Minnie the Mini-Great Dane as Lap Dog Extraordinaire

January 18, 2010July 21, 2010 by betsy

Those of you who follow this blog know that the marvelous Minnie, a one year old rescued stray, entered our lives in early December following the death of our wonderful Webster at age 16. From time to time, I can’t resist posting photos of the dogs assuming that virtually all vegans are animal lovers.

Saturday night, when our dinner plans with friends were, sadly, aborted because one of them broke both wrists when thrown from her horse, we decided to spend the evening in front of the fire with a glass of wine, dozing off and on. With Huff and Pyttle on the sofa and me in a side chair, Minnie decided that the only place for her 65-pound self was in Joe’s lap. As she “doggedly” struggled to find a way to make it work, her “lap dance” was pretty comical. But she prevailed!

That dinner was simply not meant to be. Just as I was preparing to cook and right before the phone call came from our friends, I went into the garage to discard something, returning mere seconds later to discover that Minnie had wolfed down three gorgeous hunks of tofu from my favorite Asian market. Annoying, yes. But not life-threatening, as was her consumption of 14 ounces of bittersweet chocolate which ended in a vomit-inducing trip to the emergency vet less than one week after she came to live with us.

Can I tell you how frightened I was? Chocolate and dogs are a potentially lethal combination. A mere 4 ounces is toxic for a dog of her size. If your dog should ingest chocolate, he or she must vomit it up before it is metabolized. Hydrogen peroxide may do the trick, but it didn’t for Minnie. The prescribed Rx was an injection to induce vomiting followed by a charcoal slurry to bind any remaining chocolate in her system (though the vet was quite sure, based on the floor of the hospital, that there was none left).

9 comments

Trinity (of haiku tofu)
January 18, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Aww! I have a massive pit bull named Bonnie, and she loves to sit in laps. She also loves to jump up and eat tofu off the counter- I think she and Minnie would get along!
Betsy DiJulio
January 18, 2010 at 6:11 pm

Aww is right–I love the name "Bonnie" for a "massive pit bull." Perfect. She and Minnie would be trouble with a capital "T"–the best kind of trouble.
Courtney
January 18, 2010 at 6:25 pm

That is too cute! She must know she is well loved 🙂

Courtney
Anonymous
January 18, 2010 at 6:29 pm

Love it! She looks so content. But of course she would be, what with all the love there.

xox,
s
Betsy DiJulio
January 18, 2010 at 6:53 pm

Thanks, Courtney and S! We are all very happy together. She's impossible not to love. Makes you want to eat her up with a spoon! Hmm…maybe not the thing to say on a vegan website. 🙂
Kris
January 18, 2010 at 9:15 pm

I don't remember our great dane because I was young but she was such a big baby!Too cute!

ps, I have a giveaway on my blog. stop by if you can!
Betsy DiJulio
January 18, 2010 at 9:42 pm

It's surprising how many people do or did have a Great Dane at some point. They are such sweeties. People ask if you need a big house and yard to have one, and my answer is, "No, just a big sofa!" Huff, our 160 pounder and Skinnie Minnie are currently engaged in quite a game of "pull." There's a lot of "trash talk" going on, especially by Minnie. I will definitely stop by. Thanks!
The Voracious Vegan
January 19, 2010 at 6:04 am

Yikes! Not the best post to read right before I head out to ride my (very young, very crazy) horse! Eeeek! Hope your friend is okay.

Yes, looks like sweet Minnie wants to be a vegan, too! What a gorgeous girl!
Betsy DiJulio
January 19, 2010 at 7:56 pm

My respect for you just went up another notch! I'll tell you like a friend told me after hearing about this accident: I like the idea of riding a horse, but when I see how big they are up close, I think, "Naaa." Karen has the greatest attitude, but I don't know if that's her general optimism or modern pharmaceuticals.

Minnie is a doll baby. She's driving me nuts right now–she keeps pouncing with both front legs on my head–I guess she wants to go out, so I'm on my way. 🙂