Gentle giants

One of my regular customer called me to inform me she just recently acquired a "new' dog.
I take care of her lovebird and turtle on a regular basis, and on occasion her elderly border collie.
She is young woman who, like Micheal J Fox,  has physical challenges as a result of early onset Parkingson disease.
 The "new dog" is a service dog who helps her with balance issues.
This dog, "Tommy", is a GIANT black and white Great Dane!
* the photo above is a photo  I found on the internet. The dog looks exactly like the one depicted!
Let me tell you this is one BIG dog!
As with all service dogs you need to ask first if it is OK that you can pet them (or interact with them). They are service dogs and can not be distracted from what they are trained to do.
"Tommy" greeted me at the door when I came over to retrieve "Billy Bob" the lovebird for a week long stay at my" birdy-camp"
.He is a sweet friendly dog despite his gigantic size.His head is the size of a large horse's head.His paws were the size of a large man's hands.I think if you put a saddle on him you could ride him like a pony.
I think, just by his sheer size, he is a good dog to walk with. Even just for the safety factor, no one would mess with you.
The sad thing about big dogs like this is that they do not have a long lifespan. They only live for about eight years compared to small dogs which can live up to 16-18 years.
It will be interesting to see how things work out with this unusual service dog. :-)