It was an overcast October day in 1999 and Debra had the morning off from work. We found an ad in the paper for a female Mantle Dane and called the Cave Creek, AZ. number. A pleasant woman answered and I asked questions about what dogs she had for sale. She was a breeder from Mexico, here for a dog show in Tempe. She bred Great Danes and standard Poodles and she had 5 Danes with her on this trip that didn't quite meet her qualifications as show quality. Well, we had no interest in show quality, we were looking for a girl for our boy.
We took the trek to Cave Creek and arrived at a ranch setting. Around back was a horse set up that was temporarily occupied by a plethora of show dogs and a handful of pups for sale, although they were nearly full grown. Zoie was a full 7 months old when we acquired her. They kept referring to Zoie and her sister as twins. To this day I don't know if they were really twins or just litter mates. Zoie, although she'd had her ears cropped in some sort of new style, was almost a head shorter than her twin sister and they were both for sale. I liked Zoie because she'd had her ear done already and her sister because of her size. Then we noticed that Zoie had a mange problem and I had no idea what that involved. I used my cell phone to call the vet and inquire, but once again she wasn't available and never returned my call. We went home as it was quickly becoming time for Debra to leave for work.
I don't recall what I did that day, but worrying about getting a dog wasn't on my list. About 4 PM Debra called and we chatted for awhile, when she asked if I'd gotten her. Who, I replied? That Great Dane pup with the cropped ears, said Debra. Is that the one that you want? She said she thought I knew that. I guess she thought I could read minds. I called the lady out in Cave creek and asked her to consider an offer on the pup with the cropped ears. She accepted my offer saying that she knew that Zoie was going to require some medical attention and that she felt we would give it to her. Boy, was she ever right! I had no idea was was entailed with Mange. The first month we had her, we paid about $1200 in vet bills for dippings 3 times a week. That went on for months, but I'm wandering again.
I loaded little Peewee's crate into the Expedition and drove back out to Cave Creek, AZ. We gathered Zoie and somehow got her to get into that little crate. After paying the lady, we were headed home to introduce Bogie and Zoie to one another and I must tell you, I was worried that he might not like her. Bogie, being the Alpha type had developed a "dog aggression" and once he decides another dog is his enemy, well....
When I got home, I put Bogie outside and let Zoie loose in the house and that's how I found out she had never been indoors before. She had never seen a glass table before and walked right into it, then hopped up on top of it. Holy shit, I had to start from step one. I put Zoie inside of Bogie's big crate and let Bogie inside to sniff around. So far, so good. She smelled good to him and he was so excited to have a playmate that he stayed right by her side. When Debra got home, we put collars and leashes on each of them and at armed length, let them get to know each other in the backyard. Bogie was enamoured. He fell immediately in love with her and has stayed that way ever since. At this point, Zoie and Bogie have been together almost twice as long as Debra and I. I know she loves him because even though they have their own beds, sometimes late at night Bogie comes over and snuggles in with Zoie in her bed and she gets up and sleeps on the couch!
Mel
10/24/08
We took the trek to Cave Creek and arrived at a ranch setting. Around back was a horse set up that was temporarily occupied by a plethora of show dogs and a handful of pups for sale, although they were nearly full grown. Zoie was a full 7 months old when we acquired her. They kept referring to Zoie and her sister as twins. To this day I don't know if they were really twins or just litter mates. Zoie, although she'd had her ears cropped in some sort of new style, was almost a head shorter than her twin sister and they were both for sale. I liked Zoie because she'd had her ear done already and her sister because of her size. Then we noticed that Zoie had a mange problem and I had no idea what that involved. I used my cell phone to call the vet and inquire, but once again she wasn't available and never returned my call. We went home as it was quickly becoming time for Debra to leave for work.
I don't recall what I did that day, but worrying about getting a dog wasn't on my list. About 4 PM Debra called and we chatted for awhile, when she asked if I'd gotten her. Who, I replied? That Great Dane pup with the cropped ears, said Debra. Is that the one that you want? She said she thought I knew that. I guess she thought I could read minds. I called the lady out in Cave creek and asked her to consider an offer on the pup with the cropped ears. She accepted my offer saying that she knew that Zoie was going to require some medical attention and that she felt we would give it to her. Boy, was she ever right! I had no idea was was entailed with Mange. The first month we had her, we paid about $1200 in vet bills for dippings 3 times a week. That went on for months, but I'm wandering again.
I loaded little Peewee's crate into the Expedition and drove back out to Cave Creek, AZ. We gathered Zoie and somehow got her to get into that little crate. After paying the lady, we were headed home to introduce Bogie and Zoie to one another and I must tell you, I was worried that he might not like her. Bogie, being the Alpha type had developed a "dog aggression" and once he decides another dog is his enemy, well....
When I got home, I put Bogie outside and let Zoie loose in the house and that's how I found out she had never been indoors before. She had never seen a glass table before and walked right into it, then hopped up on top of it. Holy shit, I had to start from step one. I put Zoie inside of Bogie's big crate and let Bogie inside to sniff around. So far, so good. She smelled good to him and he was so excited to have a playmate that he stayed right by her side. When Debra got home, we put collars and leashes on each of them and at armed length, let them get to know each other in the backyard. Bogie was enamoured. He fell immediately in love with her and has stayed that way ever since. At this point, Zoie and Bogie have been together almost twice as long as Debra and I. I know she loves him because even though they have their own beds, sometimes late at night Bogie comes over and snuggles in with Zoie in her bed and she gets up and sleeps on the couch!
Mel
10/24/08
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