I have an appointment for 5:45 PM tonight to let Liquorice run free of pain and discomfort. We shall have this last day together doing the things that makes her happy and spending many moments just holding her. In my heart, I am screaming that I should just give her a little more time, just a little more time yet I can see it in her eyes and her body that she is ready. The Vets agree. This most glorious and beautiful creature has blessed our lives for such a brief time and I know that I am a better person by having had such an angel kiss and love me. Like Snowball and Frost “T”; I am not sure when I will be able to be strong enough to write a deserving memorial to such a wonderful Great Dane. My dear Liquorice Stickie; you have always found the good plus humour in even the smallest things and your joy plus wonder had having what many of us might consider simple comforts of a soft bed; warmth, food and water; has reduced me to tears more than once. You deserve SO much and to think that things that should have been your god giving right; was deprived to you upsets me for your time with us has been so brief and I wanted years and years to show/spoil you that not everyone is horrible or cruel. There was not a dog or person you have met that you have not liked and kids; you just love them to bits. I am delighted that you were here this weekend to enjoy the hundreds of people that came by for the fundraiser and were loved on by many of them. You are a dog that obviously Heaven has a much bigger need of your shining and giving spirit and I hold dear to my heart that our paths will truly cross again for to not believe in something like that makes the hurt beyond bearable to my heart and soul. HUGE HEARTS TO YOU MY SHINING STAR! I will post her May and June pictures soon. Thank you so much to everyone that has been there for her.

Liquorice is not bouncing back at all. She is losing weight quickly and for the past couple of days her vomiting has been just terrible, the poor thing. I feel so bad for her. She is now dehydrated and I am subqing her with fluids. She is only picking at her food, eating a few treats and is spending most of her time sleeping. Though later today is the beginning of our weekend fundraiser; I will be taking her in and Sean plus our Volunteers will hold down the fort. I am truly worried about her. I still have her May pics to post and I took some more last night just because I felt that I needed to take as many as possible to have. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I have new pictures of Liquorice to post! I just need to download them. 🙂 They are from May of 2007. When my friend Mary was up from TO a week ago; she said that she could not believe how well Liquorice looked and was moving. That was one of the best things I have ever heard! Now, unfortunately; Liquorice has gone off her food and tonight was the first time in three meals; that she even considered eating a bit. She is drinking and eating treats and I will monitor. Her breathing is sounding a bit ‘wet’ again and so she has all of us a bit concerned. I am also not happy about how much weight she has dropped so fast. If she does not ‘pick’ up within the next 24 hours; I will bring her in for I just am not comfortable leaving things for too long. Today marks her 7th month survival miracle mark and the Vets are truly amazed just like Frost ‘T’ that she is having such quality of life still.

Liquorice was suppose to go in for her annual exam tonight yet my beloved grandmother passed away on May 13th and I will need to reschedule. Liquorice is doing quite well and other than appearing to be a little more stiff some days; she is eating, drinking and sleeping well. I plan on talking to my Vets about her heats. She went into one in December; had a small one in March and is now again beginning to look like she is coming into heat again. I worry about pyro with any unspayed female and to date have not felt 100% comfortable in trying to spay her with all of her existing serious medical conditions. It worries me deeply to think that I could lose her in the process of spaying her yet I want her to be healthy and not lose her to something because I did not spay her. I will need to re-visit this and perhaps talk to some specialists about the risks etc. She has amazed everyone that she is still here having a wonderful quality of life five months after all of her diagnosis! She is just like Frost ‘T’ in that she is going to prove the medical world wrong in that she is also a miracle survivor! She remains my ‘grumpy yet terrifically sweet old doll of a gal’. 🙂

Liquorice is almost back to normal, no more vomitting and has begun to play not just with her buddy Dyce but SOUL too! I have yet to see a dog that Soul has not won over! 🙂 Thanks so much to Theresa for sending the box of goodies! I just realised her last pictures are from December, so I must get new one’s! 🙂

Liquorice has been responding really well to the Clavamox and is almost back to her normal self. I am deeply relieved. She was very ‘touch and go’ there for awhile! She did not react well to the Cephalexin and a note is in her file that she is not to go on this particular antibiotic again. I still will not do any vaccines on her until I know she is well.

Liquorice is now on antibiotics for she has begun to vomit. She will not be going in for any annual exams or possible vaccines until such time as she is once ‘up on her feet’.

