Great Danes Saved By Two Unstoppable North Fork Pet Rescuers: Part Two

The promise that both Dawn Camis Bennett, co-owner of , and Amy Azzara Cirincione, owner of of Cutchogue, made to four homeless Great Danes meant placing them where they'd be safe and well-cared for — but first the dogs had to be evaluated.

Aggression

A big obstacle for Bennett and Cirincione was the dog's temperaments. Duke and Havock, the only female, could not even be approached. Gunther was not as bad but was going to need work. And Gus, a dog with a bum leg, was easiest to approach, yet he was petrified.

Seeing a certain level of aggression in the dogs, Gay Ann Wayne, coordinator of the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Animal Rescue League, was convinced that she could not place them in foster. "We weren't able to approach two of these dogs — there was no way that I could put them in a private home. It would've been a liability," she said.

The one thing that Bennett, Cirincione and Wayne agreed on was the fact that by merely socializing the Great Danes with other people early on in their lives would've prevented these negative behaviors from existing.

But even with the added issue of rehabilitation, the North Fork gals didn't give up. "We saw hope in these dogs when no one else did," Bennett said.

The North Fork Community Pulls Together

Once they were able to be handled, the Danes needed to be neutered and spayed. Workers at the , lead by director Gillian Wood Pultz, joined the fight by paying for of these procedures.

By putting the word out on Facebook, $800 was raised for the transportation to new homes, and a good amount of that money came from folks on the North Fork.  Both Bennett and Cirincione said they were more than humbled. "We can't thank the North Fork community enough for helping to save these dog," Bennett said.

The Almost Completely Happy Ending

Gunther the handsome black boy got to travel to Canada, where he will spend the rest of his days with an experienced and loving Great Dane owner.

When Rebecca Braker from the rescue organization Majestic Giants Great Dane Rescue located in Knoxville, Tenn. agreed to take both Havock and Duke, where they'd be placed into foster homes and rehabilitated.

“Thanks to Rebecca, the dogs now have a shot," Cirincione said.

Duke was returned to his original owner upon agreement that if help was ever needed in the future the owner would contact Bennett and Cirincione immediately.

The ladies rented a mini-van, and on her own, Cirincione took a three-day trip to bring Havock to Tennessee. But on the way there something incredible happened.

“It was a great trip, and Havock even began bonding with me," Circincione said. 

And there seems to be bright future ahead for Gus as well, since he has now been officially and happily adopted by Bennett and her family.

What matters at the end of the day is that a promise was kept, and that fellow community members and animal lovers alike would probably all agree with McDonald's final comment: “These ladies did an amazing job on this rescue."