YAY! YAY! YAY! I can't remember if I posted about it but about the middle of this last flare up I was so fricking depressed because the application I had spent almost 2 years completing was rejected for a new service dog. Apparently, the organization changed their rules mid application and they are only helping returning combat veterans now. I was devastated. Some of you knew because I email you personally. But I think was just too disappointed to post publicly.
Anyway, I started searching for alternatives this week... and the answer has come! Yeehaw! I'm going to pay for one. It's not easy for someone like me on ultra thin income level but after wasting all that time only to come up with no service dog replacement and my own current dog getting less and less capable after all her long years of service poor boo... I decided to just do it. Plus this eliminates the years of waiting. I will get the new dog in 2-3 months.
She's a big girl which is good with my mobility issues worsening and my own size not being particularly petite. She's a Great Dane mix and is adorable. I only have puppy photos but I'm told she already weighs about 85 lbs and is still growing. So think BIG names... lovely girl names though and remember I have to yell it with brain fog so think 1-2 syllables and easy to say LOL.
(http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/ggaea/family%20friends%20and%20pet%20kids/image1.jpg)
Just look at those ears! And if anyone has any fundraising suggestions feel free to private message them to me. I have a friend who says he's going to help me put up a fundraising video on a website but I only have two months to come up with the costs and the travel expenses. I'm looking for someone to travel with me too among my local friends because I don't go across town if I can help it and Florida is several states away. But if I have to drive from one telephone pole to the next until I get there I will make this work. It's too important.
So far the names running in the finals are: Angel (because what is a service dog if it isn't a guardian angel with hair? lol), Lili, Daisy, Sheba (although some weird person yelled at me for that being a racist name? what? I don't see how... she was a queen right? anyway... don't want to be thought of as a racist. heck if I didn't get the racism I guess I'm not one right?), and Chloe.
Also all your good vibes please for this epic journey for a little hobbit who doesn't leave their shire on purpose. LOL GG
I like Chloe.. I also like Bella, Baylee, Cassie, Josie or Libby.. ;D
Blessing Countess?
Quote from: Iris on December 13, 2012, 08:14:05 PM
I like Chloe.. I also like Bella, Baylee, Cassie, Josie or Libby.. ;D
So far I like Chloe best too... but now a friend has added Sadie as well. I always thought of sadie as a brown dog though don't know why? LOL GG
What is her current name?
I have this 5,001 pet name book - I've scoured it many times to name our cats. Here's some girl names I have on a sticky note on the front of the book: Sandy, Emily, Annie, Ashley, Brandi, Ellie and Gabby.
Bucky
Congratulations! One thing you can do to raise money is go to the service clubs and ask for donations. See if you can give a short talk, and find out what they may have in their charitable giving funds.
You can also have a dog-themed "retirement party" fundraiser. Put a sign around your dog's neck, maybe a tin cup and a pencil beside her/him, or (just take a picture), and have a spaghetti dinner, or taco dinner, pancake breakfast. or something. If you go to a church they might help, and I would certainly contact your local newspaper and see if you can get coverage there and on TV.
Some organizations to approach are:
Kiwanis, Optimists, Rotary, Sertoma (especially if you also have hearing loss issues and the dog will help there),
The wildlife: Lions, Eagles, Elks, Moose
Fraternal organizations: Masons, Knights of Columbus
Veteran's organizations
If you want more ideas, let me know.
Ashewoman,
Here's some additiional dog names for your consideration, but you've already got some great ones lined up. I wish you the best in your journey together.
Hailley
Jewel
Zelda
Zoe
Whisper
Willow
Velvet
Pearl
Topaz
Oreo
Tilly
Tess
Sophie
Socks
Missie
Minnie
Fern
Sissy
Sephra
Lilly
Hugs,
Daisy
From her picture, she looks like a Trixie!!!
Good names! I like Chloe. And I like having a good consonant sound at the beginning of the name. That way, when people are around, I can just whisper the first sound and get my dog's attention.
