The Connelly Menagerie

Past and Present

An integral part of our household are our animals.   We have 2 dogs, 0 cats, and 2 horses.  Our hedgehog moved out with my daughter and has since developed cancer and died.  Our two cats have died and we are shopping for another.  We are a little worried one of the foxes might carry off a kitten.    The dogs are all Great Danes - Duke, and Spice. They weigh from 110 to 150 lbs.  Five of our previous Danes are dead - Bigfoot, Oscar,  Einstein , Regan, and Sugar.   Oscar was a black, Einstein  a harlequin and Regan a fawn.   Charlie is a beautiful large male harlequin who moved out with my oldest daughter.  Sugar and Spice were fawn females from the same litter.  Spice is 4 year old.  Sugar recently had spinal cord damage and lost control of her rear legs and had to be put down.     From the picture you can see Regan enjoyed her naps. The horses are a pony named Bessie and a quarterhorse, Princess. Our cats were Silver and Raccoon. They were ferocious hunters who kept  our burgeoning rodent population in check. 

Moses  was a beautiful, loyal Doberman Pinscher.  Dobies are a much maligned breed.  They are pictured in movies as vicious, lethal dogs.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  They make wonderful pets as they are great around children.  Moses never growled or snapped at anyone or anything.  We got him in Spring of 1983 from Shirley's sister after he failed the K9 training course for a Police Department.  He was just too nice for the job.  

Reagan was one of the sweetest animals I have ever known. She could never get enough hugs. She was 6 yrs old when she died.  Her muzzle has a lot of white in this later picture. Her body was constructed like a tank. We called her our "Wood Nymph" because she loved to nose around in the woods and explore. She was the queen bee and ruled the roost. She used to get upset if she thought people or Oscar, Einstein or Charlie were fighting. Our property was her territory. Her favorite activity was licking your face and nibbling your chin. 

Oscar was Shirley's dog. He followed her everywhere. If she left the room he followed. He always wanted to go bye-bye. He liked to sit on the couch like a person. He had one bad habit. If food was left unattended, it would disappear. His muzzle was originally coal black.   He finally died at 10 yrs.   He was not aggressive and was totally trustworthy around adults, children, and babies.

Einstein was a funloving harlequin male.  He was tall and rangy and never gained much weight.  He periodically had GI Tract problems and eventually died of bloat.  Einey was a good dog and the smartest male we ever owned.  He could use his lips to remove pins we placed in the kennel gates to keep the dogs from opening them and setting themselves loose.  This was a truly impressive task - something even none of the girls have been able to do. 

Charlie, as a pup,  found a playmate in Oscar. Oscar kept him entertained for hours. The avi movie (500 kb) is the two of them at play. Charlie many times bit too hard and Oscar got more exercise than he needed. Shirley  trained Oscar and Reagan well. Charlie is also fairly well trained.   Charlie developed Addison's disease and needs daily medication.  He is a fearful dog and does not like strangers - particularly males.  Around us, he is a sweety.   He is our last and only animal to be exempt from an invisible fence collar.    Reagan died of lymphoma ( a type of cancer ).   Oscar essentially died of old age.

Sugar and Spice were two fawn bitchs from the same litter (sisters).   They had a rough and tumble relationship such that I thought they were going to accidently kill each other.  They are also firmly bonded to one another.  Getting two puppies at the same time seemed like a good idea but I think it created more than twice the work.  However, they were worth it.  Sugar gradually lost muscular control of her hindquarters from a degenerative condition of her spine and eventually we put her down.  It was very sad.  Sugar loved mothering stuffed animals and never tore them up.

Silver developed a sarcoma of his neck which eventually killed him.  Raccoon was killed by a lymphoma.  It seems many of our animals develop cancer.

Photo Album

The Great Dane Home Page

This is a very comprehensive resource on Great Danes.

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