What do you call a blue Great Dane when you have a flair for the original? Navy of course! I found Navy through a model call in my home town of Coppell, Texas (my studio is in the neighboring city of Carrollton, just a 10 minute drive away). I asked for "big" for this week's blog post theme of "I like big mutts and I cannot lie" and Navy's owner replied with "I have a huge Great Dane". I said "You had me at huge".
We chatted and set a time to meet and photograph the big guy. I asked if she had any small dogs in the house and she mentioned they also had a West Highland Terrier to which I replied "Great, please bring him along for scale" :).
When I met Navy, he is indeed VERY BIG and very friendly. Like never met a stranger friendly; such a lovable goof. As we were photographing him, his dog mom told me his story (and what a story!).
(click on any image to view fulls screen)
Navy's Rescue Story
Navy wasn't always the robust, healthy young man that you see above. At the age of approximately 3 months he was found on the side of the road by a Good Samaritan who brought him to Mansfield Animal Control. He was extremely underweight, his skin was in bad condition and he had splayed feet and swollen joints. He actually had a hard time even walking because of his leg issues which indicated that he had be confined in something too small for his growing body and was unable to stretch out.
Recognizing his special needs, the shelter contacted Humane Tomorrow Rescue of Flower Mound who would be in a better position to provide him the medical care that he so desperately needed. They quickly placed Navy into a foster home and so began his road to recovery.
Navy landed with the Dinsmore family in Coppell about a month later. Shortly after he arrived in their home, he started to experience terrible joint plain and again, he was unable to walk or stand. The family had to assist him to go outside and eliminate. Something that a lot of people don't know is that a Great Dane's growth has to be carefully managed and many people adopt a slow growth feeding plan as a surplus of nutrition is dangerous to large breed puppies since it stimulates very aggressive growth their bodies can’t adequately handle, negatively affecting their life span.
With medication and time, Navy grew strong and developed muscles to help hold up his body. He grew and sometimes would easily gain 10 pounds in 10 days! It was clear to see that he has hit the rescue dog lottery and is well-loved by the Dinsmore family who say "He is the happiest of boys!!".
Navy Now
Fast forward one year and Navy is a healthy +/- 150 pound bouncing baby boy, every ounce of it sweetness and love. His feet are still huge, as is his head. And tongue. And ears. The guy is just large!
Just How Big Is Navy? This Big!
We decided to photograph Navy with his little brother, Toby, to give you an idea of his size. We even gave Toby a "leg up" by putting him on a wall and he's still not as tall as Navy. Toby is a regular sized West Highland Terrier and stands about 10"-12" at the shoulder. These two love each other to pieces and can often be found spooning one another at nap time.