Growing up, one of my favorite movies was 101 Dalmatians (big surprise, huh?). My favorite scene was the Twilight Bark– I loved the big Great Dane and his little friend, running around him. Cartoon Great Danes were always so cute and sweet…and that’s where my fascination with the giant dog stopped. I admired and thought the breed was beautiful, but I never considered owning one myself. Some of my friends had collies, retrievers, labs, big breed mixes. I always thought it would be fun to roll around with them, but never actually did.

How my life has changed.

You see, Leo had always wanted a Great Dane. When we moved to VA, the breed was a lot more visible. I couldn’t deny that they were show stoppers. But their sheer size was imposing. I began to read up on the Great Dane breed, and the more I read the more I fell in love with the breed. But we never really seriously considered getting one until last summer. My sister, Ashley, was staying with us for a month, visiting. As luck would have it, she had a friend whose father ran the Great Dane Rescue in El Paso, TX and his wife was a registered Great Dane breeder. And they had a problem. Her friend had left his male Dane with his father for a month while he was out of town. His father owned two female Danes.

Ace was a busy boy. His month of love resulted in two litters, for a total of 23 puppies. Ashley’s friend had to move in with his dad to help with the pups. About midway through her stay, he phoned her and told her he was going crazy. 23 puppies is A LOT of dogs. Would her sister be interested in taking one?

This is one thing that I can say with absolute certainty is my sister’s fault. My mother agrees.

I had been able to get my dream dog; shouldn’t I make the same consideration for Leo? I always wondered what to get him on special occasions and this was perfect (it would also cover me for at least a year of presents). Operation adopt a Great Dane commenced.

It took me three months to arrange everything. She finally arrived on September 23, 2013. When her crate finally appeared at the airport, she was calm, sitting and looking at me with chocolate brown eyes that made me melt. Unfortunately, that lasted until I got her into the car. I would’ve taken her out immediately…if it weren’t for the poop. DEAR GOD HELP ME was the first thought that came to my mind. I’m used to the poop of a 16 pound dog. This was a whole different ballpark.

When I finally was able to clean her up, I had learned some valuable insights on the reality of owning a Great Dane puppy:

1. They are scared of EVERYTHING

2. She was quite capable of jumping out of my Jetta’s window

3. She was not a fan of the leash

4. She was SQUIRMY

But Thor immediately fell in love. She weighed 33 pound and was all floppy ears and paws. Her coat was a golden brindle, with her marks resembling tiger stripes.

Tiberious was mostly indifferent. Willow hated her (which was expected). She asserted her dominance fairly quickly– Darla was terrified. Actually, Darla is STILL terrified of Willow. It’s actually hilarious to watch any dog submit to a cat, but when it’s a dog the size of Darla, it’s mind blowing.

It doesn’t matter how much you study and read up on breeds when you are considering what type of dog you want. Darla was a terror. She refused to stay in her crate. She chewed EVERYTHING. Thor was never a chewer, so this was new. She delighted in chewing up cables, books, DVD boxes, etc. She consistently tried to get into the cat litter to search for cat poop. In order to prevent that, Leo improvised a new litter box: we  bought big container box at WalMart and cut a hole on the lid. Bigger, roomier and much better for both cats and absolutely dog proof.

That was the only thing we successfully Darla-proofed. Because she started to GROW.

Here’s a tip for you: never leave a Dane puppy alone. Ever. You will return to find a demolition zone in your home. I cannot tell you how many times I would rush home after work, knowing Leo had already been gone 3 hours, to find chaos. I am not ashamed to say I cried. More than a few times.

There is a reason you don’t see many Great Dane puppies. Imagine an energetic, frolicking puppy— you got it?– now imagine that same amount of energy in a dog that is growing at an astonishing rate. Coordination was not her strong suit. I can’t blame her; everyday there was more of her to consider and just as she would get some semblance of balance or learned to maneuver around, she would hit another growth spurt and we would be back at square one. But one thing that we were extremely diligent about was socialization. At 4 months, dog park visits began. Leash training was also imperative. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if she decided to take off after a squirrel with me on the other end of the leash.

Did I mention the eating? Pre-Dane, Thor would go through a bag of food in a month and a half. Post-Darla…she goes through a big bag of her food in two weeks. Eight cups of food a day. Oh, and it took a while to adjust to a dog that can swipe my dinner from the counter. Or the table. She’s not picky. Just a month ago I bought chicken for dinner, and put it far back on the stove. Twice, I left the room and came back to find my food untouched.

I shouldn’t have pushed my luck. I found Darla and Thor enjoying what was left of my chicken.

One thing we did find out was that though they make great apartment dogs because of their low maintenance style, not many apartment complexes accept Great Danes. Finding a new place to live has been mighty interesting…but that’s another story.

Until then, I must deal with the everyday joys of owning a Great Dane, including the continued fight over the majority of the bed, her flatulence (and it is EXTREME), her whip like tail…but also the very real joys of her incredibly sweet temperament, her addiction to cuddles, her leaning into me to show me affection and her eagerness to love. I could never imagine our family without her now…even though full grown she will probably weigh 145 pounds.

But, as they say, it’ll be more of her to love.