Unadulterated and pure love: Great Dane

A dog is not only man’s best friend, but his number one fan,
his admirer, his adored companion, his confidante,
his buddy, his shadow, his mirror.

23 September 2006 Ray fetched his baby girl,
but we all loved her

We have had a few Great Danes
We were completely, and fully, owned by them
This little girl was born the day before Hubby’s birthday
His 50th Birthday Present
She was the most amazing girl in the world

Hayley was a Blue Dane
Her colour a gorgeous dark grey
she had blue eyes as a baby
they turned a greeny colour as she grew up

Hayley-Bayley was beautiful
inside and out
she believed her place was between us and everything else.
Visitors were amazed at how sweet she was when she knew you were welcome and “part of the family”.
But she was wonderfully protective too,
leaning against us to keep us from getting too close to people she didn’t know too well.

She loved to have her ears rubbed, and would groan in ecstasy.
She was obedient and gracious, a clown and overgrown puppy, regal and beautiful.
Dignified, except when it came to play-fighting over a ball or hose-pipe or stick in her mouth!
She loved to wrestle it with you.
She would ‘ask’ to lie on the couch with you, then simply sit on you till you gave in.
She pretended she was a lap-dog
and disdainfully ignored our laughs

She ran
Great, galumphing, glory-bounds of joy
She adored following hubby around the farm
Ears and tongue flying as she zoomed around
I think she thought she was a Cheetah!

She had a wonderful, dignified, gentleness
She adopted Marge as her own
who arrived as a little thing of about 3 months old
They adored one another

She was the largest of our dogs, and probably the alpha female of the pack.
But she was so good-natured that there were few scraps.
Usually Hayley played with the little dogs as though she was their size.
Trying to fit under the same barbed-wire fences, into the meerkat holes,
and under the implements to chase rats and things, but not quite making it!
She was so funny, and so gracious about being laughed at.
Her tail just wagged delightedly too.

 

She loved her food
Waiting patiently in a sit pose
until she was invited to eat
We gave her the very best in Dog Dining
The Vet assured us that she was perfectly healthy
despite her boniness

It was all the running

She slept in Matt’s room, on her own mattress and blanket,
but of course, only Matt’s double bed would really do!!!!!

Hayley and Matt were best friends and played endlessly together, great love and respect between them.
She adored him
and he took on her training and discipline.
She was so clever that she seemed to just instinctively understand what was asked of her.
Theirs was a soppy and abiding passion

Our beautiful girl died this morning, only 3 years old,
from a horribly virulent strain of biliary that has killed about 9 other dogs in our area.
Loving, gentle, sweet, funny, protector.
We will miss you so much Hayley baby.
Even that wicked tail, wagging so hard it was like a sjambok!
You brought so much love and joy to us.
We are heartbroken, and will miss you immensely.

Ray and Matt went to Potchefstroom to fetch her body from the vet hospital,
to be buried at home on the farm.
When they left it was, weather-wise, a beautiful day.
By the time they arrived home, we had torrential rain.
The first rains of the season.
We stood around the huge open grave in the orchard, tears pouring from our eyes,
washed away by those falling from the sky.
They almost couldn’t get her into her the ground,
because it was so soggy and slippery that everything all just collapsed into the hole.
It was such a hard thing to do, to say goodbye properly to our sweet girl.
She has been the hardest loss we’ve had.
She was an incredibly special dog, an adorable, loving girl.
We loved her very much. 

Hayley, you’ll always be in our hearts
precious Hayley-Baby

(Join us each week for the Photo Challenge posted at The Daily Post at WordPress.com)

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