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We at Dane Outreach want to let you know about some dramatic changes we made to our program in 2017 and moving forward.  We have re-focused our efforts and are no longer available to offer fostering and placement of Great Danes.

Our focus is now on education:

  • Information on how to find a reputable rescue or breeder

  • Information on whether the Great Dane is the correct breed for you

  • Care, training, feeding, and responsible Dane ownership

  • General information on the Great Dane breed

  • Referral to other rescues and shelters who may have Great Danes available for adoption

  • Education booth and Meet and Greet opportunities

We apologize for any disappointment this information brings.

If you seek to add a Great Dane to your family, we recommend the following local resources:

For Adoptions:

There are also other reputable rescues who may be able to help you, including your local county/city shelters. To be sure you are dealing with a reputable one, please see our “FAQ” below and our website for things to look for – and avoid. (For example: Absent a medical reason not to spay/neuter, no reputable rescue will adopt out an intact adult. Also, unless a litter was born from a female pregnant when surrendered, reputable rescues would rarely have puppies for adoption.)

For Breeder Referral:

Great Dane Club of America - http://www.gdca.org/great-dane-breeders.html

If you seek to buy a Great Dane puppy, please be very careful when choosing a breeder! Go to our website under the “Resources” tab (www.DaneOutreach.org) to find detailed information on how to find a responsible breeder who will offer healthy, stable, socialized puppies; who works to support the breed (and not their bank account); and who will be there to support you for the life of your Dane.

Dane Outreach will continue its mission to support Great Danes with a focus on education. Dane Outreach extends beyond the Pacific Northwest with volunteers who have decades of hands-on breed experience. Our mission includes education, referrals, references, and resources. We’ll still continue to offer information about the breed, and answer questions on care and training issues. Our volunteers provide several educational booths during the year, a highly informative website, social media and personal consultations that benefit both Great Danes and their owners. And all that continues! Our goal is to help all Dane owners provide an informed, appropriate, safe home for their Dane.

For more information on our shift in focus, see our FAQ page below. Please accept our sincere appreciation for your past support of Dane Outreach, and the Danes. We hope you keep us in your sights in our continuing mission to help the Danes.

Please be sure to continue to check our Facebook page and website for updates as we move towards our new focus, and if you haven’t signed up for our quarterly newsletter, please do so at this link: http://www.daneoutreach.org/ (bottom of home page)

Thank you from the volunteers of Dane Outreach.

FAQs

Q: Is Dane Outreach closing?
A: No, we are still here - we are just modifying the way we help Danes. When two dedicated Dane breeders founded Dane Outreach in 1974, there were very few rescue groups in the area, and none for Great Danes. Over the years, Dane Outreach expanded as the need for rescue grew. After becoming a 501(c)(3) charity in 1994, we’ve helped a large number of Danes and their owners, but now needs have changed. We are now re-directing our efforts to focus on education instead of “hands-on” rescue. This means we will no longer be fostering and placing Danes.

Q: Why are you not accepting, and adopting out, Great Danes anymore?
A: We’ve made this decision after a year of thoughtful consideration. Several factors contributed to this change:
1) Fewer owners need to give up their Danes. This is due to the improving economy and reduced home foreclosures and, we believe, our years of educational efforts to promote spaying & neutering, responsible breeding, and thoughtful research before buying a Dane.
2) An increase of reputable, long-established rescue organizations in the area, including several experienced in, and equipped for, Great Dane fostering and placement.
3) Increased ability for self-placement via social media. (While this does reduce the Danes coming into rescues, we do NOT recommend using Craig’s List or similar websites to place your Dane. Use a reputable rescue group who can screen a home and offer a safety net if the placement doesn’t work out!)
4) Decreased number of Dane-experienced volunteers required to properly operate Dane Outreach with fostering and adoption services. Our current members are good, dedicated people but the demands of their own lives and families, plus the needs of other all-breed rescues who also need help, are putting too great a workload on our members.

Q: I have some questions about Danes. Where can I find the information that Dane Outreach used to offer about buying, owning and caring for a Dane? 
 A: Click the Resources tab on our website to find all our brochures, and links to other resources. Also watch our social media pages for updates, especially for news on progress with Dane health problems and treatments. During the transition, our website will be a work in progress. Please be sure to check back regularly for updates.

Q: I adopted a Dane from Dane Outreach – what do I do if I am having problems? 
 A: You can still call Dane Outreach for advice. Hopefully, training or health information can help you keep your Dane. (Your adoption contract is still in force – you must still call Dane Outreach first if you need to rehome your Dane.)

