 |
| "Innocent" Gracie |
This is Gracie. [Also known as: Gracie Anne, Grace, G, G-Dog, Schnookems, Schmoopy, Schmoop-dawg, Schmufalupugus, Schmupalicious, Baby Girl, Good Girl, Naughty Girl, and, occasionally, Jacey (when Opa gets her mixed up with her human-cousin, Jace)].
 |
| "Impatient" Gracie |
She is so many things: perfect, smart, beautiful, playful, soft, cuddly, loving, strong, impatient, stubborn, needy, demanding, and narcissistic (to name a few). She's missing part of one of her ears. I have no idea why its like that, but its one of my favorite parts of her. I love her nose the most.
 |
| The day we met, our car ride home. |
Gracie was already 5 years old when I adopted her. She lost her home when her family lost theirs. At first they just tried to board her until they could care for her again, but after a while they had to give her up. I imagine that was one of the most excruciating decisions they had to make. I never would have understood how difficult that would be before I fell in love with her myself. There are times I want to find her previous family and beat them senseless for some of Gracie's bad habits (her dog-aggression, for example), but I also want them to know that Gracie has found a new home, and she's happy, loved, well-fed, and spoiled-rotten.
The year was 2012. I'd been thinking of getting a dog. I'd recently moved to a new city where I knew pretty much NO ONE. I figured a dog would help keep me company. I started volunteering for
The Animal Rescue Alliance (T.A.R.A.), walking dogs at one of their boarding facilities (not the one Gracie was at). One day one of the other volunteers was talking about "Gracie Anne" and telling her story. My heart broke for her and so I looked her up. [You can find her page
here.] I completed the application, met her that weekend, and the rest is history.
 |
| Night #1 - That's her bed on the left... |
I bought all the things a dog-owner should have: dog bed, toys, treats, food, food/water dishes, kennel. I was going to do this right. Bedtime came the first night, and I went to direct her onto "her bed." No matter how hard I tried (or what I used to bribe her), she refused, and would just jump on my bed and lay down. I gave up and let her sleep with me, but decided I would try again the next night. Guess what didn't work on night number two either? You guessed it. She had already decided what "her bed" really was, and it was my bed.
 |
| "Cousins" |
When I first brought Gracie home, I didn't know how long she'd been at the rescue. I figured it hadn't been too long, I mean, she was pretty much perfect: yellow lab, house-trained, loves people. One day I figured out she'd been there for six months. SIX MONTHS?! Not just that, but for those six months, she lived in a concrete run with a gate on the front. She had a dog-bed and interaction a couple times a day, but nothing like what she lost when her family gave her up. How discouraged she must have been, wondering where her family went and when they were coming back.
I hope she doesn't remember the time she spent basically living in a cage. But if she does, that must make this even more awesome:
Gracie has lots of quirks that make up her personality. Because she was
abandoned, she has an exaggerated need for attachment and to always
know exactly where I am. I can't so much as pee without her being
able to see me. If I shut the door to the bathroom, she tries
to push it open (she has to make sure I'm not escaping out the window,
you know). If the bathroom door isn't latched, I have to be prepared for it to be pushed open, because it will be. When we visit my parents, if I
leave the house she waits by the front door for me, even if there are
other people there in the room with her. I'm her rescuer, and she will
do everything possible to make sure she's not abandoned again.
 |
| Tuesday night snuggles. |
|
Gracie is also dog-aggressive, which means she HATES other dogs (or really anything with four legs). She's been that way since I got her, so I don't really know what made her that way. Her previous owners just said "she doesn't really like other dogs." She's missing part of one of her ears, so its possible she got in a fight with another dog. Its also possible that her previous owners just didn't socialize her. Dogs are like home-schooled kids. You have to provide social opportunities for them or they become socially awkward. (Gracie is definitely socially awkward.) I do know that if a dog ever tries to break into our house, she will protect me to her death. (Though I'm not so sure about a human breaking in. I've told her numerous times that if anyone ever tries to hurt me, she's not allowed to ask them for a belly rub. I'm not 100% certain she grasps this concept.)
Gracie is quite the cuddler. She loves anything soft. She'll move blankets around until they're in the perfect cuddling position. She has dibs on every soft piece of furniture in the house. She even has her own blankets (one on the bed, one on the couch, and one in the car).
 |
| The many cuddles of Gracie. |
While Gracie has an intense hatred for anything with four legs, she has an equal amount of love for anything with two legs, particularly kids. This is the weekend she met her human-cousin, Jace. I do believe she approves. What do you think?
Gracie LOVES when I have friends over. She gets all excited like "just LOOK at all these hands that can pet me!" She has no shame, and is not afraid to ask for a belly rub. She'd also really love to make out with you, and she may succeed whether you like it or not.
 |
| "May I have a belly-rub, please?" |
One day a friend came over to do a home-energy audit. We found proof that dogs really do have cold noses (and thus confirmed why I don't enjoy Gracie waking me up in the morning by putting her nose on the small of my back...). She also apparently has really warm eyes. Who knew?
 |
| Photo credit: Landon Hartley |
Gracie sometimes provides reviews of the recipes on my blog. She typically gives them two-paws-up (well, she would if she could get her face out of the bowl...)
 |
| "Quack-quack-seat-back" does not work in our house. |
This one sweet, stubborn girl has taught me more about love than I thought possible. I often think about writing a book called "The Gospel According to Gracie," because of how often her actions toward me mimic those that I should be showing my Rescuer, my Deliverer, my Savior. She's so eager to spend time with me, she always wants me close, and she desires to spend every last waking moment with me. She doesn't want to read a book about me, she wants ME. Plain and simple.
Gracie sent in a little "thank you" letter to the great people of
T.A.R.A. to show her appreciation for taking care of her while she found her forever home. You can read that
here. She's right, I do love her more than I could have ever imagined. If you'd have told me a couple years ago that I could love a 4-legged creature so much, I'd have said you were crazy. As it turns out, I must be the crazy one. #CrazyInLove
