I'm so glad you have come to this page.  It is here, that I
wanted to share my heart about my life and my dogs.
I can testify, that in knowing this breed, I have come to
know great friends and lessons for love and life.
There are some really great pictures to share
my life with Great Danes, on this page.  I
hope you enjoy them.


Best Viewed In "Medium font View"


I had been showing Collies and Airedales since 1973.
A friend of mine, had had a couple of Danes when she was growing up
and now that she was married, she wanted another one.  At the time, I was
showing my Collies and had just ventured into Soft Coated Wheaten
Terriers.  I was a 'Coated Breed" person, loved that long hair to bury my head in, but the Great Dane puppy she purchased from a well known Midwest breeder, started 'oozing' love all over the place and the 'ooze' found it's way into my heart.  So, when she bred her bitch to a well known (at the time) Midwest Stud dog...I got my first Great Dane, Gracie - 'DayStar's Amazing Grace'...Our Gracie.
I fell head over heals in love with this dog.  I thought, 'Why did this take me so long to find?  Where have you been all my life?'  The Great Dane BUG bite so hard...I'm still scratching the itch.
Once a breed of dog, gets into your system, you're sunk.  Once I was captured
by the love of the Great Dane that flooded my soul, I began, passionately to donate and dedicate my love for the Great Dane, in ways of sacrifice in time and money, through love.  In this, I have never regretted one moment .  Bringing our Gracie home, was one of the highlights of my life.  I know that God had now set in me, a purpose that would take and grow it's 'roots' of fierce loyalty to the Great Dane, in heights I thought were impossible, in comparison to my love for the Collie.
So, with our Gracie, you see to the right, the venture and journey into "Great Dane Land" began.  I just can't thank God enough, for meeting this wonderful breed and for the fabulous friends I have made throughout the years.  Getting Gracie in 1983, was one of the best purchases I've ever made for my life and my family.

  

Ephesians 1:4
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before Him in love,

Some people say to me, 'Why would you get into a breed of dog that is known for having a shorter life span than others?'  It is a fact that the giants are special and in need of very dedicated people to manage their lives and care for them.
I guess, that would be a matter of opinion.  I would have to say,
that my years of living with and dealing with the things that
come with this breed are for me.....a privilege.
I find that my life with the Great Dane is, without a doubt, richer and more
pleasurable than some of the other breeds I have lived with.

Well, after the arrival of our first Great Dane.......What would you think
would be the most logical conclusion to come to???
ANOTHER GREAT DANE!!!!

Yes...It didn't take long.  We were hooked (or at least I was...my family was snagged into the love affair too...:0) and along came our Isaiah, from my very dear friend of over 25 years, Jean Watson of RoyalCrest Great Danes.  That was the start of our friendship through our Dane passion.
What a gentle giant.  What a huge sweet loving boy.  He brought into the lives
of people that didn't know the breed, a desire to have one "just like him".
Our boy, though, was almost snuffed out with a disease called 'Blastomycosis',
a killer of a fungus that kills slowly and is hard to detect.
I had such high hopes for my boy, but alas...the disease that almost took his life, but didn't, took his eye.  It settled there and the eye was so destroyed that he had to have it surgically removed and so Isaiah lived out his life with one eye.
I think that with that, people found in their hearts, that he seemed to be even more endearing.  His gentle nature in the giant body of a healed 185 pound 'boy' was
all the more to love.
 


Isaiah 41:13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand,
saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you".

Then, with great excitement and looking just for the right dog, I chose a Champion
brindle dog named  - TKO - Ch. Foremost Grandmaster - Owned by Connie & Jim
Craig.  They were just great with me with my first litter.  They were my cheering
section when I was showing the puppy I kept out of Gracie's litter, our Ruth  -
BISS Ch. DayStar's Intomy Heart.  What a dog.  I learned with her in the ring
about a lot of things.  She was a very large bitch, about 34 1/2 inches tall and
was a ball of fire in the ring.
She was so fun that, today, I think I took a lot of my fun for granted and was so
star struck by her loyalty, intelligence and complete confidence that I would
love another one just like her.
I really only accompanied her around the ring.  Her intelligence came through
in the ring with all knowledge of ring procedure and what came next.
Her anticipation to what I wanted was uncanny.  It was like she read my mind. 
Ruth would know to do something the minute I thought it and was a showing
fool....What a show dog.  She would bait like a Doberman and had the desire to
please me along with it.

I finished Ruth in 7 months and she accumulated all her points in just 3 states. 
All her points were obtained out of the Bred-By Exhibitor class.  Her first dog
show was at the Hoosier Specialties in Indiana and she took a 5 point major and in
her 3rd weekend out, she had her second major with a total of 10 points.
I was spoiled to say the least.
I think, though, that the best thing about my showing Ruth, was the friends I made.
To this day, I just can't thank God enough for all the people that I met through
her success in the ring and the help that other handlers gave me to achieve
my AKC Championship with her for my first Great Dane Champion.
To this day, I have friends in the Dane Community that are 25 years along
and I cherish the relationships that have proceeded beyond.

The day my precious friend and I, finished
together, her points for her AKC Championship, she went
Breed of out the classes and finished with a 3rd Major and
then took a Group 4...Oh what fun I had with her....I miss you my girl.
Thanks all you friends, for your support and encouragement you all gave me.
Thanks Renee, one of my best best friends, for sharing this with me and
having the memory of doing it with you.