Monday, August 07, 2000

Auction to aid dog haven

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Great Danes, St. Bernards lost shelter building to fire

By Tom O'Neill
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        HAMERSVILLE, Ohio — It's been a year, and the Great Dane rescuers still need rescuing.

        A year to the day that a fire destroyed Harlequin Haven, the only no-kill Great Dane rescue shelter in Greater Cincinnati, an auction is scheduled Saturday to help pay for the rebuilding.

        More than 80 dog-related items have been donated to the nonprofit facility in this Brown County hamlet near the Clermont County border.

        Items include an obedience-class voucher and free health examination at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Bethel, as well as dog-related art prints and figurines.

        Harlequin Haven has 48 dogs available for adoption: 29 Danes, 11 St. Bernards and eight Dane mixed- breeds. An open house will be held Saturday and Sunday by owners Tom and Dale Bath. The auction begins at 1 p.m. Saturday.

        Last Aug. 12, fire destroyed the barnlike garage in which dozens of dogs were kept. The Baths, and about 75 dogs , were uninjured. The Baths' attached home was damaged. Since the fire, the couple and about 50 dogs have been living in makeshift facilities at Harlequin.

        “What can we say, it's cramped,” Mrs. Bath said Sunday.

        The shelter is unique locally.

        Many new owners find Great Danes too difficult to keep, in part because they are costly to feed. They can weigh up to 175 pounds and measure 35 inches at the shoulder, so some people envision them as outdoor pets. But their protective and gentle de meanor better suits them to indoor living.

        Great Danes were bred for hunting and as guard dogs. More often than other dog breeds, the Danes are taken to animal shelters by frustrated owners. The Baths had been breeding Danes since 1992, but as the rescue operation flourished, they needed more room. They converted a garage into a barn, where the electrical fire started. The Baths' insurance negotiations are unresolved.

        “We have enough to put up the frame and concrete pad,” Mrs. Bath said. “We need another $50,000. It's our first auction, so we're not sure what to expect. But anything will help.”

        To get to Harlequin Haven, take Ohio 125 east from Interstate 275 in Clermont County. Follow to the Brown County line. Go left on Ohio 774. Harlequin is 2¹/₂ miles north of 125. For more information, call the Baths at (937) 379-2231.

       

       

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