CH Ariel Bishop's Investment CGC RN TDIA CD CL1-H CL1-F CL1-R
TT-222-GD 'GDCA Versatility'
CH Owlwatch Sun See an Heir CGC X CH Danebridge's Loose Change
"Taylor"
6/2/2003 - 7/2/2013
aka "Tator"
"Sweet Tator"
"Tator Dog"
"Brown Dog"

Click here for a Great Dane summary, written by me.

Taylor was diagnosed with Addison's Disease on July 8, 2008, a little over a month after her 5th birthday. 
It was a very scary time until we got the diagnosis, because we almost lost her.  And we would have lost her
if not for the excellent, observant, and diligent care of her wonderful vet, Dr. Teresa Calvert.  We can't
thank her enough for saving our Taylor girl.  Taylor shows no signs of her illness.  She is a happy, bouncy
puppy at almost 6 years old.  She is a very special girl and I'm grateful for every day that we have with her.

A lot of people ask me what Addison's Disease is and what were Taylor's symptoms. 
Addison's Disease is an auto-immune disease where the body attacks the adrenal gland. 
Primary Addison's Disease (which is what Taylor has) is believed to be transmitted genetically,
but the mode of inheritance is currently still under investigation. However, the onset of an Addisonian Crisis
can be precipitated or triggered by physically or mentally stressful events such as vaccinations, illness, etc." 
Addison's reveals itself in many different ways, so each case could be different. 
I will relate what happened in Taylor's case, and while I'm hoping that something in the following will
help diagnose a future Addisonian, it will most likely not be exactly the same in another dog's case. 
Click here to read Taylor's story.
 

Photo courtesy of V bird Studio

         
            Taylor at 3 months old                                                  Taylor at 6 months old

           
What a lazy bum!                                                                          

     
                                                                                    She loves that cat feather!                                                                                                 

Ain't she sweet?

Christmas 2003

9 1/2 months old

     
Muncie/Anderson Dog Show 8-15-04 Winning Best of Winners and her first points!

     
Lebanon, IN 9-12-04 Winning Best of Breed.  Patrice Lawrence handling.

Kankakee, IL 11-28-2004 Winning Best of Opposite to Finish her Championship!
Thanks to Patrice Lawrence for a wonderful job of handling Taylor and suggesting which judges would like her! 

What?  You want your seat back already?!  You've only been gone 30 seconds!

Nighty Night - Taylor's favorite place to be!

  
Taylor's half sister, Charlotte 2006

Taylor practicing agility!

Below, Taylor is earning first place at the lure coursing Fun Run in Fairborn, OH on May 5, 2007

Taylor getting the "bunny"!

Our beautiful Taylor girl at 9 1/2  

6-2-13 You know how your Mom wishes a child on you just like yourself? Well, I haven't had any kids, but the "curse" proved true with my
first 4 legged kid, Great Dane Taylor. She has been our first in many ways. Our first dog together, our first Great Dane,
our first conformation Champion, our first Obedience Companion Dog (CD), our first agility Dane, our first Lure Coursing Dane,
not to mention all of the first screw ups that come along with owning and training your first dog.
Taylor is a stubborn, hard-headed, independent dog and a day has not gone by that she has not challenged us,
but we wouldn't have her any other way. She has shown us what a Great Dane should be and has set a high bar that we may never see reached again.

We will be forever grateful to Phil and Jane Gray for getting us started in Danes and sending us to Angela Reilly
who brought Taylor into our lives. Thanks to Angela for trusting us with one of her babies!
We had no clue what we had at the time, but now we want more of her.

We are extremely proud to see Taylor reach 10 years old. She's not in perfect health, but she looks amazing for her age,
can still move quite well, and is such a fighter. We owe a lot to her vet, Teresa Calvert, for taking such good care of her.
She's been through a lot and we're not sure what is eventually going to take her down, but I'm sure she will put up a fight to the end.
She's a strong proud girl and we love her!

Happy 10th Birthday, Taylor! We love you, sweet Brown Dog!

7-2-13 We had to put Taylor to sleep today. She had a full, happy, life but she was just tired and ready to feel
young again. She is now leading the pack playing agility, doing zoomies, and chasing bunnies.

She was a Rock for our pack and anyone who met her and we will miss her forever.

We love you, Sweet Tater.

CH Ariel Bishop's Investment CGC RN TDIA CD CL1-H CL1-F CL1-R TT-222-GD
6/2/2003 - 7/2/13

You can see Taylor's uncle winning Winner's Dog at the Great Dane National Specialty in 2002 here.  Patrice Lawrence is handling.

Taylor is doing Therapy Dog work every now and then.

Click on the picture below to see Taylor's show record:

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