Great Danes are wonderful dogs. I have some friends with two autistic sons and their Great Danes have been special companions to their sons. They provided contact in a way that humans couldn't. And your little pup looks very sweet and intelligent.
I ALREADY VOTED ON A NAME..."LOIS"! ;D
My great dane mix is "Callie"
So happy for you!
I say LOLA. My cousin has a dog named Chloe and she is small and furry. You have lots of choices here. Good luck.
This is totally on hold. All my local friends thought the dog looked like a pitbull rather than a great dane. Now I can't recognize peoples faces from the head injury so apparently another side effect from that is being unable to identify dogs by breed. But NC has regulations preventing the use of "violent breeds" from being service dogs. So as a friend pointed out to me, "it doesn't matter if it is or isn't a pitbull, what matters is that most people automatically think it is when they first see it." So I had to call the trainer and try to make a substitution. We had a more expensive option that was a Standard Poodle that I had already passed on. I liked to refer to it as the Poodle with the mohawk... anyway... that dog was a little too rock star for my budget and it was withdrawn by the breeder when we didn't make it our first choice. So now everything is backed up. I'm so disappointed. The trainer is looking at shelter dogs for their train-ability. That means the dog will be much less expensive but the training period will be much longer since these dogs haven't started training. <sniffle> So I thank you all for your name suggestions but I am delayed and this dog will not be mine. :( GG
I love dogs. She is quite charming. 'Charm' is a lovely name. Whatever you call her, Im sure she will be a blessing to you. :)
Okay to assuage my friends fears, the trainer is sending more current photos of the great dane who she thinks doesn't look like a pitbull as it has grown. She's also screening a labrador with previous training today. We shall see which one pulls ahead. I'm just glad she is willing to do what it takes to speed up the process. She said she does that for everyone because having a long wait for a service dog is not in anyone's best interest. So.... I'll post more photos as I get them and then I have to decide. GG
So sorry. She looks like a great Dane pitbull possible mix. The right dog will be out there. A mixed breed shelter dog will be perfect.
She does have the pittie face in that picture.. I like pit bulls though.. We had one when my kids were younger.. No matter where the kids went he stayed right with them until they came home..
I hope you are able to get one of them..
My Dad raises Pitbulls as show dogs so i see them a lot and I don't think the pic you posted looks like a pit! It does look like a sweet loveable dog though :) Great Danes are so smart and make great service dogs. I hope it works out for you to get one! We have several here that are therapy dogs at our local hospital. They bring a lot of needed joy to patients which helps them in recovery.
I pray you are able to get the right dog for you and what you need. My dogs aren't service dogs but they sure help me by bringing me comfort and helping my feel better. Dogs are true blessings! :)
Thats a shame, even if she is mixed with APBT so what they are great dogs. I have had several and would love to have another if these stupid breed bans were not in effect. The problem isnt the dogs..its always the owners. I like the way the press likes to say the dog was a loving family member and turned all of a sudden...then you look into the background and see a meth lab in the garage lol
Yeah most of these dog attacks happen because the owners are to blame. Dont ban the breed ban the owners from having dogs.
I like Callie too!
XOXO
Ldy
Bella
I like Chloe and Bella, Maggie and Rosie. We got a Christmas card this year and one of the dogs was named Liliput. I thought that was cute. Sophie, is also a favorite of mine.
I just did a google search and found these two items:
How To Name Your Guide Dog Puppy, apparently there are rules for naming your dog:
http://puppyintraining.com/how-to-name-your-guide-dog-puppy/
List of Puppy Names:
http://puppyintraining.com/resources/puppy-names/
Okay... I'm almost afraid to share in case it jinxes me. The white dog has been withdrawn by the owner from the mix so I don't even have adult photos of her to show you guys for more opinions. WHat I do have is a dog that is one state closer to me and interestingly enough a pure breed German Sheppard. Now I want those of you who know and love pitbulls not to feel like I was making judgement about them. I swear I wasn't. However, in a perfect world no one would. But we don't live in walgreens or their commercial. We live in a world were many people are afraid of pitbulls whether that is right or wrong. So this is Lexy who will also be getting a new name. So far I'm really liking Gaby but Lola is still in the running. That wasd my grandmother's name which is strangely comforting and makes me think of my grandfather singing "lola she was a show girl... a yellow ribbon in her hair and her dress cut down to there..." to my very modest and blushing granny. Always good for a laugh.
