Finding a Great Dane in Hawaii is not easy. They’re just not that popular here. The ethnic population here seems to have a greater desire for rats on a leash.
Regardles, I decide 11 years and a month ago to make a dream of mine come thru and get me a Great Dane
After about a week of searching the classifieds I came upon an ad for a male Dane. I called the lady and asked if he was still available and she said for 750.00 I could have him. I wasted no time.
I arrived at the sellers house only to find out that the male was a brindle ( brown and black zebra type) It was my fault for not asking before I left what it looked like. I told the lady I had my hopes set on a fawn (all beige with black muzzle). I got lucky, she said she had a female like that but she was kinda shy and wont come out from under the house. I was welcome to have look at it but I had to go under the house and get her.
The house was only 2 ft. off the ground so I had to slide on my belly for about 30 ft. until I got a glimpse of her. The poor girl was scared, shaking and submissive as if she had been traumatized at some time. My first thought was that she needed to get away from this place, no doubt something bad had happened to her and she was scared of her own shadow. We hung out for a few minutes just to get acquainted and let her get comfortable with me. After she seemed to calm down I grabbed her scruff and had to drag her out from under the house.
I had some contempt for the owner. As un PC as it sounds, I dont care. The couple that had these puppies were rude bull dog butch dykes that seemed a liitle short in the “nice” deptartment. I suspected this dog had been abused in someway. I dont know, but I wasted no time. I paid cash said thank you and left rather abruptly. We went right to the vet, got a check up, a chip, made an appointment to crop her ears and now had to decide on a name. Cropping is a must. It prevents ear infections and also prevents capillary breakage as a result of shaking their ears. Plus, the dog simply looks a whole lot better.
During our ride from one side of the island to the other she had become very affectionate and attached in no time. She only weighed about 15 pounds and was about as big as a bowling ball. She had that begging and grateful look in her eyes that you see in those heart wrenching animal rescue commercials She sat in my lap during the whole trip looking up at me and licking my wrist during the whole time. She was strong and solid but dirty from being under the house. She also had ears that were a little bigger and floppier than most Dane puppies I had seen.
She shall be “RUBY” Warm, bright, precious and timeless.
As a puppy Ruby trained well and she grew up to be nothing but a regal beauty of a dog that stopped traffic everywhere she went. She quickly got a sense of family and in no time figured out the she was to be the sentinel gaurd in our family.
She learned to bark only at those within a certain distance of the house. She would speak if asked and hush when told. She would also rip your arm off if told to. Before we bought our house we rented from a bitchy Chinese lady who swore that every turd within a mile came from Ruby. Being the kinda guy I am I trained Ruby to shit into a ziplock and made sure the the landlady was witness to this.
Ruby is smart, you didn’t have to talk to her like a dog. normal tones and speech are enough. Lay down, get up, sit , give me a kiss, who’s outside?, go pee, stay, go inside. She loved to play fetch and tag. She would invite you to play tag by head butting you and then running away, She was almost impossible to catch so I usually had to trick her by acting like I had a snack. Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t, but she was always willing to check.
An incredible watch dog. Whenever in public she would always lean on me with her hips or shoulders to make contact so as to know where I was without having to look at me. This let her keep track of me and still scope out the area. I found out that Great Danes do this probably as well as other dogs also.
Another reason for buying Ruby was that I had opened by own metal refinishing and chrome shop a few months earlier. Things were taking off and I needed a dog to watch the place whenever I would take off for a minute or two. The doors on my shop were those huge roll up bay doors and it was too much of a hassle to roll them up and down each time I had to take a leak or whatever. So I ran a cable across the width of the door with Rubys leash attached so she could run the full length of the shop. My business involved mostly Harley parts and high performance automotive parts, all of which either very expensive or antiquated and irreplaceable. The thing is that some of my clientele was not the kind of people whos parts you want to lose. My own saftey was at stake also. My doors were open everyday from 5 am to at least 6 or 7pm everyday of the week and I never lost one part, no matter how long I was gone. Ruby would lay smack in the middle of the entrance every time I left. She knew the deal. If I was in the shop when a customer arrived she would simply bark once or twice to let me know we had company. If I was around the corner and someone arrived she would bark consistently, but only if they came within that radius that she determined to be too close. The imaginary line was there, and she let you know exactly where it was.
