Isis (2/7/2001 - 11/11/2004)
Isis was a very special girl. I had always wanted a Great Dane, and she was my first. My husband, Gary, knew that once we stopped renting and bought a house of our own that I would have a Great Dane...and we did within weeks of moving into our house. Unfortunately Isis was sick from almost the first day she came into our house.
Isis was very sweet...to those she knew and trusted. If she didn't know and trust you, often she would decide to bark at you...and being barked at by a Dane can be quite formidable. She was quite the challenge as a puppy. She had a very strong personality and like to try and push Gary and I around. Luckily we knew enough not to let her get away it and with lots of training she turned into a fairly well behaved girl. One of the problems that Isis never got over was separation anxiety. She didn't have any problems being left in the house, but any time we were out of the house she did not want to leave my side. Gary couldn't even walk her away from me on a leash. Most of the time this wasn't a problem, unless we were at the vet. Isis's vets learned to do everything with her in my presence, including sedating her and waking her up after sedation.
Isis had some silly quirks. She loved to stick her nose in the water bowl and blow bubbles. She would also climb into a tub of water and splash. I remember once when she was a puppy she came running up the steps and into the bathroom while I was taking a bath. Before I could stop her, she was in the tub with me and was picking her foot up as high as she could and smacking it on the water to make it splash. Isis would greet you by standing on the couch and nibbling on your nose. Most of the time that wasn't a problem...unless she was too excited and then it could hurt! She was also a very agile Dane. I looked into agility training for her when she was a young pup, before she was really sick. Unfortunately most of the trainers in the area laughed at me when I told them I was interested in training a Dane for agility. One of the strangest things about her was that she was scared of burnt smells. If anything smelled even slightly burnt, she would make noises that sounded like she was screaming, and would literally climb the walls trying to get away from the smell.
As mentioned, Isis was quite sick almost from the day she set foot in our house. Maybe it was a sign that the day we picked her up I had the stomach flu. Her medical problems ran from digestive problems, demodex, allergies, and severe auto-immune problems, including Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy (SLO). Many of her problems, including the SLO, were not diagnosed until we took Isis to the University of Pennsylvania. For anyone that is having problems with their pet and is having problems getting a good diagnosis, I would recommend them. We had some great veterinarians that we dealt with. Isis's entire medical history is outlined in her medical history page.
It was quite the surprise when we lost Isis, though I always suspected that she would have a short life. We rushed her to the emergency vet because it was obvious she was in pain. They took x-rays and said that something wasn't right with her intestines and she needed surgery. When they opened her up, over 75% of her intestines had torsioned and there was nothing they could do to save her. While bloat and/or torsion of the stomach and/or spleen (Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus) is quite common in Great Dane's, it is rare to hear of an intestinal torsion.
Photo Album : Medical History
