Liège Great Danes

I am an extremely lucky women to have had Ben in my life since 1999. You only need to look into these eyes to see the depth of his intellegence, the telepathic way he can say "I love you" with his eyes...or "are you okay? I'm right here if you need me." He never failed to be right here by my side, or to show his loyalty or sense my sadness and lay his head on my shoulder. He got me through the loss of my Mother, the loss of Jake, Max; then my father and not long after that Cigale, ...through all these heartbreaks, he gave me the strength to carry on when no one else knew what to do...he understood the many sorrows that were heaped on me too frequently, never having a chance to recover from one tragedy before another one hit...the health problems I myself had to conquer, he got me through it all...if I had one wish I would ask the Lord to restore his vigor and allow him to stay with me forever; he's been my lifeline and the love I have for him is beyond measure, beyond reason...beyond anything...how will I live without him? He has a spinal disorder, which can make it's presence known over an extended period of time, proceeding gradually from a dog's uncharacteristic inappetence and reluctance to play to the development of an unsteady gait, an inability to walk, and in the worst cases, total paralysis. We have taken him to every institute within our region trying to get help for him and there is no cure...we've even tried chiropratic and accupuncture therapy...the only thing left to do is help him up when he needs it and practice pain management and the most difficult part, trying to prepare ourselves for the inevitable...I can't even concieve waking up one morning and not having his big old head laying across my chest, or the love nibbles in my ear as I wake up...I won't go there yet, not until he tells me it's time. For now, I'll masage his tired muscles and do my best to give back to him all the love and concern he has shown me over the years...I'll help him up the stairs, or lift him up on the bed and feed him his favorite foods and hold on to him for as long as he wants.

† Below is the kind of dog you always want to talk about, how amazing he is, how tolerant he was of all my grandchildren, who squeezed him and laid on him and loved him until it hurt, he loved being snuggled down right in the middle of everyone, limbs tangled together, he didn't care, as long as he could be close. Any one of these kids could take a bone right out of  his mouth, and he would wait patiently until they gave it back...Kiersten's favorite game to play with Ben was to hide under a blanket and call out "Benny, help me" and Ben would go find her and dig her out of the blanket and give her love nibbles all over while she giggled, the more she giggled, the more he would nuzzle and then plop right down next to her and take all the hugs she had to offer...he even helped them on their Easter Egg Hunts, see his smile when he found one? He loved to swim with us too... A great deal of his time in the water was dragging the kids back to the beach when he felt like they were out too far...he'd grab hold of them by their life jackets and pull them back, this became a great game for the kids...even I, who would be lounging on a float watching all the fun, would find myself being pulled back to shore...didn't know great danes were herders did you? Well, they're not, but Benny loves his family so much that I think he'd walk through fire if he felt he needed to save us...he is an exceptional dog, exraordinary in so many ways...but this...has to be one of the most endearing of his traits...he just never understood that he grew up, no matter how big he got, he always found a way to fit on your lap...and no one could resist his charm...if he thought you were going to try, he'd just pick up a toy  and look cute so you couldn't...can you see a human anywhere in the photos or do you just see dogs? HA! Seems that many of us have developed a whole new way of sleep positioning when it comes to accomidating our danes. Just can't resist that loving contact they always want to have...below is the four of my boys taking a nap together in the guest room...Sambino (black) in the back with his tongue sticking out, Benny (white) in the middle and Cigale (fawn) in the front...sadly, Cigale is no longer with us...he passed away at the age of 9 in July of 2008...and yes, that is my husband Ron, clingling to the edge of the bed on the right...seems like Benny always winds up in the middle of the pile...I've been in love with him ever since he was this wee little tike getting snuggles from his daddy Butter; he said Ben  was pretty special even back then...

† Benny is modeling his new vest that I made for him, it has a handle on the back so we can help him up and down when he needs us. Doesn't he look sexy? He's stylin' in black denim, lined with soft red fleece with black paw prints, with 3 nylon straps spaced around the mid section for support, secures with industrial strength velcro and the nylon straps also clip buckle for added security...the bib hooks onto steel rings on his shoulders so it's easy to get on and off without having to make him step into anyting. It's been a real life saver! I think it helps support his spine too because he is smiling when he's walking around with it and seems to feel more sure of himself when he's wearing it...I'd like to think so anyway...as you might notice, it is taylor made to fit him like a glove, I think this is important when you're holding onto the handle helping him up the stairs...I didn't want it to slip and make him nervous, it's more like a second skin so he feels safe and secure...there are a few design flaws considering I never made one before but it gets the job done...♥