Thor
Hi, my name is Thor! Maybe you remember me, I was surrendered by no fault of anyone's, then I travelled a little ways to meet my foster mom & fur brother! I was a little uneasy, but everyone seemed really nice. I heard my new mom talking to some people telling them that she likes to foster dogs. Ha! Little did she know that I was bound & determined to make her fall in love with me. I had to be on my best behavior, but I wasn’t exactly sure what that should be.
I met my brother Rocco I sniffed him up & down. Yup, he would be a great cuddle bug. He was big like me! He was very unsure of me. I tried to get him to play, nope. I tried to take his blanket, nope. I tried to sneak his treats even. Wow, did he get mad at me & barked right in my face! Ahhh, ok, there’s rules in this house, & I need to follow them! After about 3 weeks, I finally learned what I could & couldn’t do with my fur brother (with the guidance from my new mom, she sure likes to tell me no & was constantly redirecting me!)
Thank goodness they were patient with me, I think I finally got the house rules down pat! Now, I love to curl up & sleep side by side with my fur brother & we both love truck rides to the farm to run around like crazy! I could run for miles!! There’s sooo many birds to chase there!
Now for the humans. How do you grab a human’s attention? Well, hugging of course! I hugged all the important people in my new home & gave them my best puppy eyes! Bingo! They immediately fell in love with me. But I was still a bit untrusting. I was so scared they were going to take my toys away from me. I would growl a little bit. My mom would try & trade me toys. Ahh ok! This was alright. That I could do, I think! Trades! I’m still working on that, though it might take me some time to really get the hang of trading toys.
After a few weeks, I stole everyone’s (& blankets too!). I heard my mom say “I think this is a foster fail”! Wait..WHAAT? Fail!? I failed?!! No!! That couldn’t be. I had a long chat with my mom & she explained that foster fail is just another name for “forever home”! I did it!! WE did it! We are now one big happy family!
-Thor's Mom
Mr Carson
This story was sent to us from alumni Mr. Carson's forever family:
"My family and I want to share our thanks to For the Love of Danes. In 2014 I had been on a waiting list for a Dane puppy from Jonnie Danes on Vancouver Island, but when the litter arrived, it was just a couple of puppies, and so the expected arrival of a new family member was delayed. I was heartbroken... not just because I had to wait, but even more so because earlier in the year my eldest sister had passed away. One of her requests while she was in hospital was for me to bring in a video of the "Downton Abbey" Christmas Special - she had been a big fan and missed it because she had to go into hospital. I had never seen it, and when I watched it, I was hooked and ended up watching the whole series. In October, I got an email from Jordan of Jonnie Danes, who was also involved with For the Love of Danes. She told me about a puppy that had come in and had been placed with two fosters that didn't work out. In one home, shortly after he arrived, one of the parents found out she was pregnant - and reasonable felt it would be too much, and that this puppy deserved more attention than she could give. In the second, the foster parents also had an elderly Dane that had shown some aggression to the newcomer, and they felt that it was unfair to both to keep him. Jordan asked if I was interested in meeting him. I wasn't sure... but I said I'd meet him. Well, as the saying goes, it was love at first sight. When I saw him, I thought... look at that, he's wearing a tuxedo and gloves... like a butler; and I thought of my sister and Mr. Carson, the butler from Downton Abbey. We brought him home on October 5, 2014. Mr. Carson grew up with us and was my best friend for the rest of his days. I said goodbye to him last Wednesday, February 5, 2024, after 9 years and 7 months.
They say a year with a Dane is better than 20 with any other dog, and I have to agree... and I got nearly 10."
We are so thankful that Mr. Carson was given the opportunity to have a full and happy life with this amazing family.
Darcy
Darcy was rescued when she was 3 years old. When she was adopted by her forever family, she joined her siblings, 6 month old Dane puppy and 2 Yorkie crosses. At first she was nervous around people but has since blossomed into a confident big girl. Darcy lives on a farm, she has acres and acres of land to run on. She is a very patient girl, Sophie her sister, loves to be all over her.
Now at 9 years young, Darcy is as beautiful now as she was then. A year ago, her family discovered that she had a few lumps on her side, legs, and one on her hind toe. The lumps were confirmed to be cancerous, however the family's vet did an amazing job of removing the lumps, but did have to remove the toe. Thank goodness she likes to be a couch dog, for 6 weeks she had to limit her mobility so she could heal. Her family is happy to report that she is fully recovered! She is such a majestic girl, who is loved and she loves her family back.
Her family said..
"We are very fortunate to have her in our lives."
We are so happy to hear that Darcy found such a loving home and has healed up after her surgery!
Whisper
This story comes to us from Whisper's family...
"Four years ago I applied to adopt a Dane from the website but was told that dog was unavailable. However, I was informed a deaf and visually impaired dog was available and would I be interested? “Of course” I said, and so the love story began.
