Famous Great Danes
For such a distinguished breed, it's no surprise that many Great Danes have become celebrities. Here are some of the most well-known and impressive ones.
Scooby-Doo
This cartoon character is probably the most famous Great Dane of all. He likes to hunt ghosts, eat Scooby Snacks and hang out with his friends Shaggy, Velma, and Fred. He can also walk on his hind legs and eat people food, such as sandwiches (both tricks that real Great Danes can also pull off.) However, no real Great Dane has yet been heard to speak English in the distinctive barking cadences that Scooby-Doo has.
Scooby-Doo's creator Iwao Takamoto, in an interview with BBC News, said that he came up with Scooby-Doo's physical appearance by talking with a breeder of Great Danes. The breeder told him what characteristics were desirable in a Great Dane show dog, such as a straight back, straight legs and a small chin. Takamoto drew Scooby-Doo to be exactly the opposite, with a hump back and bowed legs.
Marmaduke
Scooby-Doo is not the only cartoon Great Dane on the block. There is also Marmaduke, a comic strip dog who has been drawn by Brad Anderson since 1955. This makes Marmaduke at least 56 years old, or 237 years old in dog years, according to the Dog Years Calculator at OnlineConversion.com.
Marmaduke, syndicated in major newspapers all over the country, is a large Dane who won't behave. He has also appeared on the big screen, in Marmaduke, a movie that came out in theatres in summer 2010. Owen Wilson starred, as the voice of a computer-generated Marmaduke. It garnered a collective 9% rating from America's film critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Gibson
When he died in 2009, Gibson was the tallest dog in the world, as confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records. According to a eulogy in the Telegraph, Gibson was 7 feet, 1 inch tall when standing on his hind legs. He worked as a therapy and special needs dog throughout California before succumbing to cancer. His successor for the title of world's tallest dog is also a Great Dane: Giant George, who is even taller at 7 feet, 3 inches.
Diplomatic
This is not a dog, but the name of an elite Swedish Great Dane breeding company that turns out prize-winning Danes at dog shows. Some of their most successful Danes have been Nicholas Cage, Val Kilmer and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. With these names, are they angling for a career in Hollywood?