A-Z Challenge 2014 - 'G'

G - German Shepherd, Great Dane, Greyhound.

We met Axel as an Alsatian under 'A' and here he is again.

Axel - German Shepherd (Alsatian)

I mentioned then that German Shepherds were in demand as police dogs. They are also used as guard dogs at many military establishments.

MOD Guard Service Dog Handler
at Army Air Force station at Middle Wallop
(Open Government Licence v1.0 - source http://www.defenceimagery.mod.up)

In my North Yorkshire village a German Shepherd, called Kaiser has to do as it is told.

By Marley, a Great Dane

I've known Marley from when he barely came up to my knee, Now he is as tall as my waist; he is really gentle and will pose properly for his photo, not at all jealous of Kaiser.

Marley and Kaiser

You don't have to be a Manchester United football fan to have heard of Peter Schmeichel, goalkeeper at the heart of many of their spectacular successes. It case you didn't know, his nickname was "Great Dane."

Another great Dane in the literary field was Hans Christian Andersen. His fairy tale "The Tinderbox"was about a soldier who acquired a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding. Unfortunately the tale does not tell us what breed they were.

If like me you are fan of cartoons. then you will know that Scooby-Doo was based on a Great Dane by his creator.

A Great Dane was the only dog to be officially enlisted in the Royal Navy during WWII, It served at the RN shore establishment at Simonstown in South Africa from 1939-1944. It had a memorable name and was honoured by a memorial statue.

Just Nuisance's statue erected at Simonstown in 1985
(Artist Jean Doyle - photo by Jon Plowman - CC BY-SA 3.0)

When it comes to racing Mick the Miller (1926-1939) was the world's most famous greyhound. Somehow I don't think that Sapphire, owned by J K Rowling, will receive an accolade like that. For a greyhound depicted as a statue you may have to travel to the Isle of Wight off England's south coast. There you will find EOS the dog once owned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert..

EOS statue - Terrace Gardens, Osborne House, IOW
(By Chris Newman, 30 Apr 2008 - Geograph Project Collection - CC BY-SA 2.0)

It's unlikely that my local greyhound will have a statue either, A rescued greyhound she is very much alive.

In her winter coat.

Great Danes - Sepia Saturday

When I saw that this week's prompt was showing cycling in Copenhagen I decided I had seen enough in the Olympics.

As I have spent a lot of time in Denmark and Copenhagen it seemed natural to show pictures taken in the city. But for reasons that will become apparent I changed my mind and took a different tack.

Great Dane (XI International Dog Show, Krakow 2007)

(By Lilly M - CC A-S A 3.0 unported license)

Alright, I know Krakow is not in Denmark but you must admire the dog.

At least you should agree that it would be good to start the day of with this:

Danish bacon being cooked 

(By The Legendary Sky Attacker - 2009)

Although if you have a sweet tooth this may be what you prefer.

A Pecan & Maple Danish by Cuisine de France

(Oct 2008 - by Yohan euan o4 - CC A 3.0 unported license)

I had intended to include my photos of Copenhagen but found that one I wanted to use was in danger of infringing an artists copyright. However I found this illustration  instead.

The Little Mermaid

Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen for H.C. Andersen's fairy tale

So from a Great Dane to another in Hans Christian Andersen I decided to sign off with a video of another small maid introduced by the late Danny Kaye.

For other interpretations of cycling or Danish themes you need to check in at Sepia-saturday-138