductions with the other dogs went very well. She isn't quite up for playing yet, but she was very curious and gave them all a good sniff-over. She loves people and follows them everywhere. In fact, her head is resting on my lap as I write this.

Bay had what was probably her first bath ever and seemed to like being petted in the process. She smells much better and is very soft now. Her spirits have improved dramatically and she could not be any sweeter!

01-07-2006

I think it is safe to say that Bay has adjusted to her new surroundings and is fully embracing indoor living! She is eating 2 cups every few hours and she is eating Eagle Pack kibble mixed with just about anything. Her favorite so far is yogurt, but she also enjoys chicken broth and canned food added to the dry food.

Bay thinks she is a lap dog and loves men and women alike. She will climb right up into your lap to be petted. She even tried over the back of the couch a couple times, which was pretty funny. She loves to sleep on any kind of bed, dog or human, and happily follows you from room to room claiming the most comfortable spot nearby.

Bay is also learning to go outside to potty. You have to use treats to praise her for the most part, but she is also starting to learn hand commands as well. She has only had a few accidents in the house so far, so she appears to be a quick learner. Bay is definitely getting used to the routine and is a complete joy to spend time with! She will make someone a wonderful companion.

01-20-06

Bay is starting to learn some signs. Due to her partial vision, this obviously means she is more limited on the commands that she can see from where she is at the time the sign is given. She now knows commands for "no", "good girl", "OK", "come", and when her foster parents want her to go out or go in a direction they do a sweeping, "go that way" motion to direct her. They tried using a laser pointer, which is often effective in training deaf dogs, but she cannot see it, so they are relying on other methods of communication.

Bay is now housebroken, crate trained, and gaining weight. She loves spending time on the couch and hanging out with her people. She's a complete sweetheart and starting to show her "sassy" personality more and more everyday. Lately, Bay has started "flea biting" to demonstrate her excitement and affection toward her foster parents.

Her rear end has been shedding and is almost completely bald now, which is more than likely a result of being locked outside for so long. She is losing the old, weathered coat and hopefully, now that she is getting healthy, her new coat will start growing in soon. The rest of her coat is starting to look really good and is very soft as a result of the Eagle Pack and regular meals.

Her back legs are still really shaky. We are hoping that this will improve as she continues to gain strength since she was chained up for so long and not allowed to exercise or build her muscles.

Bay was spayed today and everything went really well with surgery. She gets to come home this afternoon, so Susan and Brian are excited to pick her up! She will be ready to go to a forever home once she has recovered from surgery, which will probably be next weekend or whenever the perfect family comes along.

02-10-2006

Bay went to see Dr. Landry on Tuesday for a routine follow-up appointment. We are happy to report that the shaking in her back legs is starting to get better. Dr. Landry determined that it was due to arthritis and atrophy suffered during the time that she was tied to a tree and exposed to the cold for extended periods of time. She is taking a small dose of Rimadyl to help with the arthritis, and her foster family is taking her on walks to re-build her strength.

Bay has gained another ten pounds and now weighs in at a healthy 105 pounds.

We recently discovered that Bay had a horrible case of fleas which was causing her quite a bit of discomfort and also contributing to her loss of hair. She received several treatments to get rid of the flea problem and her coat is starting to grow back in now and is looking really pretty.

Bay is enjoying re-discovering her puppy-hood. Her other favorite activities include playing in the backyard with the other dogs, hanging out on the couch and following her foster dad around the house in case he needs help with anything. We have discovered that Bay loves children of all ages. She loves to follow them around and is thrilled when they pay attention to her. Bay is an extremely smart dog and has learned several signs very quickly. Now that the shaking in her legs is subsiding, her foster family will start working on additional signs like "sit" and "down". Bay is a complete joy to be around and has a lot of love to give.

03-24-06

Lily is so happy with her new mom, Emily. Lily is spoiled rotten with a capital 's'! Her confidence level is growing every day and she is completely off her Rimadyl now. She takes a long walk in Cheesman Park almost everyday and loves to socialize. Here are some photos as she was tryinig to take her 'cousin' Sadie's chair.