The Story of BB the Great Dane

How could anyone not fall in love with those eyes? This is BB, a Great Dane puppy who began his life healthy and sound. Then at 3 weeks old, BB underwent surgery to repair the life threatening hernias. He stopped breathing 3 times. But his heart was strong, and never quit.

He survived his surgery, and everyone thought that exercise and time would straighten out his leg. So at 9 weeks old, BB came home with us and his brother, Kenai.

It didn’t straighten out. The injury that gave him the hernias also severely damaged the growth plates of his leg. So as he grew, the bones deformed. And Great Danes seriously grow: an inch a week and a pound a day during growth spurts.

At 16 weeks old, we took him to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He was in obvious pain, and could barely use the leg at all. Something had to be done.The vets there said it was the worst angular limb deformity they had ever seen in a puppy his age. Uh-oh.

BB has multiple deformities of the tibia, femur, and pelvis. He was x-rayed, CT scanned, and plastic models of his leg were made. All the while, his sweet temperment, and beautiful eyes won everyone’s heart. The students stayed after shift to play with him, and not a soul could walk by his crate without stopping to pet him.

Three surgeons are trying to come up with techniques that will straighten his leg. For now. Because his growth plates are the cause of the deformities, and he is a Great Dane puppy, every growth spurt will twist and bend the bones again. He is looking at surgery after surgery until he stops growing a year and half from now.

The sweet Beebster will spend his entire puppyhood in an ex-pen, not running, not playing with his brother Kenai, not getting to be a puppy. But his heart is still strong. When we take him outside to play, he lights up like a Christmas tree!

He is timid now, afraid of things a people alot. He feels vulnerable, unable to run away. Big Brother Kenai is his security blanket. Everything’s fine if big, muscular Kenai is there with him. But Kenai can’t always be there, so we have to work on socializing the little tot. BB is all about approach: happy, bright, and encouraging.

He was terrified of a rake, and I turned it into a game: rake moves and BB grabs the twigs it left behind. Then the rake is a fun thing. The same with trash bags. BB needs alot of positive training, lots of love and cuddling. If we stand over him like his mother would, and he can hear a heartbeat, feel a body next to him, he grows bolder.

So this blog is his story, from this day on. There are links on the blogroll to his brother’s blog, with baby pics and pics of the Brother’s Grin being littermates! There aren’t pages here, since BB’s brother’s blog has tons of info about Danes. But BB gets a blog too, a record of his trials and triumphs!

Careful, or he’ll win your heart too…