Colorado Art Studio

Danzig 6 years old If you’ve been around long enough, you may remember that a little over a year ago, we had to lay our elderly diabetic cat, Helper, to rest. It was pretty traumatizing for the whole family, but we knew it was the right thing to do. Since last summer we’ve talked about adding to our family, but it was just talk. Over winter break, my husband said he wanted a German Shepherd. Our current dog, Zuzu is a shepherd mix and has been a wonderful family pet. I told him, I would never ever buy a dog from a breeder since there are tons of dogs available who need good homes.

I casually mentioned looking for a dog rescue - there seems to be one for every breed available such as Greyhounds that my friend Sarah up in North Dakota is involved with. Anyway, the next thing I know, my husband found the Front Range German Shepherd Rescue on the Internet and we applied to adopt a dog. We didn’t hear anything for a long time, and then this past weekend, things started moving. We arranged to visit a 6 year old male (considered to be compatible with an existing female dog) dog named Danzig who was living with a foster family. We all went to visit and he seemed to be a lovable dog - friendly, got along with Zuzu, and was gentle with my daughter. Next thing I know, references are checked and we’re driving Danzig home with us yesterday evening.

Zuzu, 11 year old Shepherd Mix

As you can imagine, last night was a little stressful for both Danzig who is now living in his third home in the past month, and Zuzu who is just a little bit jealous of the new arrival. I think it’s going to be fabulous when everything settles down and both realize that he’s here to stay. It’s amazing that Danzig is so friendly - we don’t know a lot about him, other than he lived in a garage most of his life and when he came to his foster family, he was afraid to cross over the threshold to the house and had never seen stairs before - oh and he doesn’t like bicycles. He managed the stairs in our house, but the basement is pretty scary to him. Right now, as I write this, he’s sandwiched himself between my husband and the back of the sofa.

He’s got a good 20 lbs on Zuzu and is much longer and taller. I originally thought I could run with both dogs, but now realize it’s going to have to be one at a time since he’s so strong. I think Danzig is a pretty lucky dog to land in our house. I couldn’t figure our where I had heard the name Danzig before so like a good Internet sleuth, I googled his name. I think he was named after the heavy metal band Danzig who hail from NJ. Though, Danzig is also the German version of the Polish town Gdansk. I kind of think that the person who named their dog Danzig and kept them in a garage probably named him after the heavy metal band, don’t you?

Don’t worry, we will be taking all precautions to make sure everyone stays safe and happy. Luckily I am home most days.

Wish us luck,

~Cynthia