Months and months ago, the folks at Great Dane Rescue of North Texas received a note of relief from fellow volunteer Jamie Brunner.
It joyfully began, "I'm pleased to announce this is the last update I'll send regarding Miss Molly..."
Happily, it wasn't the very last overall Molly update from Jamie and that is why this grand Great Dane is in the spotlight of this weekend's "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap."
And now we have a human in the photo, too. In this case, that's Molly with one of her humans -- she's now living large in Louisiana with Paul and Phyllis Karlowitz of Monroe..
These folks aren't new to Danes. Over the years, Jamie says, they've adopted nine from Great Dane Rescue of North Texas. They have six GDRNT dogs now and a "seventh Dane literally appeared out of nowhere one day shortly after their beloved Bullet (their giant Great Dane) crossed the Rainbow Bridge. They [have] ... a king-size bed in the middle of their family room just for the dogs."
And, of course, we've got a photo. Paul says Molly is the smallest of the Danes and "was a bit timid at first, especially with the bigger boys, but she quickly warmed up. For some reason she took to me and to Shadow. Phyllis loved her from the moment she saw her on the [web]site and wanted her, but we all know how that can turn out. Molly is my baby."
(You'll see the crowd when you get to the bottom of today's report. Click on the photos to enlarge.)
Now, let's refresh everyone on Molly's "back story," as they say in Hollywood.
This photo, of course, indicates that things haven't always been so swell. Before finding her new home, Molly had "survived being starved, injured and -- worst of all -- abused by the people who were supposed to save her. Remember the shelter worker who thought she was just lazy so he roped her neck and pulled her on her back alway the way from her hiding spot to his truck," says Jamie. "He didn't even take the time to notice her injured leg hanging limp or her hips and vertebrae poking through her skin. I have a few choice words for him, but they're not printable here."
As Jamie says, "All that is a distant memory because she won the forever home lottery. Life with the Karlowitz family is as good as it can get for a dog. Seriously, where else do the humans share their bed with over 600 pounds of Great Danes?"
Paul writes, "I was a bit worried about her 'bad' leg when she would play. It doesn't seem to bother her at all. She dives into the biggest pile of mouth-wrestling Danes with reckless abandon. They out-weigh her by some 100 lbs......so you see my concern.
"But, she has yet to be injured in any way. It’s almost like they know she isn't 100%. Or perhaps it's their realization that I'll vaporize the first one of them to hurt her.
"She always sleeps by me pretty much as in the photo. ... Other than the occasional 'punch in the mouth' from her extending her front legs, it's a mutually comforting arrangement and we sleep well. If she is late to bed. she has to find an allowable path to me. Three other Danes sleep close to me as well. After a bit of grousing at being awakened, the others let her pass. She like to sleep by dad. And of course dad kinda likes it, too."
Jamie points out that "Molly's new life wouldn't be possible without all the generous monetary gifts she received and the many prayers said on her behalf. ... It can seem so overwhelming when there are so many animals that need to be saved. I know that Molly is just one dog, but her story represents the pain so many animals suffer at the hands of humans and I'm hopeful her happy ending will serve as a reminder that all our hard work as rescuers really does pay off in the end."
