UrbanGrounds

The (not so) Daily Dog: You Know You Want to Adopt One of These Puppies…

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 2:37 pm 15 Responses »

Jan 172012

I’ve written about our local Great Dane rescue, Paws of Austin, on several occasions. It’s where we adopted our little Bevo (who turned a year old last week…happy birthday little guy).

Our friend Prima, who founded and runs Paws, just rescued three puppies from an unscrupulous backyard breeder in Brownsville, TX and just posted pictures of these three little sisters:

Three little sisters spooning for warmth and comfort while they sleep

Paws of Austin is looking for local homes to adopt these little girls (why not take all three?); they need to be local since they have not yet been spayed. You know you want one of these sweet little girls, don’t you?

A colorful little litter of merles

As one commenter on the Paws of Austin Facebook page wrote, “I could seriously sop them up with a biscuit!”

Prima wrote:

There were originally 11 pups in the litter. They [the breeder] sold eight of them and we were able to get the last three. We had to pay them to get these puppies. We could not leave them there. The parents were tied to the fence. The puppies were covered with dry poop, fleas and ticks. I am sure at some point we will get some of the other puppies.

Sadly, Prima was not able to convince the owners to give up the breeding adults — bunch of white trash rednecks gotta make a buck, even if it is off the suffering and abuse of innocent animals. But at least these three puppies are safe, warm, and happy:

After spending the first several weeks of their lives outside, I'm sure these little girls are loving the warmth of an inside bed.

If you’ve been thinking about fostering or adopting a dog this year…especially if you’ve been thinking about a Great Dane…wouldn’t you love to give one of the beautiful little girls a forever home? If not, as always, any donations to the rescue are also greatly appreciated (and much needed).

I wish we had room for one more in our house right now…because if we did I would be bringing this sweet little girl home immediately:

Precious little white merle Great Dane puppie

Isn't that the sweetest little face you've ever seen?

Houston: Pit bull attack kills 1-year-old boy at home

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 11:51 am 95 Responses »

Jan 152012

Just a sweet, happy puppy. Until it decides to go all "pit bull" on some little kid or old lady and kills them

Just another sweet family pet that would never hurt a fly. Until it kills an innocent and defenseless member of its own family. Tragic. Criminally tragic.

Anybody who owns one of these dogs and has children is a moron. Why you would take a chance of having this breed around your defenseless children is beyond me. Get a Lab, a Boxer, or Great Dane, if you must have a dog around your children. But a pit bull? Not just stupid, but criminally stupid. Period.

And, while “it’s the owner” is often a contributing factor in the dangerousness of this breed, it has more to do with the damned breed itself — this breed is just wired wrong and will always be a potential danger to everyone who encounters it.

Via the Houston Chronicle:

A 1-year-old boy was killed when he was attacked by his family’s pit bull at his grandparents’ home on Saturday night, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said.

The baby was mauled in the 27000 block of Medina Circle in far west Montgomery County, authorities said in a statement.

A deputy responding at about 8 p.m. tried to control the dog, but the animal lunged at him, officers said. The officer then shot the dog. There was no information on the dog’s condition.

According to authorities, the child was in the home with his 45-year-old grandmother when he was attacked. The woman was not injured, but was taken to the hospital after enduring emotional trauma in the tragedy, officers said.

The (not so) Daily Dog — Rabbit: It’s What’s for Dinner

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 8:40 pm 6 Responses »

Jan 122012

You know that sense of pride a parent feels when their child takes his first steps, says their first word, or tells you they’re a Conservative? Well, since we don’t have children (yet), I don’t know that feeling.

But if it’s anything like watching your 1-year old Great Dane puppy run-down and catch his first wild jackrabbit, then that’s how I feel.

Out for our evening walk with out two Danes and giant Lab/Bloodhound in the canyon behind our house, a young jackrabbit made the mistake of running out from the bush it was hiding behind right in front of my three dogs. And off they went on a wild rabbit chase.

