My name is Winnie Ann!

Winnie Ann is an 4 1/2 old (DOB 3/17/11) merle female with natural ears. She's been through a lot in her short life. She was purchased from a pet store, returned for unknown reasons and then just given away to a good Samaritan who helped her get into rescue. At some point – Winnie had surgery on her back. We don't have any medical records to say what happened to her, but we do know she didn't receive proper post-op care. Her drain came out too early, her staples were left in too long, and her antibiotics weren't given as directed. But since coming in to rescue – she’s been seen by the vet and had her surgery site attended to. It'll probably take a couple of weeks to heal fully, but she's expected to be fine after wards. Winnie also has something going on with her front legs. Both of her front legs appear to turn inwards some - though it's more noticeable on her right front leg than it is her left. But this doesn't slow her down in the least! X-rays of her legs shows her growth plates are all still open - as they should be. An orthopedic vet will be reviewing her films to determine if there’s anything more serious going on or if it’s just a slight deformity. Oddly enough - it seems to add to her charm! Other than that – Winnie is your typical young puppy. She runs and plays with the best of them and is curious about everything! She’s met all the neighbor dogs and is eager to play off leash with them when her back finally heals. We haven’t gotten to see Winnie interact with any cats yet, but at her young age we feel she could easily be taught good manners with them. Winnie sleeps in her crate at night and when we're away and almost always goes right to sleep. She is ALWAYS ready to eat and will sit repeatedly in hopes that you’ll take notice and give her a reward for her "good behavior". She's doing well with her potty training, but it'll be awhile before she's fully house trained. So she'll need to go to a home where she's crated for no more than 4 hours at a time, at least until she's older. Winnie is loaded with personality and doesn’t show any of the shyness we've seen with some of our foster puppies. It's especially fun watching her explore her world. She likes men and women equally and isn't bothered by boisterous kids. We expect Winnie to be a great fit for almost any home. We will be collecting a spay deposit which will be refunded when she is spayed at 6 months of age.
Update 8/7/11 - Winnie Ann has made great improvements since arriving at her foster home. The swelling on her back is gone and her drains have been removed. The area is still a bit lumpy with scar tissue, but we expect that to improve over time. Now that her back wound is under control, we’ll schedule her orthopedic evaluation. Her leg is no worse than when she arrived and might actually be a bit better. But she’s grown taller in the last two weeks though, so it’s possible that it’s just an illusion. Winnie is doing much better with her potty training. As long as you take her out regularly and baby gate her into the room where her family is – she can’t sneak off to go potty in another room. And she’s beginning to go to the door to let us know she needs to go out. She enjoys spending a good deal of time outdoors – even by herself, but she enjoys her playtime just as much. Her favorite toys in the world are dirt, mulch, and sticks! One of the sweetest things about Winnie is that she loves taking naps with you. She snuggles in closely and then she doesn’t move an inch! And she sleeps just as well in the car. Winnie took a short vacation with us and traveled great. She loves meeting new people and looks downright sad if they won’t pet her and make a fuss over her. She does equally well with children and adults, though she is teething right now and occasionally gnaws on whatever is nearby – even if it’s your hand! Overall - Winnie is really one of the sweetest foster pups we’ve had in a long time!
Update 8/13/11 - Winnie continues to make great progress in her foster home. The only potty accidents she had this week were during the thunderstorms and who can blame her for not wanting to go outside in that?! She continues to meet all people and dogs eagerly - even if they don't seem very eager to meet her ;) She's also started clicker training this week and really seems to enjoy it. She had her orthopedic evaluation this week and the results were very surprising. Winnie has never showed us any of the usual signs of pain (other than what was related to her back wound), but her evaluation showed she has some pretty significant pain in both her shoulders - with the right one being worse. The Vet believes Winnie's feet sometimes appear rotated inwards because it's a more comfortable position for her shoulders. The exact source of the pain is undetermined at this point. It could be related to her back surgery, it could be the beginnings of a cartilage problem (OCD), or it could be a problem with the area where the biceps muscle attaches to the bone (that's the only part of her x-ray that looked "iffy"). Or it could be none of those things. For now - the vet has recommended 2wks of NSAIDS, 4 wks of restricted activity and re-evaluation afterwards. Until we find out if Winnie's condition is temporary or permanent we can't say for sure what the best home for her will be. If it's permanent - she may need a less active household with minimal stairs, non-slip flooring and more leash walks vs. wild off leash play. But we're hoping that the medication and rest do the trick for her!
Update 9/11/11 - Winnie's 4 weeks of restricted activity are over! She went back to the orthopedic vet and we're pleased to report she showed no signs of pain what-so-ever! The current plan is to slowly work Winnie back up to normal activity over the next two weeks. After the two weeks - we'll let her have one good play session with the neighbors dogs and then run her right back over to the orthopedic vet. If she's still pain free after that - she'll get the all clear and will be ready to be spayed and then adopted. Winnie is doing well in other ways too - no potty accidents and she's learned to use the doggie door. She lost all her puppy teeth and isn't nearly as mouthy as she used to be. She's met kids from toddlers to teenagers and has been great with all of them. She's met dogs of all shapes and sizes and she considers them all her best friends (even when they aren't really that friendly!). She hasn't gotten to meet anymore cats yet, but we're hoping to visit one over this next week. The only bad thing that's happened with Winnie over the last four weeks is that she appears to be developing a cherry eye. We'll have the vet evaluate that when she goes in for her spay.
Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League can only adopt within its incorporated area (eastern NY, eastern PA, NJ, DE, WV, MD, VA, NC, eastern SC). For more information on our adoption policies please visit our website: www.magdrl.org To adopt a Great Dane under 2 you must have traditional fencing (no electronic fences permitted).