The world lost a wonderful dog today. LilBit, one of our Great Danes has moved on to her home in heaven. LilBit was our special needs dog, whom we raised from a newborn. She had Megaesophagus, which is a condition where the esophagus does not automatically push food to the stomach. Most dogs with this condition die before they are 10 weeks old. Read more about LilBit’s condition in this post.
When she was diagnosed, the vets estimated her life-span to be four years at best. On January 8th and 9th, 2021, she and her brother Diesel celebrated their seventh birthdays! (Diesel was born before and LilBit after midnight). Although this passing leaves a huge gaping hurt-place in our hearts, we are also grateful that God allowed us to have seven good years with her.
A little bit about LilBit
LilBit was a very smart and gentle dog. She overcame her disability almost entirely because of my husband, Doug’s patience and persistence in training her. She had to eat her food and drink her water while standing on her hind legs so that gravity would pull the food to her stomach. Although she was extremely stubborn he trained her to remain vertical for 30 minutes after she ate. This was no small feat as she had to eat multiple times a day when she was young. While a puppy, we put her paws on a chair to eat, then as she grew, we used a bar stool, and then Doug built a special table that was the perfect size for a full grown Great Dane. Here is a post with photos of her first birthday! LilBit would jump up and put her paws on the table, eat her food, and remain standing (or leaning) there, by her own free will, until the timer beeped. As an adult, she only had to remain vertical for 15 minutes after she ate. This was truly a gravity-fed dog.
Gentle Giant
LilBit became a certified Hospice volunteer early in her life and was a joy to introduce to kids as well as adults. Many who were afraid of dogs were not afraid of LilBit. She had the cutest ears that she could hold out from her head when she was interested in something. Her ears looked like a gun-slingers stance – ready to draw. She was always ready to run, always quick to catch any treat in the air, and had a bark much larger than her size.
LilBit lost her brother Attila, last year. Both dogs were some of the best we’ve ever known, and both are greatly missed.