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Anyone who wants to open their hearts and home to a dog should look at rescuing and adopting one from a shelter first. There are so many animals out there that need forever homes that you can always find one that fits your needs through rescue groups and shelters in your area. It’s the best route to go and that’s what Sue Markham did when she wanted a new puppy.
There was only one small problem, Sue’s husband Robert wasn’t really a dog person and was hesitant about having one, especially a big dog. Despite his apprehensions, Sue went to the local shelter anyways and ended up falling in love with a little one pound, 15 ounce puppy she adopted and named Yogi. When she brought the little guy home, she told Robert that he was a Jack Russell Terrier, which was fine by him so long as it wasn’t a large breed dog.
As Yogi grew it quickly became apparent that he was not a normal Jack Russell. As it turned out, he was in fact a Boston Great Dane, which is one of the largest dog breeds! Soon Yogi was much bigger than the average Jack Russel and he just seemed to keep on growing. Even though Robert had not wanted a big dog, he had already fallen in love with Yogi and didn’t care that his wife had misled him about their new family member.
By the time he was done growing Yogi tipped the scales at over 200 pounds, which is much larger than the average Great Dane that tend to weigh around 135 pounds. Because of his giant size, people in the village call him ‘Bear’, a nickname that’s more than fitting. He also stands at 6 foot 11 inches and eats an average of $213 worth of food each month. That includes the four scrambled eggs and sausages he gets for breakfast, while his snack options range from popcorn and yoghurt to bananas and milk.
The gentle giant definitely has all of his needs taken care of and the Markham’s have gone above and beyond to accommodate his massive size. They’ve given him his own special couch to rest on and had a custom horse coat specially made to keep him warm when it’s cold out. To ensure he stays healthy as can be they built a three-acre enclosed paddock area for him to exercise in and they shower him with love and attention.
Perhaps the sweetest thing about Yogi is that he’s best friends with an old female cat named Toffee who lives in the neighborhood. The Markham’s would let her inside in the winter to stay warm and while they initially worried he wouldn’t like her, Bear ended up absolutely loving his new feline friend. They snuggle on his couch, take naps together, they even groom each other with Yogi licking her ever so gently. According to Sue, Toffee regularly stops by just to visit him.
It seems like Yogi has it made. He truly is a gentle giant and is living the good life!
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