Liquorice’s annual exam will be on Friday March 16th. IT HAS been a very busy week in working at the Hospital and in bringing in the doggies for visits! 🙂

Liquorice is doing well and her annual Vet visit is scheuded for March 30th, 2007. Dyce continues to be her ‘main’ squeeze and one of them will lie on the bed while the other stands and they ‘mouth’ play with each other! I need to get some more Deramaxx for her but I have been just thrilled by how well she is doing right now.

SHE RAN today! My Liquorice Stick actually RAN today! YAY! Now, her running is like Samson’s was in that many of the other dogs could walk faster BUT she did ran! AND not just a few steps either! I still have to create Liquorice’s own ‘Journal Site’ and move her story over. I am beyond thrilled that the Deramaxx is helping her! She still has not vomited and is still eating well; so I am encouraged. Her vaccines are due at the end of March and I will be discussing with my Vet(s) on how best to move forward for I do not believe in giving vaccines to compromised immune system and sick dogs.

I have made the not so very difficult decision to claim Liquorice as one of my own. As much as she needs me; in my heart; I believe I also truly need her. So, I will be moving Liquorice off this part of our website and will create her own journal page so that people who are interested about her wellbeing can follow her progress. 🙂 Liquorice has really been there for me after the loss of my precious Frost ‘T. She, Dyce plus Soul have really been huge caregivers in helping my raw heart to begin to heal. She is just a magnificent girl and just continues to blossom and become more comfortable. She has NO qualms about getting on the bed now and has shown some spunk towards some of the other dogs who think they can ‘oust’ her from what I call the ‘prime real estate’ spots on the bed! 🙂 I really hope I am blessed to have her with me for a long time to come and as we are still in the process of determining if we will go back to Port Hope in June for another Expo; if we do; I would dearly love to bring her along for people to meet a real ‘survivor’ and just a darling of a dog.

I JUST had to post that Liquorice actually zoomed in the snow tonight. We just received 20+cm on Monday and tonight she actually did a little bit of zooming when I came home from work at the Hospital. SHE has completely taken me over that is for sure and I know it is mutual for she is just so happy to see me when I get home from being away! It was not more than say 10 steps BUT she did it and that little butt of hers was just a wigglin’! Of course, now she is just flaked out on her pink beanbag chair worn out BUT WOOHOO!

Liquorice is still holding her own. Her eye infection is now gone as well. You can tell that she is uncomfortable as she gets ‘grumpy’ when any of the other dogs play too close to her but with some soothing words; she settles down really well. She still has not vomited at our place and boy does she love her PINK beanbag chairs now!!! I was wondering if she was going to stick to the blue one’s forever but she sure has taken them over! She really loves to chew Knuckle and Shank bones so I have been trying to stock up on them for her. She likes the rawhide bones too and boy! WILL she sit for a treat!!!! Liquorice has become QUITE the garbarator and she and I are having our struggles with that. SHE can be such a sneak and then look so innocent as the evidence is right at her feet with some on her face, the little minx! 🙂 She is more comfortable in that she knows that just because I ‘scold’ her for going into the garbage that I am still going to love her. I am also going to post two of her ‘Santa’ Hat pictures from XMAS below! SHE is such a good sport!

Liquorice is faring really well! She definitely has more congestion and nasal drip but the NSAIDS are making her so much more comfortable and my one main concern is the ‘coughing’ / ‘choking’ sounds that she is doing more regularly. We will continue to monitor that. She is now being treated for an eye infection and so with exam, antibiotics and the BNP for the eye; it has added almost another $200 to her bill. I received a bank draft today from the other Rescue for $150.00 and it will be used towards her bills. I sent them a note as it does not indicate CDA or US funds and I need to let the Hospital Manager know to credit our Rescue account appropriately. Her vet bills to date have been just under $1,100.00. I have some really cute ‘Santa’ Hat pictures with her and I will post them as soon as I can. I cannot believe that she has been with me already 2 months as she has settled in SO well and is such an amazing girl!

