Blanca's Bed

Now that the nights have warmed up, our blind-and-deaf Great Dane Blanca prefers to sleep outside much of the time.  There are cots on the Widget's House porch with West Paw beds on top, and as soon as she's had dinner, she's ready to head back outside and stay there. 

So when I went over to Widget's House early one day recently to let the dogs out, I found Blanca asleep in the morning sunshine.  She had pulled a West Paw bed off the cot and dragged it out to the gravel, and was now sleeping on it.  I walked into the building, picked up a digital camera we have stashed over there for moments like this, and came back out to get the photo.  Because she's blind and deaf, she didn't even realize I was present. 

It does look like she just wanted to take advantage of the early rays, and she took the bed out there so she could soak in some warmth.  Right?  I'd like to give her credit for that, except she does this in winter, too -- pulls the bedding off the cots and drags it out into the snowy yard.  Some afternoons we'd come over and find every one of the West Paw beds strewn across the snow.  On occasion we'd find a bed all the way down by the gate, which is probably 50 yards from the porch.  (I have never managed to capture the bed heists on camera.)

Thus I am not exactly sure she pulled that bed over on purpose so she could soak in the sunshine while she slept ... or whether she had already dragged it off a cot during the night and somehow found it again.  For whatever reason, though, this was clearly the place she wanted to be that morning!

Comments

[Tracy Meyer]

I also have a blind/deaf dane, Maggie, who will be 5 in May 09! She does the same thing!! Whenever I put anything in her dog house to sleep on, she drags it out and sleeps on it, on the ground! pillows, blankets, cedar chips, hay, you name it, she will pull it out, in fact, the only time she actually gets into the dog house to stay is if it's raining. She is an outdoor dog due to the fact we are living in a camper as we build our log cabin. However, she does prefer to be outside. She runs around, loves playing tag, and almost always wins. I take her on 3 to 4 mile walks, atleast 3 to 4 times a week and is the best to keep pace, doesn't drag me, and if a curb comes up, I just gently lift up on the 6inch leash and she high-steps like she's prancing around. I love her so much!!! I trained her to sit next to me on my right side since she walks on my right side(to keep her from traffic). She use to think she had to sit in my lap (just her back legs!) and her comfort zone seemed to be standing inbetween my legs. She is very happy and so am I. She lets me know when she is lonely with a howl that sounds like a killer whale!!! I am glad to know that I am not alone loving unconditionally, and when no one else wanted her, I did not even hesitate. My vet told me to put her down when I got her at 8 weeks old. Out of the question, and I have a new vet!!!

[Boundforglory]

Oh, how I wish you could get the "heist" on video!
Blanca is quite creative; I love the posting of her!

[Nina]

Blanca...you are quite the cute and funny girl! Love your antics!

[The Zoo Crew]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Blanca. Reading about her and any of the dachsies always makes my day!!

[suzy]

That Blanca, what a trip! Your animals have the most amazing personalities, I love reading about them. xo, suzy

[Kristen D.]

SO ADORABLE! :)

[Kathy Goog]

I have been proudly owned by Great Danes most of my adult life so I am especially happy to see Blanca doing so well. :-) When we visited last August she was still in new-arrivals isolation so we didn't get much contact with her. :-( I do know that no self-respecting Dane would ever consider lying directly on the ground if there was any way possible to make it comfortable enough for their human side. So even blind and deaf she still has the intuition that tells her she deserves the best accomadations that she can put together. Blanca is lucky to have the RDR as her home.

[Debbie]

The girl is working on her tan! It is rather smart of her to pull out the dog bed so she does not have to lie on the gravel. Our Pearl pulls her dog bed out of her cage every chance she gets. She's eaten 2 in 2 months. Oh well, back to Sam's Club for another one.

[Mircat]

Just because a girl likes to sleep outside, doesn't necessarily mean she wants to lay directly on the dirt and rocks. I think she places all the beds around the yard in strategic places so she can drop and nap where ever she happens to be at the moment. It's not random, it's by design I like to think.

[DT]

Blanca is just working on her tan.As far as the West Paw beds strewn across the snow well she probably wanted to redesign the yard.Maybe she can audition for the next design star!

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

Blanca is following the beat of her own drummer. She looks so content soaking up the rays of sun & having happy dreams. Thanks so much for the feature post of this sweet beauty.
Big hugs to all,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit

[Carla Polastro-Nigro]

Blanca looks so peaceful and content, lying in the early morning sunshine... What a sweet, lovely girl!

Thanks for sharing such precious moments with us, Steve.

[Moon Rani]

Dear Blanca, I fell in love with you from the first blog post! I would gladly take you into my heart and home, funny, little quirks and all. Maybe you like sleeping in the confluence of all those scent pools, who knows. Hugs to you, Blanca, and thanks to you, Steve, for a wonderful post.

[Shirley * James * Portland, OR]

I love this giant girl!

[Lisa]

Such a pretty girl and SMART too!

[Leila]

Too cute! She knows what she wants!

[Janet in Cambridge]

Because she can...

[Bibi]

Boy, Blanca's getting lots of press these days ! And she's worth the attention ! (Just read about how she came to RDR) and it seems she's her ver own 'puppy' and does things HER way.........Love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jamie Williams]

Thank you for featuring Blanca...she captured my heart the first time I saw her, and it's been wonderful to see pictures of her twice in one week!