It was awesome to watch the three dogs work as a pack to run that rascally rabbit back and forth across the field. If you’ve never watched a Great Dane in full-sprint stride, it’s a wondrous thing to watch. Danes were bread for two things: estate guard dogs and hunting large prey. It’s not uncommon for Danes to run down deer.

Which means that poor bunny didn’t stand a chance.

The dogs disappeared around a bend but I heard the unmistakeable squeal of a caught rabbit. I expected to see our 3-yr old Dane chomping on that rabbit, but suddenly the puppy came running up to me with the very dead rabbit in his jaws — like he was seeking my approval and permission.

After praising him (for doing what dogs were bred to do), I let him have at it (sorry about the dark, grainy shots, but it was dark by the time he started munching, and my cell phone’s flash is not that bright):

DEAD BUNNY ALERT — WARNING — IF DEAD BUNNIES BOTHER YOU, DON’T LOOK

Great Dane chomping down on a wild jack rabbit

Bevo says "nom nom nom" on his first wild game kill

Dogs were meant to hunt (and eat) rabbits. All part of the natural order of things. So I let him have at it:

I checked back a few moments later and there was nothing left. Not even a lucky foot.

I’m just so proud of my little Bevo.

Heartbreaking Story (and pictures): Can You Help an Abused and Neglected Great Dane at PAWS of Austin?

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 1:45 pm 13 Responses »

Dec 202011

UPDATE (December 21) — Received another update from Prima this morning on Noel’s condition, which is improving (though she still has a long road ahead). More importantly was this note she added about the donations that poured in yesterday:

I would like to thank those of you who donated to help Noel. Thanks to you we can provide Noel with everything she needs, including the expensive medication, special shampoo, food, bedding and any additional vet care she needs. Her recovery will be much faster thanks to all your help.

Thank you all so much for your kindness and generosity; may you be blessed a thousand times over for helping save this poor creature.

_______________________

We adopted our (now) 11-month old Great Dane puppy, Bevo, when he was a just a skin-and-bones 4-month old/40 lb puppy from PAWS of Austin, which is our local Great Dane rescue.

How anybody can abuse and neglect these creatures is beyond my understanding.

The founder of PAWS, Prima Mosi, is one of the kindest and most compassionate people we have ever known. Her dedication to rescuing, healing, and finding homes for these gentle giants is astounding.

PAWS has recently taken in two very, very special needs Harlequin danes. The holidays are a time of giving and being thankful for all we have, to include our canine companions. PAWS could really use your donations now to help with the vet expenses of these two very special, abused, and neglected danes.

The first dog is Noel, who was rescued from a shelter in Garland, TX. As you can see from the pictures, she is in pretty bad shape. She is very young, but it looks like she’s been to hell and back. Her skin is raw and oozing blood. She also has bite wounds on her face and neck. She will need some major vet care to get better.

In the 7+ years I’ve written this blog, I’ve never once held a Bleg or asked for donations to help keep this site going. And I’m not going to do that now, either. But please read the rest of this post (which is difficult), and if you can spare a few dollars to donate to PAWS of Austin, I couldn’t thank you enough.

Here’s Prima’s report on her first 4 days trying to save this puppy:

Day1:

If this doesn't break your heart, you probably don't have one.

Noel did well last night. She got up at about midnight went out and finally peed and pooped. Then she went back to bed. In the morning she was a little more awake then she was yesterday. That is because she had a good night sleep on a soft bed in a warm house, probably for the first time in her life.

Early this morning we went out and she peed again. She got her meds and ate breakfast. She is now back in her bed. The bedding has to be changed often because she is oozing blood. So far I used 3 dog beds, 2 comforters and 11 towels. I will be going to Goodwill later this afternoon to buy more comforters. We’ll also need to get more dog beds, because the beds are soaked with blood and they will need to be tossed out. The smell is pretty bad too. Continue reading »

The (not so) Daily Dog: Rhymes with Right and his best friend Carmie (RIP)

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 11:40 am 8 Responses »

Sep 162011

Rest in Peace, sweet faithful Carmie

Greg at Rhymes with Right, a damned fine Texas blogger and occasional commenter here at Urbangrounds has written a heart-touching and tear-inducing post on the loss of his faithful dog and their final drive together to the vet.