A kind volunteer offered to transport Whisper from Edmonton to Vancouver where I was to meet him for the final journey to Victoria. After two days in transit the volunteer asked if I could meet him in Kelowna because Whisper was upstaging his girlfriend on her ‘birthday’ trip.
Off I went to Kelowna with my oldest son to get Whisper. He came with bandages on his foot (from compulsive licking) and a full course of antibiotics for the infection. My son doesn’t live with me but Whisper never forgot him for being there and for the appreciation of getting a forever home. He always had a special greeting for my son whenever he would stop by our house.
Not even a day went by where Whisper did not show unconditional love and thankfulness for his new life. He knew what he had and never let us forget it.
Whispers high anxiety and compulsive behaviour was always a challenge. I don’t think he went three days in a row without some form of bandage on one of his feet or legs to prevent infection. His eyesight was very poor but somehow he could spot the shape of another dog from a block away…and the posturing was on.
Every time we left the house someone would comment on how handsome he was. He literally would not let me out of his sight…..he was the perfect companion for a bagpiper…he would just lay at my feet in bliss… not hearing a single off note from the pipes.
He was my constant companion in my truck throughout the day and I could let him run free in a fenced field on our farm without fear of him getting into trouble. He would run giant circles around me with his ears flapping in the wind. For a deaf guy who likely had seldom been able to run free it must have been quite a feeling.
Whisper developed a degenerative spinal condition and within two weeks was unable to walk on his own. He was trying to follow me around the house but kept falling. It was just before Christmas that we said goodbye. He’s resting in a special place at our farm and I have a bench next to him where I can sit and remember.
Thank you to all involved who brought Whisper into our lives."
-Tom
Whisper went through more than any Dane should, but the saying "Everything happens for a reason" is what brought Whisper to his forever family, where he was able to live out the life he deserved all along. We are so sorry for Whisper's family to have to say goodbye, but very thankful we were able to help give them the time together that they had.
Arthur
This adoption story comes from Arthur's new family
"In April of 2023, I saw Arthur on the For The Love Of Danes page, but when I contacted them he already had a pending adoption. Two weeks later my mastiff died, and that same day the rescue contacted me to say his adoption fell through, so he was mine if I wanted him. I knew it was meant to be and adopted him as soon as I could. Arthur came with a heart and personality bigger than his 140lbs body, and he fit right in with my family. My nieces and nephews adore him, he makes friends with everyone he meets, human or dog, and he has helped to heal my broken heart after losing my mastiff. I’m grateful to FTLOD and the wonderful foster family who cared for Arthur while the world brought him into my life. He sleeps in my bed every night, has 2 doggy siblings he adores (and thinks he’s the same size as), gets spoiled with all of the treats and love, all while bringing smiles to everyone he meets We have made tons of lasting memories and our adventures have only just begun."
- Wynny
Losing a furry family member is a pain of its own, but the universe has a way of making things work out the way it was meant to. Arthur ended up exactly where he was supposed to be and when he was supposed to be there. Together he and his forever family helped heal each other
Colt
" Hey! My name is Colt. Known at the rescue as Spice. I just wanted to update everyone on how I am doing in my new home.
When my humans came to meet me, I also got to meet my big sister Rhea, who is also a dane like me. I think we hit it off right then and there. It took Rhea and I a few days to start playing with each other. But now we can’t stop! We are always playing. Never outside always inside.
When I got to my new home, I was introduced to two kitties. They did not like me so much. I was interested in getting to know them and playing with them. But they weren’t. Now, after a few months of getting to know each other, the kitties and I get along great. I still think I can chase them when they are running around.
My human boys are so great. They were just as surprised to see me as I was to see them when we met for the first time. I like to lean on them and push them over. If they didn’t pet and scratch me as good as they do, I wouldn’t push them.The boys love to cuddle with me, and I love the cuddles. The oldest wants me to sleep with him at night all the time, but I’m not sure about that yet. I’ve gotten so used to sleeping with Rhea and my human parents. Speaking of my human parents… I think they are great. They both have been taking the time to get to know my personality and my triggers. I have learned a lot in the
5 months of being with them. I share my toys now. As I didn’t like when others played with my toys before. I am so food motivated that
I will do ANYTHING you say for one of those yummy snacks. But once the treats are gone, I don’t know what you're talking about. I couldn’t be more happy to be with this amazing family. Thank you For the Love of Danes Rescue for allowing my new family to adopt me."
- Colt's Furever Family
We LOVE hearing a success story, and couldn't be happier that Colt is thriving in his new home with so many new family members! Knowing that he is living his best life getting all the scratches good boys deserve, is why we do what we do.
Your Story
Do you have a success story from our rescue that you would like to share? We would LOVE to hear it.