I JUST had to post that Liquorice actually TROTTED and was very pleased with herself at that…her little butt could not have wiggled more…..AND what made me ecstatic was that she was doing this BECAUSE she saw ME! I had just come home from running some errands and doing some XMAS shopping and I opened up the door and she made a very quick beeline straight for me! This has been the longest (a few hours) that she has been left alone for Sean is still in NB with the wee one’s and I needed to step out of the house. She just melts your heart this one and this has been confirmed by all those that have met her to date……

When I was at work on Wednesday; I had another long talk with my Vet about Liquorice & that she is now making a bit of a strangled wheeze sound and has even more of a ‘noisy’, ‘wet’ breathing. His honest thoughts at this point were that he is very worried that being on the Pred would surely kill her in her current condition and if my goal is to give her that ‘true’ quality; it is best to no longer think about the Pred and continue only with the NSAIDS as it has only been 8 days since the decision was made to use the Pred. So, I have purchased another 60 Deramaxx 100 mg tablets for her and she will get 1 – 2 tablets a day for her pain/discomfort. Her current vet bill is just over $900.00 and a HUGE thank you is sent to Karen for making a $500 contribution to KAH for her Vet Bills. The other Rescue indicated last Saturday that their gala was the Sunday and I have not yet heard word on what $ amount might have been raised to assist Liquorice. Liquorice is still eating & drinking well at as high of a level as I feel is comfortable for her Wobbler’s and to date still has not vomited!

I believe when I got up on the morning of the 8th, that I already knew what I had to do with Liquorice. She and I have begun a very special journey together since November 5th and I think that as we have come so far together as is, that we have to at least try the Pred. and see where it takes us. If it gives her even that X amount of quality time, then that is worth it and I have to look at what ‘quality of life’ is for Liquorice right now compared to what she had in the past and take that into consideration over thinking about the fact that she cannot run and/or play like other ‘normal’ dogs. AS Liquorice is not normal and I have no idea the last time, if ever, that she was a ‘normal’ dog and I truly should know better than to not compare her that way. I need to compare her to what I believe she has experienced in the past and when I do that THERE is no doubt that she is having a HUGE quality of life here with us. If quality of life for X amount of time is to enjoy our very short little strolls and to share a wee bit of ice cream here and there or to lie close to each other on my bed or to give her some major soft scratches and rubs and just to offer up every comfort possible for her and amuse her little whims of wanting to stockpile the toys and give the other dogs the daring ‘eye’ only to laugh at them as they sit in confusion not quite sure what to do about it; then that is SOOOO much more quality of life that she has had in the past. There will be no litters, there will be no abuse, no starving, no pain and only warmth, treats, love, comfy beds and a full belly etc. and so yup, I just have to go the Pred route with her and be very vigilant about the pneumonia concern. I live it every day with Frost ‘T’ as is and having two dogs to worry about and having to get them outside to pee every 1-1.5 hours is not hardship for me! So, we are planning on spending the extra monies for the meds etc. and to monitor from there. We have already spent just under $700.00 so what is X amount more in money to give her something I feel she not only deserves but has earned through being given such a life of misery. I also know from the emails that we have received that Liquorice has touched the hearts of quite a few people and so she has many people in her corner rooting her on!!!! She has had others ‘fail her’ and I am not going to do the same. Yes, I am aware that she will die and yet, we all die and I will ensure that she has her dignity when it is her time to go as I do this for her plus I will stay in close loop with the Vets and be vigilant as to when the quality of life that she is currently experiences diminishes. The NSAIDS will help with her discomfort and the Pred will help with some of the other medical issues; so we will try our best and see how long that it will be ‘enough’ for her. I was also contacted by the other Rescue last night that had her and they wanted to know if perhaps some of what Liquorice has now is a result of her not getting the proper care from her previous owner. I have directed them and their DA (the Rescue felt that more charges might be laid & I am clearly no expert as to why this is so as the case had already been closed & could only hope that this could be the case if so) if need be to talk to my Vet(s)( and they will advise if all of this needs to go through lawyers) as this is not part of my league. I also imparted to them that at this time, I have no idea if my Vet(s) have even contacted their Rescue’s Vet to discuss what testing that Rescue may have done on her during the length of time that they have had her as the Vet records handed over to BHRR were very limited. At this time, my priority is Liquorice and I must forge forward as to what is in Liqourice’s best interest. I also asked the Rescue when they are hosting their Gala for we wanted to post any new $ amount for her care on one of her updates. Betty, bless your kind soul and heart has also offered to help sponsor her if need be and if there ever was a dog that needed to know that there are kind people in the world; it is Liquroice! So, Liquorice will have her own Santa Stocking this year and it will be put up with care in the knowledge that this is one girl that has been GOOD this year & had the right to be spoiled! 🙂