I looked over as you settled into the seat next to me. There you were, every bit as beautiful to me as the day we brought you home. And yet things had certainly changed. You sat alone, rather than riding to your new home in my wife’s arms. You’ve grown so much over the years as well. Could it really be that you are leaving us at last? After so much time, would we really not be sharing another ride together?

I reached over to you, and stroked your fur. You tail twitched, your head tilted into the caress as you tried to make sure I scratched that spot just behind your ear. “Well, baby girl — it’s just you and me. Do you remember the first time we took a ride together, just you and me? I held you in my lap so you would feel safe. But we’re both bigger now — no room for both of us behind the wheel. Can it really be fifteen years?”

Grab a tissue, head over and read the entire thing, and lend your sympathy to Greg. The loss of a good, faithful dog is a tough thing. As I’ve often said, most dogs are better than most people. My sincerest condolences to you, Greg. May you find comfort and peace soon enough, and may you forever remember the love and devotion you shared with Carmie.

Mr. Emmitt Thunderpaws the Great Dane Welcomes Home His Soldier

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 3:04 pm 3 Responses »

Aug 162011

Reason #67980 why dogs are better than cats (and it’s not even close).

Meet Mr. Emmitt Thunderpaws, a 150 lb black Great Dane (who looks a lot like our black Danes), excitedly greeting his Soldier who just returned home from a 9 month tour to Afghanistan.

Few things in this world that I love more than a big ol’ Great Dane and US Soldiers. Put ‘em both together in one happy homecoming video? Perfect.

The Soldier and his family were worried that Mr. Thunderpaws (Best. Name. EVAH!) wouldn’t remember him when he got home. But watching the video, you can see that just didn’t turn out to be the case. You can tell that Emmitt knows his Soldier is home before ever seeing him outside…he could smell him from inside the house. And then instant recognition and joy.

The (not so) Daily Dog: George the World’s Tallest Dog

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 8:31 pm 9 Responses »

Jul 242011

If you’ve read UG for any time at all, you know my wife and I are dog people. And since rescuing our first Great Dane (my bestest dog ever, Angus [R.I.P, my dear canine friend]), we our now raising our third Great Dane, Bevo (now almost 6 months old and growing faster than our nation’s debt).

I can’t imagine that we’d ever own another breed now that we’ve been blessed with these gentle giants in our home and in our lives.

The Daily Mail has a fantastic article on George, the world’s biggest dog (a huge Blue Great Dane), that catches so much of the spirit of living with these giant dogs:

That is a lot of dog.

One of my favorite parts of the article:

All the things that make Great Danes wonderful pets — their lack of aggression and their attachment to humans — make them more emotionally sensitive than other dogs.

They need to be with their ‘pack’ at all times…

I can’t tell you how true this is…these huge, fearsome looking and truly fearless dogs are huge babies. And it’s obvious that it’s possible to “hurt their feelings” when you yell at or scold them. And where ever we are in the house? That’s exactly where the dogs are.

Plus, my lovely missus takes them everywhere. And I mean everywere — Austin is an exceptionally dog friendly city, so they go to Home Depot/Lowes, Best Buy, Barnes and Nobles, Neiman Marcus, and pretty much any restaurant that has outdoor seating/eating areas.

George is 43″ tall at the shoulders (nearly 4 feet tall), weighs ~250 lbs, and is 7 feet long. Our biggest Great Dane, Jersey (2 yrs old), is a really big dog, but just a bit bigger than average for a male Great Dane: 36″ tall at the shoulders and about 160 lbs. We think his little brother Bevo will be at least that tall if not a bit taller, but not as thick as Jersey:

2 yr old Jersey and his new little brother, 5 1/2 month old Bevo.