Ruby had her hangups. Don’t touch her bone. A friend Peter from the neighboring shop made the mistake one day of pushing Rubys big ole dinosaur bone a little closer to her. The leash stopped Ruby in her mid air pounce as she lunged for Peters hand/body. All I heard was Ruby growling and turned to see her in mid air off the ground with her fangs out just inches from Peters ass. Peter looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Yea, he never did that again.
Then there was the guy I fired. He pumped up his chest and got in my face. Ruby decided that she would have no part of that behavior towards her master. And quickly placed herself between us while growling under her breath and staring at said ex employees feet
Another instance was when one of my customers demanded I give him his parts even though he couldn’t make payment in full. I was closing up, getting ready to leave. I put Ruby in the back seat and told him that upon payment he would have his parts. As I drove away he made the mistake of trying to reach in the window and do whatever it was he thought he was going to do. Due to Rubys toothful intervention his plans were foiled.
Twice at home she saved the day. The first time was when two would be thieves tried to take something out of our garage. I heard Ruby growling out front and people screaming. So I quickly ran out front to find my garage a little messed up and a pick up truck burning out with one guy chasing it telling the driver to slow down. As Ruby gained on him and was close to the tackle he jumped into the pick up and narrowly escaped having stitches in his ass. Great Danes can run. Fast. The second time would be when we had two pit bulls running loose in the neighborhood. My boy who was only 7 or 8 at the time was playing in the garage where Ruby spent her days at home. From inside the house I a heard a few growls hear and there and went to the garage to see what was up. When I got there one pitt bull was already half a block away while the others face had been opened up and was bleeding in the drive way.
As formidable as Ruby could be she was also very caring and compassionate. We have a neighbor who lives a few doors down who owns a cat. Shes a nut. During Rubys walks we would always pass her house and her cat would always be outside near the sidewalk and didnt seemed to ever be botherd by Ruby. Every time we would walk by this lady would run outside like a maniac totally over reacting and call the cat to come inside because she was afraid that this horse of a dog would eat her cat. I got sick of this repeated paranoid over reaction on her part everyday and so one day I finally told her not to worry and that my dog wont do anything to her cat. She told me that her cat doesn’t like dogs. Duh? I told her I’m not surprised, most cats dont like dogs. The next morning I come into the garage to find her cat and Ruby sleeping comfortably on the same mattress. This also happened with a batch of kittens that were born near my shop. I actually have the pics but asshole here doesnt have a scanner. Shit, I dont even have a camera that works right now.
Even though Ruby had been spayed it didnt stop her from being a mother. While Ruby was 4 or 5 years old my wife decided she wanted a Pug. Flea is his name. We bought Flea when he was just a few weeks old and could literally fit into a coffee mug. As soon as we introduced Flea to Ruby there was no question whos baby that was. Within no time Ruby was cuddling, licking and grooming the little tyke. We gave Flea his name simply because next to Ruby thats exactly what Flea looked like. Whenever Flea would go missing it was simply a matter of asking Ruby “wheres Flea”? and in no time she would come back carrying him in her mouth. Even after Flea had grown older he would get out the door once in a while and all we had to do was ask Ruby to go find him. All I had to do was follow Ruby and she would take me straight to him. You see this is very important because after having Flea for a few days we discovered he was 100% deaf. So its not like we could just whistle and he would come running. Plus, he cant hear cars or any potential threat. ( til this day Flea and I operate on hand gestures).
Ruby and I would play like two overgrown kids. Even at her age just a few months ago every time I would say “wanna play?” and still acting like a little puppy she would rest her chin on the ground , stick her ass way up in the air , wag her tail and slap the ground with both paws simultaneously and then get up and run a couple circles and start the same sequence again. Riding a bicycle with her was a fucking blast. There’s no sight in the world like a 120 pound Great Dane running full steam down the middle of a city street pulling her master behind her on a bicycle. There was also a day when I took her to the beach, all the Japanese tourist were paying me to take pictures with her.
