On September 10th, 2002 Rachel and I adopted Morgan, our first great dane. She was 6 weeks old and 25lbs and as cute as a button. She is quite unique: merle/herlequin color mix with some chocolate color spots, has one blue and one brown eye. Why a great dane? I don't know, really. Danes are known for being gentle giants, bigtime sleepers, and loyal friends. If you meet one in person, don't be intimidated by its size.

Holy crap, she's getting big at only 2-3 months old! She doubled her weight to 50lbs in just a month's time.

This trend continues...		Morgan was responsible for this mess

Morgan is now 6 months and nearly fully grown. She weighs about 110lbs.

Rachel and I contacted the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue after watching a special on danes on the Lehigh Valley channel. After a cursory home check and evaluation, we started looking for a playmate for Morgan that's about her age. We wanted a male based on advice that females are usually territorial with other females. In May 2003 we found a new arrival named Max. Upon visiting him with Morgan, we found that they got along great so we took him home. He is about 1 year old, 120lbs, mantle/merle color mix with natural ears. He's a little skinny, but we took care of that since he's a non-stop eater. Rachel and I felt really good about supporting MAGDRL. They have frequent events in various areas, which are fun to do with other dane people.

		Uh oh
		Max is our active security guard on duty

Max and Morgan at play. No animals were harmed in the making of this web site.

	Super Max, the flying dog!
	Did you say hungry?

Around July 2003, Max began to develop strange problems with coordination and balance. He seemed to become clumsy, scared of going down steps, and sometimes falling over while running or even stretching. We learned that Max had developed a condition known to affect danes called Wobblers Syndrome.

After doing some research and contacting MAGDRL, I was led to get in touch with Dr. Durkes in Merion, IN. Dr. Durkes has pioneered a procedure called Gold bead implantation. The treatment stabilizes the affected vertebrae to help decrease inflamation of spinal tissue, thus releaving the physical stress on the nerve tissue through the spine.

By the time we had educated ourselves on what to do about Max's condition, Max had worsened to the point that he could no longer navigate down steps, and often had severe trouble getting up on his feet. It was really saddening to watch and not be able to do anything. On the weekend of Thanksgiving we made the road trip to visit Dr. Durkes to have his procedure done. His fee is extremely reasonable compared to what our local vet had recommended for treatment. The trip was really a great experience. Even the Comfort Suites allowed pets due to the traffic of dogs coming to Dr. Durkes for his expertise. After the procedure was performed, Max was put in a neck cast for 6 weeks, which really looked silly, but it helped prevent him undoing the work by moving too much. After about a month we noticed a lot of his mobility returning. By 6 months, he was a near compelete turnaround. Now, he's back to his normal self. The only symptom remaining is a small amount of gait in his hind legs as if he were prancing.

I'm so thankful for the work Dr. Durkes has done and the success of the procedure. I would recommend this option to anyone in the same situation.