We used to let Angus share our King-size bed with us, but then we ran into the same thing that George’s people did:

Eventually he [George] outgrew the single mattress we placed there for him and preferred instead the comfort of our king-sized bed — sprawling between us like some over-indulged prince while we spent half the night clinging onto the edges.

I laughed when I read that, because that is exactly what happened to us. And Angus was not nearly as large as George, and yet he still stretched from one end of our giant bed to the other. Now our two Danes and our one large Lab/Bloodhound mix (Otis, 9) each have their own giant dog beds spread around our bedroom floor.

George the giant Great Dane on the couch

That's how our Danes sit on our couches, too. They just back right up, and plop their butts down on the couch.

And my wife and her giant puppy (Jersey) at our favorite joint (Angel’s Icehouse):

Beauty and the beast

The (not so) Daily Dog: Playing in the Frontyard on a Warm Sunday Morning

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 8:39 am 4 Responses »

Jun 122011

Up early to beat the heat and let our new puppy, Bevo (a 4 month old Great Dane we rescued from Paws of Austin last week), and his big brother Jersey run around in the front yard:

Bevo still hasn't learned to sit still like his big brother, Jersey.

Jersey is a handful, as most puppies are. He’s mostly house-trained at this point (can hold it all night long with no problems), but we think he might have a bladder infection that needs to be treated. But he’s a happy, happy little puppy (as most rescues seem to be once they’re…well…rescued from whatever it is they needed rescuing from…):

Jersey teaching Bevo how to play (while letting him know who the alpha dog is in our canine pack)

Today will also be Bevo’s last day to lick his testicles (yeah, gross, I know)…he’s heading to the vet tomorrow to get ‘em removed, thus helping to reduce the number of Great Danes that need rescuing from accidental or irresponsible breeding).

What a happy little puppy

Little Bevo is one of the most gentle-natured and loving Great Danes we’ve ever seen. We took him to Angel’s Icehouse with us on Friday afternoon (very dog- and kid-friendly burger joint near our house in Spicewood) — and he was perfectly behaved; just laid down on the ground next to our table and took a little nap. No begging for food, no pacing around the table, not afraid of other patrons and little kids all around us.

His big brother Jersey, on the other hand, is on constant “alert” when we are out in public. When we take Jersey to Angel’s he never sits or lays down…just stands up and watches everything…for hours at a time.

More pictures after the jump:
Continue reading »

The (not so) Daily Dog: Newest Member of our Pack

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 8:31 am 10 Responses »

Jun 052011

Meet Bevo, the newest member of our pack:

4-month old Bevo making himself right at home on our bed

We lost one of our Great Danes (Angus) to bloat last August, and then laid to rest our 16-year old Beagle girl (Jackie) two months ago. We had firmly decided that we’d stick to just two dogs at a time from now on, which meant that we were set for a while with Jersey (our 2-year old Great Dane) and Otis (8-year old Lab/Bloodhound).

And then last Thursday we got a call from our friend Prima who runs Paws of Austin (specializing in giant breed rescues, especially Great Danes) who had just rescued four 4-month old Great Dane puppies from a home in Lampasas. She was in dire need of foster homes for these puppies, and asked if we’d be able to take in one of these skinny puppies for a few weeks until she could find a good adoptive home for him.

So on Friday we met Prima and this little guy (at 4 months he’s already 50 lbs, but is a little sack of bones for now), and within a few minutes we knew that if we fostered him, we’d never be able to give him up — so we went ahead and told Prima we’d adopt the little guy ourselves. Because really…one Great Dane is never enough!

He needs fattening up, but he’s a sweet little guy (though a bit skittish still), but he got along instantly with Jersey and Otis when we brought him home yesterday. His mom is a registered European Blue, and the sire is a registered American Black. He looks like he’ll have the same big block head (more reminiscent of their Mastiff heritage) as Jersey and Angus.

In keeping with the cow themed names for our big black Great Danes, we’ve named him Bevo.

