12/21/2024
Not available for adoption or foster!!!
Just an update on the Great Dane.
We’ve decided to name her Gracie, mostly because she’s as graceful as a baby giraffe 😅
She has long endured a neglectful life. Due to the lack of muscle mass, ulcerated pressure sores, and the amount of f***s embedded in her tail/hip/rear legs, she was likely left to die a slow death in either a small area or kennel. She was so weak and defeated when she came in it was hard for her to stand, little lone walk. She also struggled to stand after lying down. The finder claimed she wouldn’t eat anything for the three days they tried to feed her however she scarfed down a small serving of food like a Hoover vacuum the moment she came in our door. She was so hungry she managed to push her way between the wall and kitchen table to help herself to a partially full thing of rolls. We ended up getting her set up in a different room with nothing for her to get into for her own safety. She seemed to have some incontinent issues and would urinate or defecate where she laid without noticing. The next morning she had what appeared to be like a pillow case in her stool that she also tried to eat again, and every time she defecated for about 5 days, she had some thick gray fabric wadded up in it. She never refused to eat, never vomited so we decided to wait a few days before getting her into West Central for a checkup and radiographs. She needed to gain some strength if she had to endure a surgery due to a foreign body. In her emaciated state she weighed in at 64 #, of bones and organs. Radiographs showed some spinal damage, with 3 fused vertebrae. The vet believes this has been going on for months. The neglect she’s been forced to live through has significantly made these complications more of an issue when it comes to her mobility. She is on medication to help manage her pain. We’re super thankful that the damage hasn’t left her paralyzed and we hope as she continues to gain weight and muscle her coordination/incontinent issues improve!
She’s been eating 4 small meals a day, in a slow feeder bowl elevated on a bench or chair to hopefully prevent any other issues. She’s quickly picked up her every 3 hour food schedule and refuses to let you be late! In the last 8 days her mobility and hope of life have improved so much. She gets so excited about food time she prances all over as uncoordinated as can be until you set her bowl down. She’s learned that big soft beds are the best places to sleep. She’s even starting to stretch out now and started snoring yesterday during nap time! She has decided a few employees are her best friends and she must follow them every time they move. She literally wants nothing other than love and soft pets, she just melts into your hand. She also seems to be gaining better control of when she needs to go to the bathroom, however watching her try to squat is still super painful. She will get excited and jog around outside and run right up to you for scratches. She doesn’t seem to like the leash concept but she’ll follow you anywhere for a treat!
As she improves, more of her Dane personality is surfacing and we’re so happy to watch her blossom back into a healthy happy girl! She’s roughly 2 years old and she deserves this come back! She is very guardy around dogs and quickly gets growly when “busy or excited” dogs are near. Due to her own lack of stability we don’t blame her. Our goal is to just keep her on a path of improvement as long as she’s not in pain. She’s already lived the worst life and she deserves to see the good side!
Whoever starved this dog and neglected her to this condition in hopes she wouldn’t survive deserves to be charged with animal neglect! We know someone has to know who owned her, we just need help from the community to find them! You can always privately message the page with any tips!
If you would like to help with her care our PayPal link is linked below!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=Y28KH9TMU5BSN
