The Tripawd Times of Nova the Great Dane

Anyway, she got together all sorts of pictures of my first year, but realized that there were not any from when I was about 3-8 months old.  She can’t figure out why.  I guess we were just so busy together that she forgot to take pictures.  One thing she does remember is taking me to puppy obedience class.  I passed with flying colors, but got a lot of attention because I was so much bigger than the other “puppies”.

I guess the first year with a Great Dane puppy is pretty amazing.  I went from 0-120 lbs in only one year!  That’s how much a typical 13-year-old teenage boy (my brother is now 13 years/120 lbs.) grows in 13 YEARS!  I did all that growing in only ONE.  Mom said that every day with a Great Dane puppy was a new adventure because I really DID grow overnight.  She said I went through a bunch of collars.  And I finally grew into my big feet.  But I STILL had a sweet little puppy face.

I may have been big, but I was still a puppy inside! (This was me at about 7-8 months).

I was just as big as Emmy by now and we loved to lounge on Mom’s bed.

This was at our town “Peach Festival” parade, when I was about 8-9 months old.  I loved all the attention I got from people in the crowd.  When you are a Great Dane, EVERYONE always wants to stop and pet you.  People also make silly comments like “Hey, that’s a BIG dog! and “Do you have a saddle for that thing?” and “How much does HE eat?” (people automatically assume you’re a guy when you’re big).  Mom and my brothers came up with all sorts of snappy comebacks when people would ask these questions.  One of my favorites when people would ask how much I ate, Mom would say “About 2 kids a day!”  Haha

Mom always said I had a REALLY long Gene Simmons-type tongue.  I tend to be very sensitive to the heat in the summer, so when it was hot I would pant alot.  My tongue is like a big long red carpet that rolls out. Can’t help it.

Back then my family really didn’t go on vacation that much.  But one fall they decided to go to Mackinac Island (in the Straits of Mackinac in between Michigan’s lower and upper peninsula).  Mom did not want to leave us, so she found a hotel on the island that allowed dogs.  There are no cars allowed on the island, and you have to take a ferry to get there.  I really did not like the boat ride, but my brother snuggled with me.  Emmy was off doing the rounds on the ferry letting everyone pet her while I was a big chicken.  I get seasick, I am definitely not one of those seafaring hounds.

I REALLY got a ton of attention on the island.  They don’t really get a lot of dog visitors there, I guess, especially dogs that are closer in size to the horses that work on the island, than they are to the other dogs there!  We walked to our hotel, which was a mile from the ferry, rather than take a horse taxi.

The hotel was great, and perfectly equipped for Great Danes.  Check out this awesome built-in elevated dog dish that they had, right there in the room.  Plus there were cushy beds and couches everywhere.  This place was called the Mission Point resort, and they were totally dog-friendly, with no weight restrictions for pets.  Emmy and I loved going on vacation, except when we were left behind when the family would go out to dinner.

Wow, this was the first place I had ever been where there were 4-legged creatures that were WAY bigger than me.  Mom said that they were horses.  So THIS was what people were calling me.  I was impressed.  Although I was happy I did not have to work as hard as these horses, who had to pull horse taxis full of people around the island.

Emmy and I even got to go to all the tourist places on the island, well MOST of them.  This was at Fort Michilimackinac.

I still very much had that puppy face!

That was the last time, though, that I was able to fit sitting up in the back of an SUV.  After this point, Mom had to buy minivans so I could fit comfortably in the car.

Emmy and I were still snuggle buddies, but now I was much, much bigger than I was a few short months ago.  She didn’t seem to mind!

Loveseats don’t work for Great Danes.  There’s just not enough room, although we would try to make it work.

The key with a loveseat is to get there first!

Mom dressed me in silly outfits and hats, just like a William Wegman Weimaraner, from the very beginning.  This was my first Halloween, where my brother’s dressed me in a business suit.  Emmy and I went as Mr and Mrs. Great Dane.  Emmy got to be the Mrs.

Here’s one of my first hats, where I was “Rasta Dog”.  Yeah mon.  I didn’t really like it that much.

And here I am at the Rochester Christmas Parade in 2004, about 10 1/2 months, with my first (pretty dorky if you ask me) pair of reindeer antlers. I much prefer the antlers Mom makes me wear now.

So you can see… I haven’t been a TOTAL couch potato forever.  I have had adventures like other dogs, although Mom says I am still more like a cat than a dog.  Guess that’s why Dad calls me the “Housecat”. It IS a little harder to do things now that I am blind.  I am a little more scared and skittish when I go places.

Well, that’s it for Year 1.  I had lots more adventures in Year 2 that we will share with you soon.