I spent over an hour last night talking to my Vet about Liquorice and where to go from here plus that she also has spondylosis (spinal osteoarthritis). We are in a bit of a hard place with her right now for if we put her on Pred; should she get aspiration pneumonia which is believed to be inevitable with the Megaesophagus(& which at this time is believed she now has so we cannot put her on the Pred at this time anyway); we would on an urgent ASAP timeline to get her into the Hospital for the Pred would surely kill her if she did not get the pneumonia treated at the Hospital due to the Pred making the situation much worse. If we do not put her on Pred; she has no other medicine treatments available for her conditions. We will be putting her on some NSAIDS to help with her discomfort. The other thing is that to fed a Megaesophagus dog; you need to feed them as upright as possible yet in her case this is not possible as she has the Wobbler’s and cannot even lift her head to be parallel to her spine level which puts her at a higher risk of aspiration pnemonia. So, as her Megaesophagus worsens (whether idiopathic or auto-immune or cancer causing) she will not be able to eat and when she does will regurgitate irritating her esophagus and throat even more and also not be able to get the proper level of nutrition she requires. We talked in length about quality of life and that the Vet had the opportunity to discuss more of the UOG results and that she could also have Cushings or Addisons. I am just positively reeling over it all. For another $80.00 we could then determine if she has any of those conditions and I told the Vet that at this point, I just need to go home and ‘soak’ all of this up. Quality of life is always a must for me and for Liquorice, she cannot run or even remotely play normally(she does not even show any interest in even wanting to do these things BUT sure does love to nibble her Knucklebone treaties!), is obviously in some form of discomfort with back and throat and I need to see hard plus objectively just how much of a quality of life this girl really has. At her age she should be experiencing so much more life than she currently is and I have to either find a way to ensure that she does/can have an extended quality of life left or we need to end what is clearly a life of suffering at this time. The money at this time is nothing compared to the investment of my heart and emotions with this girl. To date, none of the other dogs have shown signs of Giardia and let’s hope it stops there. At least that was one thing that we could successfully treat Liquorice for and the added cost of treating the other dogs she infected has added hundreds more dollars to our current Vet Bills. I still am so floored that one wonderful sweet creature could be riddled with so much but all of the results and the second opinion is not something that I can just turn a blind eye to. My Vet told me before I left that I would truly not be ‘in the wrong’ or a ‘bad person’ in considering to let her go. What an utterly tragic situation.

We now have one more dog on Flagyl and Panacur (Dyce) and I will be bringing in more stool samples to work tomorrow for testing. Liquorice is not faring the best in this really cold weather and is finding it quite hard to breathe. Therefore, I do not let her stay outside for very long. She has yet to take to the pink beanbag chairs and much prefers the blue beanbag chairs or my bed these days! 🙂

The Vet grabbed me quickly before he left the Hospital today to tell me the findings from the University of Guelph. He is going to be doing some reading etc. for when we can talk more for I have some very difficult questions to ask in regards to prognosis/treatment and mostly quality of life for Liquorice. The University of Guelph has confirmed Megaesophagus and this can be caused by Cancer and that she also has Wobblers. Someone could have just blown me over when hearing all of this. Pred will help with the Wobblers and If there happens to be an auto-immune connection to the Megaesophagus; then it can also help with that. So, at this time, it looks like we will be running an AI test and a complete thyroid panel. If it turns out that there is no auto-immune connection and it is all Cancer causing the Megaesophagus condition; then the Pred. will not be of any assistance/benefit to her in the short-term before the Megaesophagus condition worsens. She has massive inflammation in her spine that just has to be causing her distress. I am almost numb with how many medical conditions that this sweet girl has been slammed with. These things should not be happening to her LET alone to any dog but especially not to her and what she has gone through in her life. I have also been waiting for the results of her fecal for we now have two of our other dogs showing signs of possible Giardia to determine if this is what Liquorice had when she came into our program. She is still being treated with Panacur and I have both of these other two dogs(Boba & Maggi) on Flagyl and they too, will be on Panacur once the special order comes in. We will continue to monitor the other dogs that she has been exposed to in order to determine if they, too, will require treatment. The two new pink beanbag chairs that were bought with Simone’s amazing donation have been a true comfort to Liquorice. Whatever joy I can give this girl and forever long I can; it shall be done. Another $150.00+ will be added to her bill with the latest testing of Thyroid and AI along with a new fecal to confirm that our treatment has been successful. Liquorice regularly will come into my bedroom now without any fear and will even ‘hang’ out with me for a period of time yet if anything spooks or rattles her(like a noise from the TV) she will hurry back to the bed in the main area and lie there in a tight little ball. She is showing more curiosity with reassurance to new things and does not think the vacuum cleaner or hair dryer is going to harm her any longer. While not 100% comfortable around them, she will no longer scurry away. So, her confidence is building!