Bevo has almost identical markings to his new big brother Jersey

The (not so) Daily Dog: Military Working Dogs

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 8:29 am 7 Responses »

May 062011

You’ve all probably already seen this kick-ass picture of an Army canine and a Special Forces Soldier jumping out of the back of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter into the water, but if not, here it is (replete with official caption from the DoD site):

Military working dog and special forces soldier

A U.S. Army soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011 on March 1, 2011. Emerald Warrior is an annual two-week joint/combined tactical exercise sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command designed to leverage lessons learned from operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders. DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Manuel J. Martinez, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

This is easily one of my favorite pictures ever — if they’d found a way to work a motorcycle and a gun into the picture, it would have been just about perfect — and is now the background image on my desktop.

The image was part of this cool story on Foreign Policy:

Dogs have been fighting alongside U.S. soldiers for more than 100 years, seeing combat in the Civil War and World War I. But their service was informal; only in 1942 were canines officially inducted into the U.S. Army. Today, they’re a central part of U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan — as of early 2010 the U.S. Army had 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed (the largest canine contingent in the world). And these numbers will continue to grow as these dogs become an ever-more-vital military asset.

Oh, and notice the shoes being worn by the Special Forces Soldier jumping with the dog? That’s right — Vibram Five Fingers (VFF), which are the only shoes I ever wear now (other than my motorcycle boots when I’m riding). Good enough for Special Forces, good enough for me.

The (not so) Daily Dog: R.I.P. Lady Jack of Nacogdoches

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 7:06 pm 10 Responses »

Apr 122011

R.I.P. Lady Jack of Nacogdoches (Jackie) 1996 - 2011

Another tough day today as we laid to rest another one of our puppies.

Lady Jack of Nacogdoches (Jackie) was our beloved Beagle, and she would have been 16 years old in December. When my lovely wife and I first met, Jackie was just a few months old. In fact, part of the reason we are together at all is because of this amazing little puppy. My wife lived a few minutes from my office at the time, but her office was across town. I volunteered to go over to her apartment at lunch everyday to let her little puppy out so she wouldn’t have to worry about her during the day.

Eventually, I grew to love little Jackie as much as her momma, and was soon taking her for long weekend walks. Once I was bonded with her puppy, winning over my eventual wife was easy.

Sweet little Jackie (whom we have affectionately called Pooh-bear or Poodle…not sure why) has been on her last few days for…well…the last few months. She’s completely blind, totally deaf, and covered in fatty tumors and overwhelmed with arthritis. She’s been having a harder-and-harder time getting around, and the last few weeks she’s been having difficulty getting outside on her own to relieve herself.

After finding a worrisome amount of blood in her stool this afternoon, we knew it was time to let her go.

So, I just got in from burying her in the back beneath an old Live Oak tree where she will continue to be with us.

This loss, while painful, isn’t quite as bad as the last time we had to do this with our boy Angus. She lived a wonderfully long and full life, didn’t suffer at the end, and was surrounded by her family right up until her final breath.

Me and my two Beagles, Jackie and Kosmo, back in 2006, the year we had to put Kosmo down

Why Most Dogs are Better Than Most People

Posted by Robbie Cooper at 1:21 pm 13 Responses »

Mar 172011

I (unapologetically) think that most dogs are better than most people. Their love, affection, and loyalty is unmatched by any species on this planet. Even ours.

And it’s because of this unwavering loyalty to all members of their pack — human and canine alike — that the suffering of dogs is intolerable to me. It’s why I hope Mike Vick burns long and painfully in hell.

With that said, videos like this are heartbreaking — a dirty, earthquake-and-tsunami rattled dog sits loyaly by the side of its injured canine friend and protects it from the obviously sympathetic reporters:

I aspire to be worthy of even half the esteem with which my dogs grant me…

The good news, being reported by The Guardian, is that both dogs were rescued soon after the video (and directly because of the reporters in this video) and are both receiving care at a local veterinarian’s office.

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