021_04 - Pup Bites Man
Proof positive that a puppy's bark is not worse than his bite.

As discussed earlier, we take our kids with us to lots of places like renaissance faires. We have also taken them to amusement parks, conventions, animation studios and more. This photo is from a fan convention in the Bay area of California.

The puppy is Baron, our Great Dane. We got him in Arizona and had high hopes he could be a show dog. However, we discovered he had hip problems and an eye problem. In fact, it was at this convention we first suspected his eyes. Outside the lobby was a tiled walkway with over-sized black and white tiles in the arrangement of a large chessboard. While walking on the tiles we noticed he seemed to be stumbling a bit, not wanting to step on the white tiles. At first we thought it might have been puppy silliness. It was later, after noting his problem recognizing people at a distance that an eye exam confirmed he had trouble distinguishing distance between items that were black and white. The white literally would "disappear" and seem, to him, to be a hole. Even today, a large white object, like a trash bag, will cause him to become un-nerved. To him it is as if there is a "hole" in the world.

I am glad to say that Baron's problems have never affected his cheerful attitude. Since he seems to have never really "grown up", we still refer to him as "the baby". As long as his eyes or hips are not required to strain too much, he is just a typical, happy, bouncing Great Dane. In fact, he is one of most famous, as he starred in the Thomasville furniture commercial. It is the one with the Great Dane looking at a goldfish and eventually leaping onto a couch.

The photo features a friend of ours who was clowning around with Baron. While our friend dangled his hand near Baron's mouth, Baron simply reached up and took hold. Those who know puppies, know puppy teeth are very sharp. (I call them "daggers of death".) Seeing our camera, our friend instantly went into a series of grimaces, pretending to be in pain. Those around laughed with glee, which made Baron continue his hold. (We have found Baron loves laughter, and it always inspires him to get even sillier.)

At the convention, Baron stayed with us at our dealer's table where the fans would gather to say hello to him. In the lobby, he was extremely popular. Being a puppy he was always active. He was happily greeting all who would come to see him. One prominent con attendee even spent time rolling around on the floor playing with Baron! Once, while we were in the dealer's room, Baron was licking the pen when he caught his jaw between the bars and let out several quick cries before he freed himself. The room came to a complete halt and fell silent. Then folks rushed over to see if he was okay. It was as if most of the convention folk had adopted him as their own.

This picture is one of our favorite images and still makes us laugh. Which probably makes Baron very happy too.