– Triple Portrait of Dusty –

April 22, 2002 – This is a triple portrait of 3-year-old Am/Int'l. CH. MeadoWood's TerraGold DiamonDust, better known to his friends and family as Dusty. I first met Dusty at the 2000 GDCA National Specialty in Kansas City. We met up again at the 2001 National in Lancaster, PA, where I was able to engage him in a photo session.

Dusty's breeder is the bodacious redheaded "Mistress of MeadoWood Estate," Gisela Wood. Dusty comes from a long line of MeadoWood champions. He was born in Ohio but he now lives in Longwood, Florida, where he is owned and loved by Vivian and Ed St. Pierre.

Anyone who has met Vivian St. Pierre is not likely to forget her. She's a petite woman with a large presence. This is what Vivian has to say about life with Dusty:

I met my first Great Dane 25 years ago when I went into a dry cleaning store and was greeted by a beautiful black Dane who jumped on the counter just to say "Hi!" This experience helped to shape my notion of what a Great Dane is... an exceptionally lovely creature that is intelligent, friendly, energetic, inquisitive, graceful, strong and gentle. Dusty has fulfilled all my beliefs about the Great Dane personality. He is not just beautiful to look at, he is beautiful to live with. He is my best friend, my buddy. He is such a positive force. No matter what kind of a day I've had, all I have to do is look at him and he makes me light up! Dusty is truly a gentle giant. We had a Cocker Spaniel who lived to be 16. During his final years Cappy was totally blind. Dusty watched out for him by gently pushing him away from objects before he collided with them. It was amazing to see. He would jump up and steer Cappy towards safety whenever he was in danger of hurting himself. I don't believe Dusty has ever met anybody or anything that he didn't love. While he was training for the show ring he stayed with our friend Ann Skyler-Cobbett. Along with her two Great Danes, Ann has two Chihuahuas, two Boston Terriers and a cat. As soon as he walked through the door, they all loved Dusty and he loved them back. He is also adventurous. We were at a show once and it started to rain. We had to park pretty far away from the rings. Fortunately Ann had her golf cart there. I asked Dusty to jump into the golf cart. He never even hesitated, he just jumped in and made himself at home. Ever since then, whenever Dusty sees a golf cart, he thinks that he has to go for a ride. His other adventures have been in the entertainment business. Dusty was asked to appear on a weekly show called "Ask The Veterinarian." It was wonderful fun for him and he was a great ambassador for the breed. The show has aired on the American Health Network. He was also videotaped by a local channel, Fox TV, and he has done a couple of promo videos. What a ham – he loves the camera! Dusty has been my dream come true. He has surpassed whatever I expected of him. He has had a wonderful show career, which included Winners Dog at the 1999 GDCA National Specialty in California. But after all those wonderful wins, he is still my sweet couch potato. A very good friend recently offered to make a Top 20 special out of him. I politely declined because in my heart I know Dusty would rather be at home running in the back yard with his best buddy Remy. They are inseparable. Dusty doesn't enjoy the show dog circuit as much as he likes staying at home with his family, so home is where he'll stay!

You can read more about Dusty and his family at their web site, TerraGold Great Danes.