Hector

Hi. My name is Hector. I was picked up as a stray, but now my new friends at GDFRL are taking good care of me. They tell me there’s a wonderful family out there just waiting for me. I hope so… Could you be my forever family?

Just a few weeks ago I was about 40 lbs underweight and the nice people at the shelter called me “severely malnourished.” I don’t know what that means, but I know I was really hungry. Now I get regular meals, long walks, play time, and lots of love from my foster family. I don’t really know how old I am… maybe 4 or 5, but it’s been a rough few years. I’m still recovering.

My foster mom says that I am in that perfect part of adulthood where I have plenty of energy (wait until you see my zoomies!)… but I also appreciate a good long nap. Some of my favorite things to do include playing with toys that squeak (especially if you throw them for me), being brushed or petted, and earning treats! I’m really good on a leash (until I see a squirrel or another dog… I get pretty excited to make new animal friends). I’ve had a lot of change in my life recently and am a little scared meeting new people, so when I meet you I might bark at first, but I promise I’ll warm up quickly once I know you’re safe. Once we’re friends, I’ll stick by your side and remind you to pet me. Often. My foster mom calls me “Velcro,” but I just want to be where my people are. You never know when you might need an emergency neck scratch… or ear scratch… or belly rub.

Apparently I am “housebroken,” and “neutered,” whatever those things mean. I do occasionally get tempted by things on the kitchen counter, but I try really hard to be a good boy. And speaking of good boys, did you know I can sit like a perfect gentleman? I can’t wait to show you! And then you can give me pets and treats, not necessarily in that order. So what do you think?

Could we be perfect for each other? If interested in Hector email us at info@greatdanefriends.com for an application!

Chiquita aka Chickie

Meet Chiquita! Chiquita came to us from a local shelter where she was brought in as a stray and had an injured leg. She was about 7 weeks old when we got her and this baby had a rough start! It appears she had some sort of trauma and was limping on her right rear leg. X rays didn’t show anything much out of the ordinary so she was put on rest and pain meds.

She did get better and started playing and gaining muscle but something still wasn’t right with her leg. So we had a ortho consult for her and they feel her ACL is partially torn. So back to crate rest…SO hard for such a friendly playful puppy!!! But no worries…we will take care of everything BUT she has to wait for at least 3 more months to get follow up x rays to see if the growth plates are closing. She is currently 4.5 months old and is a petite girl at about 30 lbs. She is super smart and very social.

She LOVES everyone she meets and is great with all dogs big and small! When interacting with others she is submissive but playful and respects other dogs cues if they have had enough of her puppy energy. She currently is in LOVE with her foster brother who is a huge Newfie. Her favorite thing to do is play but she also loves to snuggle and sleep right beside another dog or person.

She is fully house trained, crate trained, walks well on leash and knows several basic commands already! She is a super easy and chill puppy that would fit well into any household with other animals or would even be fine as an only dog. She is the ultimate sweet and easy dog that people are dying to find. If there was a local adopter we would consider adopting before her surgery and the rescue will still cover her surgery 100% when she is ready. Otherwise she won’t be ready for about 4-5 months… which sucks because she could be bonding with a forever family.

Chiquita is located in Mooresville NC and will require a fenced yard. If interested in this sweet perfect pup email us at info@greatdanefriends.com for an application.

Jack

My name is Jack and I have been told I am quite handsome but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

I am a one year old Dane or Dane/St. Bernard mix – my Momma didn’t talk much about Dad so that’s sort of a question mark. Being one year old though means I have a puppy brain in a big ol’ adult body. One of my favorite things is to invade your personal space and have my forehead kissed and be told what a good boy I am. My other favorite thing is to run around and jump on and mouth my foster mom. She has informed me that even if I have the softest, most gentle jowly mouth, it is still unacceptable. That puppy brain of mine is still working on trying to remember that. I have lots to learn still because my first family didn’t treat me very nice. I was hungry and hurt and the nice policeman told them to take me to the vet, but they didn’t care enough. That nice policeman cared though. He came and got me and I stayed at a place called “the shelter” for few months – it was great! They fed me three square meals a day ‘cuz they said a boy like me shouldn’t weigh only 95lbs. They gave me love and pets and lots of squeaky toys every single day – WOW! The judge man finally decided there was No way, José my first family was getting me back, so Great Dane Friends came to get me.