I was contacted today by the Rescue that Liquorice had come from and they are going to have a booth at their gala to also try to help raise some funds for her medical bills. I am very humbled by the support and as advised to them; should anyone wish to contribute to Liquorice’s bills and you do not wish to pay via credit card(M/C or Visa) to Kanata Animal Hospital 613-836-2848 over the phone; please write any checks to the name of “Kanata Animal Hospital” with BHRR’s Liquorice in the memo section so that they can direct your generosity appropriately. I know that if Liquorice could talk she would be so appreciative and I also think she would be blown away in knowing that SHE is worthy and important. It really saddens me that this girl truly does not know how valuable and amazing she is and that she is just as deserving of quality of life as any other dog. So, I make sure that she knows she is every single day. I really hope that many people will get the opportunity to meet her for she is a ‘gift’ of nature. New pictures below of Liquorice on her favourite blue bean bag chair sporting her new pink collar from Mary!

I am currently working a Cafepress Store for Liquorice to help try and raise some funds to pay for her Vet Bills. The most wonderful news is that she came into my bedroom earlier this week and actually let me put her up on my bed whereby she snored her way happily through the night! JUST do not tell her that she snores as she would be most offended! 🙂 Her breathing is still quite ‘wet’ and ‘noisy’ and I am trying to be so patient in waiting for a response back from the UOG.

Liquorice took that HUGE step and has walked into my bedroom several times this weekend!!! I AM SOOOO proud of her to get up the courage to do so. I have been sleeping with my bedroom door open ever since she arrived so that she could come in if she had wanted too and she finally did. She even walked as far as the ensuite. GOSH! SHE was so proud of herself too! I could tell! She even lied down on one of the doggie beds and unfortunately; she got ‘scared’ off when I dragged in one of the other beanbag chairs for her as Frost ‘T’ and Soul plus Boba were lying on the other one’s. However; she did venture back in a few minutes later and it was the hair dryer that ‘spooked’ her this time YET she is incredible when you soothe and reassure her. It never ceases to amaze me that when animals are treated as horribly as Liquorice was that she could even begin to WANT to try to trust anyone again yet she does and that trust will never be betrayed again and that is a promise that I make to her every time I snuggle with her. I cannot believe how gentle this girl is in the taking of treats. She has not yet begun to show interest in any stuffies or other toys but I see her tail doing it’s little circular wag with the butt wiggle when I play with some of the other dogs SO I know that she wants to!!! She is still ‘puffing’ and I really don’t like that ‘noisy wet’ breathing she does and I am just counting the days until we might hear back from the UOG about her diagnosis and prognosis. I have finally downloaded her new pictures and will try to post them tomorrow! 🙂 I also want to thank Betty profusely for her kindness in sending $250.00 to go towards Liquorice’s care. From my heart on behalf of Liquorice, THANK YOU!

