Sarah and Oliver

I recently had the honour of drawing Sarah and her Great Dane Oliver. This was a tricky piece as all the photos Sarah had were not great for clarity and quality. I also don't normally draw people but felt this photo showing their bond was too important to pass up. Here is Sarah and Oliver's story as told by Sarah. 

When I got Oliver, I wasn’t planning on getting a puppy at all.

Great Danes had always been a dream dog for me, yet strangely, despite working with dogs during work experience in both junior high and high school, I had never actually seen one in person. At the time, my marriage was in shambles. I was fighting to keep my head above water and desperately trying to find some kind of joy in my life. Somewhere in that struggle, I began planning to get a Dane in the summer.

My then husband was against it. While I cared about his opinion, I felt I might be able to sway him. I threw myself into research—endless hours of it. I spoke with multiple vets and breeders and learned so much, including how many misconceptions there are about Great Danes. I was grateful I did the work.

Then one day, I saw an ad in the local paper for a breeder in my area. I was shocked. Through my research, I had learned about American lines and German lines, and I specifically wanted a German line. That’s what these dogs were. I drove out to view the facility. It was December, and exceptionally cold.

This was not a place you go to get a puppy.

I had always been adoption-only. I had volunteered for the SPCA for years in their education department and had firm guidelines about how I would ever “buy” a dog. I met many beautiful dogs there, and it was heartbreaking to see the conditions. At the end, she showed me six-week-old puppies. It was obvious they had never seen people. They were severely underweight, infected, and angry.

One puppy in particular was furious.

From my research, vets had warned me that Great Danes could be very snappy and emphasized the importance of intense socialization. One vet even told me, “I’ve never met a Dane that hasn’t tried to bite me.” But standing there, I felt this dog might die if I didn’t take him. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare if he ended up in a home with people who didn’t know what to do.

I sat in my car for a long time, trying to decide. In the end, I went back inside and got him.

You could see his hip bones.
His belly was distended.
One eye was badly injured.
His stomach was covered in scabs from rashes caused by allergies and parasites.
Fecal matter had caked onto his feet, hardened like concrete around his claws.

I didn’t know if he would even live.

It wasn’t an easy journey. Oliver needed multiple eye surgeries. The parasite he had was resistant to treatment, which meant weekly fecal tests for a long time—along with countless other issues. But, Oliver did recover and he went on to live a very healthy, full life.

Something I’ve noticed about large dog breeds is how much exaggeration surrounds their size and weight.

Oliver weighed just 10 pounds at six weeks old.
For the first stretch of his life, he gained two or more pounds every single week.
I swear he would go for a nap and wake up taller.

He was this massive puppy with tiny baby teeth—completely disproportionate and endlessly funny.

Any time I was out with Oliver, he attracted attention. Strangers took his photo more times than I could count. He was truly a spectacular thing to see.

And yet, I was constantly told how small he was.
“Oh, my Dane was way bigger.”
“My friend’s Dane was much taller.”

I never thought much of it. For years, I just assumed Oliver was small—until I eventually learned the truth.

When Oliver passed, he weighed 180 pounds, even as an old, atrophied man.
He stood 33 inches at the withers.
His head was massive—18 inches from the occipital bone to the tip of his nose.
His collars had to be custom made at 36 inches.

I still have them.

When he passed, the vet told me he was the biggest Dane she had ever seen. I had no idea.

An over-sized lap dog Oliver would back himself up to sit on your lap. No one ever had the heart to move him. You just felt honoured that he chose you. Oliver grew into an outstanding citizen that I continue to miss every single day.

RIP Oliver 2009 - 2017