Now I am ready to find a family to teach me everything a big dane puppy needs to know in this world and give me loads of love forever and ever. Here’s a few things my foster momma says I am already good at: – Housetraining – I had some accidents the first couple of days because I got confused ‘cuz the front door and the back door are basically in the same part of the house – what the heck! I scratched at the front door sometimes and sometimes I would stand by the back door but now me and foster mom have it all figured out and no more accidents – YAY!

If you have a confusing door setup though, you might have to be patient at first but I promise we’ll get it figured out. – I might not have had the best start in life, but it hasn’t scarred me. So far I haven’t met a stranger and I don’t really get nervous in new situations. People seem to just want to love on me and I am A-OK with that.

I haven’t been around any little kids yet with foster mom but she seems to think I would be OK with them. Just see above about the jumping and mouthing naughtiness that sometimes still gets the best of me.

So far, so good on meeting new dogs although when I see them out in the world I do feel the need to bark at them – and momma says I got a big bark. I’m still also getting used to my foster sister because I had to get some boy bits removed and I couldn’t play while I healed. Foster sister is a little cray, cray if you ask me. She makes growly sounds and jumps on my head but then when I jump back at her to play she screams like I’ve hurt her when I haven’t even laid a paw on her – she’s a tad bit dramatic. The cool thing she taught me though is how to sing with the sirens. It turns out that I have a very good voice and American Idol will definitely be in my future. 

And then there’s kitties…They make delicious tootsie rolls and place them in a box for me. The kitties themselves are a bit concerning – they growl and hiss at me. I even very gently reached my paw up to touch a floofy tail and that did not go over well at all. I decided it was best to just walk away and soothe my hurt feelings with another tootsie roll.

Foster momma said she doesn’t quite trust me to be unsupervised in the house, but I am OK with hanging in the crate. I just prefer there to be a Kong stuffed with yummy things to make my confinement bearable. – If you would like to eat some of my kibble when I am having dinner, I will share with you. Ditto, if you want to look at my chew treat but please return it to me ‘cuz I reeeeeally like them. Since I share with you humans, I sort of assumed you all want to share with me, but foster momma said taking food from her plate is poor manners – UGH – so many rules!!!

How is a young boy to remember them all?!?!? I’m right here waiting for you forever family, so just contact Great Dane Friends and they’ll put us in touch.

Love, Jack.

Email us at info@greatdanefriends if interested in adopting Jack. Jack will require a fenced yard and he is being fostered in Mooresville NC

Gus

Gus is a sweet and spunky just under year old boy who has been in the rescue since February. He has blossomed from a scared and insecure puppy with no boundaries and has made huge progress. He is a rough and tumble player and would love a home with another dog who loves to play, but would do equally well as an only dog in an active home. He loves going on adventures and is his foster dad’s Lowe’s buddy. When he’s done playing and trying to be a little mischievous, he loves to be sweet and cuddly with his foster siblings or whichever human is nearby.

Gus will need a forever home dedicated to continuing training with him, and would do best without small children as he isn’t aware of his strength and size.

He loves all dogs and all humans, and is a very curious boy working on becoming fully confident.

Gus is a ~8 month old Dane who came in very underweight and is now living his best toddler-teen Dane life. Full of energy and mischief, he is doing his best to learn boundaries and be a polite leash walker. He is crate trained and while he does do well out and about and takes redirection well, he’s also very agile and delights in squirming into exactly the places he shouldn’t be in so continued training, awareness and ability to keep him in a safe place while you are gone (crating or otherwise) is a must.

He is a roughhouser and loves wrestling with his doggie foster siblings and playing with toys. He would do well with other dogs, or as an only dog in a home able to dedicate time to expending his high puppy energy!

Due to his rambunctious nature and rough and tumble large puppy energy, he would do best in a home with no children or older children/teens. He is very sweet and cuddly in between bursts of energy, and his quick learning is serving him well as he grows. He will be (and already is) a magnificent dog!

