January 24, 2000 – This week's portrait is in response to several requests for an uncropped brindle. Meet two-year-old Grendel. She lives in Houston, Texas, with owners Zeli and Bret Schulte. Grendel shares their affection with two other uncropped Danes, Circe and puppy Grimm. Circe, a black, appears in the DaDane portrait titled Danehenge. Grimm, also black, is a recent addition to Grendel's family.

According to Zeli, life in the Schulte household is anything but dull. "After living with Grendel, we soon found there was a reason she was born with 'racing stripes.' She has always been high energy. Her usual antics include running with toys in her mouth, leaping in the air with our other Danes and hopping from front paw to front paw," says Zeli.

"Grendel was one of only two puppies in her litter that remained uncropped. According to Ruth Kaufman, her breeder, Grendel is the first puppy in the Waldenthree line to be shown with natural ears. In 1997, at 8 weeks of age, Grendel became one of the winners of DaneWorld Magazine's contest for 'Most Beautiful Great Dane Heads in the World.' She was also featured in DaneWorld's 1998 calendar as the June cover puppy. Later in the year, Grendel placed 4th out of a class of nine bitches at the GDCA National Specialty in Fort Worth, Texas, in the Open Brindle Bitch class at the tender age of 16 months!"

It's obvious that Zeli is proud of Grendel and her accomplishments. As well she should be!

Note: Last week's "DaDane" featured an unusual coat color known as Fawnequin. Judging by my email, the portrait was very well-received. I was pleased that so many people were interested in seeing Jake with his mismarked coat. Jake's page remained active for an extra week because I was traveling and unable to update DaDane of DaWeek with a new illustration. (Sorry about that!) It turns out that the background used in this week's DaDane – the seascape behind Grendel – was taken with my new digital camera while I was vacationing last week. Those of you familiar with the Monterey Bay area of California might recognize the beach at the end of Ocean Avenue in Carmel.