(http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z452/ggaea/family%20friends%20and%20pet%20kids/image5.jpg)
So what do you guys think?
pretty doggie, if you find Lola comforting then I think you have probably found her name.
XOXO
Ldy
She is gorgeous! I just love German Sheppards... so bright and excellent companions.
I had a moment of inspiration last night mostly out of the panic of realizing another flare up is coming on less than a week after the last one departed. So I ran to wally world in the middle of the night knowing I wouldn't make it back there any time soon and purchased 10 rolls of ribbon from the bargain barrel. You know those "save the tatas" or "support our troops" ribbons... well I'm going to write "service dogs rock!" on each ribbon loop and pin them on people who donate. Now if I can only find some friends willing to help me do the face to face work because asking people is really going to frickin mess with my PTSD. LOL But at the very least I want to hit up places Molly and I routinely go. The grocery store, the insurance office, maybe even the little tavern down the street from me even though I almost never go, that's the only one I go to and they know us. With any luck if I get a dollar each I'll have 350 dollars before I have to go by more stick pins. LOL GG
You know I think I actually like the name Lexi after I've gotten used to it. Sometimes a name is all about the excitement you feel when you think of the person or pet who has it and how your heart kind of skips a beat. Once I heard her name 50 times its sort of stuck with her now. But Lexi isn't a bad name I guess I just wanted to name her so I could claim her as my own. Anyway, I imagine three more months of calling her lexi and it'll be 2nd nature and no going back. But I thank you for all your suggestions. And they were good ones. GG
when great danes are fully grown, there is no way someone would mistake it for a pitbull, or any other dog for that matter. You might want to reconsider.
Marmaduke comes to mind, or Scooby Doo
One thing that is weird about this process is that the slightest hesitation on any dog offered usually results in the breeder being "insulted" and withdrawing the dog. Several that happened with. WHich I find funny because they don't offer their top pup of course. They offer the one that didn't sell or got returned. HA HA! And then because someone else is willing to train it for free and make it a service dog they act like you are getting the full value of the ones they did sell at a discount. Very touchy people in my limited experience... but two dogs were with drawn immediately out of three because I "asked questions". Sorry I got tossed out of elementary class, kindergarten class, sunday school class, jr. high, high school, and college all at some point for asking questions. I bet my PCP and my specialist would love to toss me out but thank goodness there is a patient advocate who advocates for me when I ask questions. I don't think this particular personality trait is going to vanish since it hasn't in 40+ years. And I don't mean to imply anything by it... I'm someone who likes to understand what I'm getting into and why whatever is happening is happening and what is going to come next? It's not possible for me to accept blindly. And I am sort of visually impaired so I have to ask. LOL I think Lexi's owners are the type who get that and understand. They didn't mind at all and were extremely transparent. She also got sent back but they didn't mind explaining exactly why that happened and why they thought that made her a great fit for me. Contrary to what some people think dog matches are kind of like soul mates not a proposition of "oh we have a dog we don't need and you need one so take ours" kind of thing. LOL I would have been much more comfortable if I could have met her in person but distance was two great. What I learned by asking all those questions is that she is a very compassionate animal who was able to serve autistic twin children (WOW! Can you imagine?) a teen boy who progressed until he could no longer hold her leash and needed a lap dog for a service dog so it could ride in his wheel chair with him (WOW! Again) We aren't there yet but I may be hobbling very soon and this is obviously a very big very maternal very gentle dog. I bought a cane this week ladies. But I'm bruised from falling all the time. GG
I love that LOLA was my pick. I know you can change your mind, but that is just so cute without being too cutesy. Lucy