**Giant breed experience required and a fenced yard. If interested in adopting email us at info@greatdanefriends.com for an application

 

 

Poppy

Meet Poppy! Poppy is a 3 year old Dane that was at a local surrender as a stray. We don’t have a lot of info on her previous life but we do know she has had several litters. Poppy evaluated well at the shelter but sometimes in a shelter environment you don’t always get a good read on a dog because they are stressed. Now…don’t take that wrong…she is an amazingly sweet sweet girl! But… she is not so great with other dogs IN the home. She can go out in public and be around other dogs with a confident owner that is good at reading her signals if she is stressed. She doesn’t bark or lunge or any of that nonsense unless she is with a “soft” owner and one where she feels they are not in control or confident. But… if a dog invades her space or their energy is too much she will let them know and fire off.
 
Poppy LOVES her people and wants to be as close as she can. She is a first class cuddler! You need to keep food off the counters because this girl came in hungry and even though she is now getting regular meals she can counter surf like a pro! Since Poppy was a little rough around the edges we sent this beauty off to training. While she was there they worked on her being able to be OK around other dogs in public and also worked on desensitizing her on storms. Sister has some storm anxiety but if she is in her XXL kennel will settle. If you are at home and a storm rolls up…just put her in place with her place command and she will lay down and you won’t hear a peep!
 
Did we say how incredibly smart this girl is?? She is food motivated and would be great with a family that would want to continue training and keep her mind stimulated! Her trainer had a 5 month old and she was great with them…even gave her sweet kisses! Poppy rides great in the car, house trained and good on leash.
 
Poppy is up to date on all vaccines, spayed and has had her stomach tacked to prevent gastric torsion.
 
You see when you adopt a new dog they need DECOMPRESSION time! Her new home had visitors almost immediately and lots of neighborhood kids in and out and that stressed her. She never properly got to decompress and bond and feel safe with her new family. So…she developed some guarding behaviors. She came back and is now being fostered with her trainer and he will work with and provide training to a new adopter.
 
This is what Poppy needs:
 
1. No other dogs IN the home. She can be TOTALLY fine in public with other dogs.
2. Kids 12 yrs+
3. Fenced Yard
4. Dog savvy owner that is CONFIDENT and provide structure for Poppy
SHE IS AMAZING ! She is sweet and affectionate but if she is with an owner that is a push over and not confident she will feel the need to guard. She is house and crate trained and loves to go for rides.
If interested in Poppy send us an email at greatdanefriends.com
 

 

Maya

Maya - Sanctuary Pup
Maya has been one of our long term complex medical cases. When Maya initially came to the rescue, she had a long term history of urinary incontinence since she was about 6 months old. She spent a majority of her life wearing diapers. Because of this, Maya went through at least 3 different homes before age 2 and a half before coming to GDFRL. We hoped that Maya’s issues were uti’s that would be fixed by repairing her hooded vulva, but it was found that she had a lot more going on. Maya was urinating blood and incredibly uncomfortable, although you wouldn’t have known it based on her happy go lucky demeanor. Maya came to us with a rare form of bacteria that caused a condition called Encrusting Cystitis. This bacteria was essentially a superbug that formed infection so severe, it caused plaques and “masses” throughout her urinary tract. Upon initial ultrasound, it was believed that she had bladder cancer, but after undergoing a cystoscopy procedure, they determined that it was caused by a potentially fatal infection. The infection spread to over 70% of her urinary tract which can be fatal, but thankfully, GDFRL stepped in and got her the intensive care she needed at NC state. Maya has since undergone multiple cystoscopies to scrape out the bacteria and perform multiple antibiotic infusions directly into her bladder. She has also had her hooded vulva repaired to help reduce her recurring UTIs. In addition, she had a major surgery to re-route her urinary tract that was likely formed abnormally before birth and was contributing to bacteria overgrowth. While Maya still struggles with recurring UTIs, she is now monitored very closely with regular urine cultures and trips to NCSU. She still leaks urine occasionally but has graduated from doggy diapers! Maya is the true definition of a trooper, as she has handled numerous surgeries and procedures, yet still remains a favorite (and VIP) by all of her vet staff. While she may face a lot of medical battles, she is a spunky young girl who loves to play fetch with her two-legged foster siblings, take walks, and wrestle (always gently) with her 15 lb foster fur-brother.
 

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