Affaire's Rainbow Magic, "Cassandra"

Cassandra lived with Dora & John McCleeary in San Jose, CA. She was my pick bitch from this litter, but it became very obvious early on that she was not going to be happy being one of multiple dogs in my house. She needed to be the center of someone's world and that could not happen here. Dora & John had another dog I bred and wanted a companion, so we agreed she would go home and live with them.

I had planned to show Cassandra and she did come to a few shows, but we found out that she was allergic to grass! Since most dog shows in California are outside, on grass, it ended her show career before it began.

To make matters worse, when she was not quite a year old, her packmate, Dusty, died of bone cancer. After that, she became pretty timid. Dora and John got her out and socialized her, but she was fearful of the vets office and not readily accepting of strangers. They found parks with fake grass they could take her to and adopted a rescue dog to keep her company.

When Cassandra was four, she started having syncope episodes. A visit to the cardiologist confirmed our worst fears. Cassandra had DCM. She was put on a regimine of pimobendan, solotol and other drugs and supplements. Over the course of the next 8 1/2 years she lived with DCM, her meds had to be adjusted on occasion. Dora & John worked very hard to give her the best care and DCM management and that kept her alive far longer than anyone expected.

At 12 1/2 years old, Cassandra had normal Great Dane aging issues along with the DCM. She was arthritic and her mobility was impacted by spinal degeneration. Cassandra's heart was still going, but her spinal degenerative disease had progressed to the point where she could no longer walk. Once Dora & John were ready, they had a vet come to the house and let her go.

I think she is the Great Dane that has live the longest after being diagnosed with DCM. I haven't found anyone that has known of a Great Dane to live 8 1/2 years past diagnosis. She outlived all her siblings.