VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to Help Great Danes

Recently, Above and Beyond Great Dane Rescue (AABGDR) was lucky to meet a good Samaritan here in Maine. She had recently visited a kennel in Greene, Maine because she was told that a Great Dane puppy needed medical attention. She wasn't sure what she was walking into, but it was clear that these dogs needed help. She found kennel after kennel stacked up onto each other and dogs so weak they couldn't stand.

The good Samaritan walked away with an extremely emaciated Weimeraner that weighed 30lbs and a Great Dane puppy that the owner handed over. She saved the lives of two dogs that day. She learned the state had been there earlier that day and seized most of the kennel's dogs. They were emaciated and almost all of the dogs had giardia and demodex, a very painful and uncomfortable skin condition. The kennel advertises on the Internet that they breed at least 10 different kinds of dogs.

A large number of the dogs are Great Dane puppies under the age of 7 months. They know little of human contact or life outside of a kennel. Their legs are temporarily deformed because they have lived their lives either on a cement slab or inside of a crate and were never fed properly. AABGDR is working with the state of Maine to find medical foster homes for the dogs that are too sick to be placed into permanent homes, and to find permanent homes for those dogs that are healthy enough. The dogs will require physical therapy, a high quality diet, slow introduction to social environments, daily medications and weekly bathing.

If you are interested in volunteering to help AABGDR by performing a home visit, do telephone interviews, transport, or foster, please contact Above and Beyond Great Dane Rescue www.aabgdr.org. All applicants will be required to fill out an application, have a veterinarian reference check and a home visit.

High quality dog food is always needed as well as crates and donations to help defer the cost of veterinary care for these dogs.