Q: I adopted a Dane from Dane Outreach. What do I do if I can’t keep him or her anymore? My Adoption Contract says I have to give my Dane back to Dane Outreach.
A: We are still here, and our Adoption Contract is still valid. If you need to find another home for a Dane whom you adopted from Dane Outreach, call us. We will arrange for him or her to go into foster through another rescue organization we will be working with.

Q: Where do I go if I need to surrender my Dane?
A: Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue (SPDR) assists many breeds by referring to "breed representatives". We have coordinated with SPDR for appointment of a Great Dane representative. This "breed rep" will handle surrenders and arrange fostering. You can reach SPDR at: (206) 654-1117
In addition to SPDR, you can also contact any of the following rescues which Dane Outreach recommends:
Northwest Great Dane Rescue - http://www.northwestgreatdanerescue.com/
Alternative Humane Society - https://www.alternativehumanesociety.com/
Valhalla Rescue - http://www.valhallarescue.org/
(You might also contact your local animal shelter for recommendations.)

Q: Where do I go to if I want to adopt a rescue Dane? 
A: Call SPDR (above) or one of the rescues we recommend: 
 Northwest Great Dane Rescue - http://www.northwestgreatdanerescue.com/
Alternative Humane Society - https://www.alternativehumanesociety.com/
Valhalla Rescue - http://www.valhallarescue.org/
MEOW Canine Rescue - http://meowcatrescue.org/dogs/
We will also still be sending emails to our referral list advising when other rescues and shelters have Danes available. We won’t be handling applications or adoptions, so you’ll need to meet these Danes by contacting the rescue or shelter who is fostering a posted Dane.

Q: What is wrong with the rescues that you do not list as “recommended”? 
 A: Quite possibly nothing. There are certainly other reputable rescues in the area. But we couldn’t list them all, so we selected those that we knew have had Dane experience, are valid non-profits and that maintain the high standards we require. If you are interested in a dog another rescue has, you should screen the rescue group carefully.

You WANT to see: Adoption of only a spayed/neutered Dane; an application and a fenced yard is required; your home is visited and a “home check” is done before placement; and the Adoption Contract requires return of an adopted Dane to them, if you cannot keep the Dane. 
 Also, check how long they have been in operation, and if they have IRS 501(c)(3) charitable status. (Some rescues just file as a nonprofit corporation with the State, then call themselves a “nonprofit” to imply they are a 501(c)(3) while they are not.) You can check 501(c)(3) status through the IRS or the Washington Secretary of State’s Charity Division. Age and charitable status are not absolute guarantees of a good rescue, but they are a good indicator of stability and responsibility.

Q: What happens to all the donations Dane Outreach received for rescue?
A: As fostering (and related veterinary care) is the most expensive part of rescue, and we will no longer have that expense, we will be donating most of our funds to the local rescues we listed above. That will help ensure they have the funds necessary to help with the Danes whom we will no longer be taking in. Of course, we will keep enough to maintain what our continuing educational efforts require, as we’ll still have the costs of maintaining websites, phone lines, P.O. boxes and other needs such as educational booths and literature.

Q: I still want to help the Danes, but I’d rather donate to a rescue who needs the money to actively foster and place Great Danes. What groups will Dane Outreach be working with? 
A: We’ve listed the rescue groups we recommend. You can also donate to the Great Dane Club of America (GDCA) Charitable Trust and designate your donation to Dane rescue at http://ctstore.gdca.org/ 
 The Charitable Trust offers grants to approved rescue groups to promote and assist Dane rescue nationwide (including donating funds to local rescues burdened with a large group of Danes, such as puppy mill closures.)

Q: I still want to help the Danes through your education efforts. Can I still donate to Dane Outreach?
A: Yes, we would still appreciate donations to pay for the costs that we will still have. If, over time, we collect more than necessary for ongoing education efforts, we will assist local rescues with funds if their Dane rescue efforts are hit with an unusual need, such as a puppy mill rescue.

Q: I’d like to help with your efforts more actively. Do you still need volunteers?
A: We no longer will need foster homes, but as we go forward, we may need friendly and knowledgeable Dane-experienced people to help with writing, website support, participation in booths, and other projects which we may initiate in the future. And we’ll always need encouragement and appreciation – no time or energy required to post something nice!

Dane Outreach’s volunteers, one and all, want to THANK everyone who has supported us through the years with time and donations. Special thanks to those who loved their Danes enough to trust us with their futures, when they needed help; to our foster homes for their invaluable time, effort and patience; and to the hundreds of Dane lovers who, over the years, gave loving “forever homes” to our Danes.

A "gentle giant," the Great Dane is nothing short of majestic. Sometimes referred to as the "Apollo of dogs," this extremely large dog breed is known for being strong yet elegant, with a friendly, energetic personality. – The American Kennel Club

 

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