The Vet called me today and asked me some questions about whether Liquorice had been vomiting and having trouble eating. I explained that I was told a day or so after I got her from the other Rescue that she apparently had a sore mouth when they first got her so they were watering down her food and that she has not vomited since she arrived to my house. I also mentioned that Liquorice was eating dry food here with us without any noticeable discomfort. Apparently, Liquorice has a very enlarged esophagus and her throat is very inflamed. They suspect possible Megaesophagus at this time and we will be doing a Barium Test. Liquorice also has fluid in the small blood vessels in her heart that could be possible edema or a build up of cells; which in either case is not normal. Liquorice also has an abnormal ‘pocket/gas’ of air that the two Vets that are working on her case; are unable to explain at this time. I was concerned that when she came into our program and was ‘puffing’ like our Frost “T”(who has 3 different Heart Conditions) that something was wrong. We can only hope that we can successfully treat her. It is most likely that my Vets will call this Rescue’s Vets to discuss as we have no detailed Vet records to refer too. The Vets did tell me that some of what she has such as the fluid and pocket of gas/air could be secondary issues from having been HW+ and hopefully; the Barium will give us more answers. Liquorice has not even been spayed yet and already our Vet bills are running into the thousands of dollars and we are still severely underwater from trying to save Snowball. However; I am committed to her wellbeing and I will continue to fight for her until I am told that there is nothing more to be done.5:00 PM UPDATE – Liquorice has a mass on her spine that is affecting her lungs/heart. It also better explains the fluid plus that air/gas pocket and while her esophagus/throat are inflamed as there would be difficulty with the digestion of food and putting pressure forcing the food back up and while she has not vomitted; it has clearly irritated those areas. The Vets have diagnosed that in their professional opinion that it is most likely Cancer. Based upon asking some very tough questions; I felt that for the extra $100 or so; to send off all the Rads, test results etc. to the University of Guelph to see what the specialists there have to say. I trust my Vets and if the UOG can confirm things; then I will have a bit more peace and resolution in side of me with Liquorice’s situation. The Vet did say that there is a very outside/remote chance that it could be something fungal and/or infectious and possibly treatable; but with all the results of her bw and wbc being as they are; he was extremely doubtful. I am truly shaken up for it has been less than 2 weeks since I have had her and I am so emotionally involved over her. We will continue to do our best by her! Her Vet Bills to date are around $600.00

Liquorice’s HW test came back negative! WOOHOO! Yet, her bloodwork indicates that she has parasitism and so now we will be waiting for the results of her fecal test to determine what parasite we are looking at. At the former Rescue she was on HG and I put her on Sentinel as soon as she arrived but she would not have been on Sentinel long enough here to treat any worms that HG does not cover and so to be preventative we are putting her on Panacur. All of our current dogs are negative for parasites, on Sentinel year round (but it does not protect against Giarrdia or Coccidia) plus we do regular fecals. What we might also have to do is depending on the type of parasite is possibly have to treat the other 11 dogs she has been interacting with. The Vet believes that it could be Giarrdia or Coccidia if not another worm that the HG did not protect against. She goes in for her X-Rays tomorrow along with being microchipped and having her nails done. Once we find out what is happening, if anything, with her heart/lungs we can then move forward on a decision to spay her. As I discussed with the Vet tonight, perhaps that is just how she breathes yet we want to rule everything out and have no doubts/questions about her health status. I have notified the other Rescue that Liquorice has come from that they might wish to have their other dogs tested to see if they, too; are carrying a parasite. Liquorices Vet Bills to date are just under $100.00 and I will keep updating the site with new totals as we get them. I also wanted to add that Liquorice is sporting her gorgeous new collar donated to our program by Mary! She also has not developed up enough confidence to venture any further than the main floor area not even to the kitchen which is all open concept on the main level. However; she does not hesitate much any longer about asking for loving and pushing her way in to get her share! She has the best little butt wiggles that go along with her circular tail wags that she still hangs low along with her head position. She has also does a little bit of ‘pouncing’ movements when she sees me and gets excited. I have worried about how she is going to fare at her Vet visit and all the staff there have been wonderful and I know they will handle her with care. The Hospital Manager even suggested laying down mats for her in the run and along the way to the exam room if needed so that she is not so afraid and can get/keep her balance. WHAT a wonderful place and I know I am just being a ‘mom’ worrying so much. SHE is just the most gentlest, kindest amazing soulful of creatures that I have known and is going to make some home very happy when she is adopted. I am not sure that I will be ready though for she really has entrenched herself deep into my emotions and just thinking about her past and how she was made to live and have puppies after puppies just makes me well up with tears of sorrow for the misery she came from and also anger over how people could have been so cruel.

Liquorice had a full exam including cardiac yesterday and her Temp was a little low, pulse was 108 and her resp 24, so a bit on the high side. We also did a HW test plus drew blood for her pre surgery work up. She was absolutely paralyzed with fear when I tried to get her to walk on their tile floor. I put her in one of the runs until things were settled and then brought her out. She was amazing! She lied on her pile of blankets and when she became a bit more comfortable would venture to say hi to a few people. She felt most comfortable if she was close by me though. The Vet believes that she is actually younger than 5 years, putting her around 4 and definitely not older than 5. All the litters of puppies that she was forced to have really aged her making her look older than she actually is, the poor thing. We have decided that we will do X-Rays on her heart/lungs on Thursday and we will microchip plus do her nails at that time. I give her BIG BONUS points for being brave and willing to try things and so as to not overwhelm her; I will bring her back on Thursday to do some more testing at that time. If the X-Rays come back normal; we will schedule her spay for the following week. Liquorice travels great in a car and I think the part she liked best was going through the drive thru at McDonald’s and getting a hamburger plus some fries as a special treat! She weighed 55.8 KGs(122.76 pounds) and needs to lose a bit of weight and condition her body tone/muscles more. SHE was so obedient and just ROCKED on a leash! I took some more pictures of her on one of the blue beanbag chairs and will post them soon. With all the more involved testing that we will be required to do for Liquorice, her Vet Bills alone will run into the thousands. With the XMAS season quickly approaching, I know that she would deeply appreciate a Virtual Foster Family.

