Amazin' Gracie, a gentle reminder that every day is special

Probably the number one reason that senior greyhounds don't get adopted is the fear that their owners will become attached and lose them way to soon. It is true. In life there are no guarantees. Gracie is the perfect example. But she didn't die because of old age, she died because she got cancer, the evil disease that can affect any dog, any breed, at any age.

She came with volumes and volumes of love and she left reminding her new family that every day special.

Amazin' Gracie came to us at the very young age of ten. She had been with her family for nearly five years. Lifestyles were rigorous and the family wasn't home nearly enough to satisfy Gracie's need for them to be home. She retaliated in a big way by peeing in the house. Recognizing her dissatisfaction, her family called us, explained her situation and asked if she could  come to our house. Without a second thought, we gave an immediate yes.

I remember the day we picked her up. It was love at first sight and we knew that we could work with whatever was ahead. We put her in the car and she promptly peed in the back seat. We assured her that she wasn't going to rattle our cages, pee cleans up. She never peed in the house again.

We have a fenced acre and with great big eyes, Gracie looked at all of the grass she would have to tickle her toes. She spent the first few weeks just trotting around, soon she was running with the other greyhounds and before we knew it, she was flying from corner to corner.

She adapted to our home like she had been there forever. She quickly learned that she had a special bed right beside ours at night. By day she had a cushion in the living room, just waiting for us to come home from work.

Car rides were her favorite. If the keys made the slightest noise, that meant she was going and "no Gracie, not this time" was not an option. We even renamed the car, GUV, for Gracie Utility Vehicle.

Gracie was once described by a close friend as a very classy dog, and she was all of that. Her sweet gentle manner was the very best.

Gracie came for a visit in January, her adoption became official in May. We took her everywhere we could. In November of that year she seemed to be having some neck pain and we drove an hour and fifteen minutes each way for her acupuncture. She was a trooper though, and accepted it as just another ride in her car.

Because she could no longer go up and down the stairs, we retreated to the living room to sleep at night so that Gracie would not be without us. That was the beginning of the perpetual slumber party and to this day, all of the greyhounds thank her.

The following March, she developed a limp. X-rays confirmed our worst fears, Gracie was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right shoulder.

We kept Gracie comfortable and told her every day about how much we loved her, how she made our days happier and that age was only a number. Bringing her home at ten years old was the best thing we had ever done.

Three weeks after diagnosis, when the pain was getting to be too much, we held Gracie in our arms as she gently slipped away. Once again we thanked her for being a part of our lives, told her how much we loved her and we promised her that there would always be room in our home and our hearts for the senior greyhound that needed us.

We've remained true to our promise as we have welcomed home five more seniors since then: Picker--10; Roxy--9; Cleo--10; Barbie--10; and our very own Rover Reporter Pasha--12.

We had Gracie for only 14 months, but 140 years would have never been long enough. She reminded us that every day is special.