I ran across this video on another site earlier today. While I watched it I was reminded of my own Great Dane, Duke. Duke has been gone for 25 years now, but I could still smell him and feel his coat in my fingers while I watched the video. Duke was a barbarian, even for a Dane, but like most Great Danes he was actually very gentle.
There is an apocryphal story in my family about my elderly Grandmother and the dog. She was sitting in a chair in our family room and started to put a piece of chewing gum in her mouth. She placed it between her lips and lowered her hand to her lap. Before she could pull the rest of the piece into her mouth, Duke walked up, snatched it from her lips and walked away with is prize, never even touching her. The look on her face was priceless. He was that gentle.
I’ll never have a Great Dane again. They wreck your house and their bark is like thunder. But they are some of the sweetest, most gentle, docile dogs in the world. Just don’t mess with their people. That could prove fatal.