Liquorice is going in with me to work on Saturday and she will have an exam etc. plus pre-surgery bw if she is healthy enough.

I am a little worried about Liquorice’s breathing and I do not like how her lips ‘puff’ when she does breathe. She will be having a full cardiac exam when she goes in for her appointment. I am also very saddened to see that if ever she hears a raised voice, she blinks, cringes a bit and her body posture(of which she carries everything very low to begin with the poor thing)really hunkers down. She has moments of pure fun plus a little play movement outside and then every once in a while a sharp movement will make her flinch and close her eyes as if she thought a ‘blow’ was coming. I am almost brought to tears over seeing this and I always get outraged to think someone could do this to animals for she is such a magnificent creature! Liquorice is very unobtrusive, quiet and I know that it has taken a lot for her to approach for affection and love WHICH she does yet she acts almost like she thinks she may be rejected OF WHICH we would never do. If she wants love, I will put everything down and just sit plus hold her and give her all that she can handle. Already, she has the confidence to move right up to me should I be giving loving to some of the other dogs SO that is a great sign! I already feel that this girl should go to a home where somebody works part-time, or is semi-retired or retired or where someone is home all the time FOR Liquorice deserves to have the constant human interaction and assurance by presence of someone. She has been absolutely stupendous with my kids. Though it is very early yet; I am also leaning towards her being the only dog in the house or if there is another dog; one not dominant for that would not draw Liquorice out of her shell and could make her retreat further or become mildly defensive in trying to protect herself yet a dog that has the right outgoing social plus interaction skills that Liquorice can continue to learn from. Should Liquorice bond with any of the adoptable Danes here; I would then only adopt her out as part of a pair just as we did with Samari. Liquorice still has not felt comfortable venturing further than our main family area. I sleep with the bedroom door open to hopefully see her come in yet she has not yet done so. Treats will not bring her any further than the hallway there as well, so time and patience of which I have plenty! She has also finally begun to eat more than what a bird would eat. I find myself so capable of writing a novel where this girl is concerned and so, I know that my heart is going deep on this one! 🙂

BHRR’s Liquorice – Female, Adult, Black Great Dane, approximately 4 years old(2002), housebroken, utd on shots(March 29th, 2007), HW+(which we will confirm); will be altered after pre surgery bw & will also be microchipped, examined with a manicure plus pedicure on the agenda. Is presently on HG, great with kids, obedient, wonderful with other dogs(she is now interacting with 11 other dogs to date) and is only mildly grumpy when someone comes near her food or the bed she has claimed as hers. We are working on that! She is also a low voice ‘talker’ and is the sweetest, most affectionate and gentlest of creatures! She is actually quite submissive and this grumpiness comes from her past history for Liquorice along with 34 other Danes(I have her nephew Thor in our program too) was seized as part of a cruelty case that took over 2 years to settle with custody being handed over to another Rescue. Apparently, the original owner would just pour some food in a line over the fence and there was never enough to go around. The poor thing was bred on every heat since she could breed and so her body has ‘puppy spread’ as I call it. She has been very gentle in taking treats and has had no issues with me touching her food etc. I also do not seem to have a record of her current weight. When she was with the other Rescue’s home, she had the tip of one ear and one of her nipples torn off by another dog and the nipple was sewn back on. I can see a bit of ‘spunk’ inside of her and she can be playful but is still somewhat unsure and is a low head carrier plus tail wagger. She has not eaten much since her arrival and I am working on tempting her. She has had full run of the house since she has arrived and has had no issues. SHE loves one of the Blue Bean Bag chairs yet I took the pictures below when she was sleeping on one of the other beds as she looked so CUTE!