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Since January, 2004, Merlot has enjoyed Hit Counter visitors

          

 

This page was created on January 17, 2004
and was last updated on May 18, 2009

 

 
   
Beautiful Merlot at 5-1/2

I'd have thought that with time
Thoughts of her would leave my head
I was wrong, and I find
Just one thing makes me forget.... Red, Red Wine
<UB40,1983>
 

Beautiful Merlot age 2-1/2Merlot! She was born on September 6, 2001.  She was purchased by sweethearts who later parted.  The man married someone else and Merlot went to live with them. The new wife hated her and said she was vicious, so the man turned her in at an animal shelter.  On the day before she was scheduled for euthanasia, Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League (MAGDRL) rescued Merlot.

I fell in love with Merlot from the moment I first met her in her MAGDRL foster home in December, 2003 . She was the sweetest Dane girl I'd ever met, but there Merlot and twin girls, June 2004were two approved adopters in line ahead of me.

A month later, the two adopters passed on her because she walked with a limp. And on January 9, 2004, this sweet girl with the "Flying Nun" ears joined our family .  

We were told she had hip dysplasia, but Dr. Steven Wolchinsky at Rocky Gorge Vet diagnosed a torn cruciate ligament.  Merlot had corrective TPLO surgery on April 20. 2004, and over the next 12 weeks she slowly recuperated. By July, 2004 she had healed completely. 

Today Merlot is a cheerful, sweet girl who never met a living thing that she didn't love! And every weekend she works at MAGDRL events to help other orphans in need.
See Merlot with Uncle Fran in her foster home.
Merlot with big brother Jupiter, age 3-1/2, at her first MAGDRL Meet & Greet in Alexandria, Va.
Merlot attended a MAGDRL Meet & Greet in Catonsville on January 17, 2004
She was out the next weekend at PetSmart in Silver Spring, MD on January 24. 2004
Merlot made her MAGDRL housecheck debut on February 8, 2004. Our applicants got to see where Danes really prefer to lounge!
In late February, our girl is still hanging out at Meet & Greets with her brother Jupiter, and she LUVs it!!!
Turn-about is fair play! At our April 10, 2004 MAGDRL Meet & Greet in Catonsville, MD. Jupiter turned the tables on Merlot! And they call it Puppy Love...
Merlot and the bunny

  Merlot wishes everyone Happy Holidays 2004!
See Merlot a year after we adopted her -- healthy, happy, and gorgeous!
She was at a National Geographic photo shoot on April 17, 2005.
 Merlot welcomed her new little sister Savannah on May 13, 2006.
Merlot bloated on July 24, 2006.  Read about this awful experience here.
....then go to the Lapro-Pexy page to read about the surgery that prevents bloat's deadly torsion.
Post-bloat Merlot with Savannah, & Jupiter
This is Merlot on August 19, 2006 a month after she bloated. Savannah and Jupiter are with her.

Merlot and friends wish you a Happy HoliDanes 2006!
Merlot attended MAGDRL events every month until September 2006 when she retired due to the onset of degenerative myelopathy.  Although her mobility is declining, she is not in pain. We are researching solutions and hope to have her with us for many more years.  
The girlie had her first acupuncture session at Veterinary Holistic Care on May 2, 2008.


 Despite her disability, you can see current photos of Merlot and her roommates in the "3-Pack" photo series.