She loved to run in the jungle. Like an idiot I took her to a remote location one day with noting but jungle all around us and let her go. Ruby had never run away before. But for some reason this time she just up and bolted right into the jungle. After calling her for about 1/2 an hour I decided to go in and look for her. I ran around in this fucking jungle for about an hour looking for her an finally gave up and convinced myself that she would turn up at a the humane society or some place. When I got back to the car the little shit was standing right next to it looking at me with what seemed to be a smile on her face. I suspect she was there the whole time I was looking for her
I know this post sounds as if Ruby has already passed, she hasnt, but in a way she has.
Ruby use to always call me if she had to take a dump. She would bark once or twice and I would come outside and walk her. You see I couldn’t keep her inside the house anymore because if her and Flea would play all the furniture and anything breakable would take a beating. In 10 years I’ve replaced 6 screen doors and lost some expensive crystal as a result of her and Fleas rough housing. So we had to keep Ruby in the garage with a cable that runs the full length of the garage. I felt guilty about that because she liked being inside but what could I do ? It was like having 2 bulls in a china factory high on meth. Plus Flea was always trying to fuck her. ( A pug, trying to fuck a Great Dane is always good for a laugh)
Anyway, the point is that since a few months ago Ruby has stopped calling me when she has to go. Sadly she makes no attempt at all anymore. You see her hips are going out and she cannot get up to come to the door and bark like she used to. Every morning now I come out to see her (I get up at 3am) and there is a fresh pile of poo right next to her butt. She gives me a look as if she feels that she has let me down. I have to let her know that I know she didnt mean it A couple months ago it wasn’t too bad. She messed the garage maybe once or twice a week, I would scold her and ask her “what the fuck?” I thought maybe it was her diet that needed changing and so I started her on food that was more fit for older dogs. This didnt help and things have just gotten worse. It turns out that Rubys hips hurt too much for her to get up and do what she has to do now. As a result she poops right where she is laying. In fact its getting hard for her to even walk a few blocks. I’ve had to hide my tears from the neighbors a couple times now as she struggles to raise her butt again after peeing.
In the time I’ve written these last few sentences I’ve begun to cry. Because hitting on this subject makes me aware that my baby wont be with me much longer and that I have to start making that hard decision as to whether I should invest in huge surgery bills and medication that I cant afford and keep her a little longer for my own selfishness or have her put to rest so as to end her misery.
She was the best dog ever. I’ve had many, and they were all good. But not as good as Ruby. She has been loyal, never let harm come to me or my family, guarded us for ten years and always let us know of impending danger. She would tear the arm off of anyone who raised a hand to anyone in our family and yet she would snuggle gently with kittens and my infant son when he was just a couple years old. She could always tell when I was hurting. When my father passed I came home that night and there was no tail wagging exuberant greeting. Instead she walked up to me as I sat down and placed her chin on my lap. She knew. She just simply knew. During my incarceration my wife told me that she would howl for hours on end.
If Ruby had it she would give it to me, always, unconditionally and with pleasure. I guess I’m writing this now because I always thought it was stupid to say all these nice things about people after they were dead. I realize that anyone reading this will probably not meet her. But at least this way she will be in your thoughts while she is still alive. Most recently in the last couple of days she has progressed for the worst. Now I have to reach under her belly and help her up so she can eat. I dont know where to draw the line. Maybe I do but I’m just not strong enough to take her for that one final ride.
You have truly lived up to your name and far past anything I ever expected out of you.
God bless you my sweety. You were there for me always. Always, when everyone else had failed me, and you loved me no matter what.
MY BABY WENT PEACEFULLY AT 9:30 TUESDAY MORNING.
TAKE CARE OF MY BABY LORD, AND THANKYOU.
The gentle giant
News of the world {NOW} 
