Despite a few scares, Gracie perseveres
Her eyesight is practically non-existent and she’s down to three teeth.
But Gracie, the star of Saving Gracie, is hanging in there. For a 10-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who spent six years in a puppy mill, she’s more than just fine.
As readers of the book will recall, Gracie’s sole purpose in life was to bear puppies — until she was rescued, along with some 330 other dogs from the Mike-Mar Kennel in Lower Oxford, Penn., four and a half years ago. After five months at a shelter she was adopted by Linda Jackson, and Linda and Gracie have been a pack of two ever since.
Gracie has had a few scares in the last nine months, however.
Last October, the black and white dog had two of her five teeth pulled and a couple of lumps removed from her breasts. One of the tumors was benign and the other was malignant. The vet was fairly confident she removed all the cancer.
Two months later, another lump was discovered, and in February, a fourth lump was found, this time near Gracie’s throat. This time the vet decided not to operate.
July brought another close call. Erika, Linda’s 16-year-old daughter, found Gracie hanging off her dog bed, face down and choking on an enormous ball of fur that had lodged in her throat. Erika jumped into action: she reached inside Gracie’s mouth and pulled out the mass of fur. Linda was beyond relieved. “Had no one been home or had all the kids been sleeping, I would have found her dead,” she wrote.
I caught up with Linda this afternoon to see how Gracie was doing. The lump near her throat has grown a little and she’s starting to slow down. Her bad eye is swollen and red and still requires drops. But among the three Cavaliers who now reside at the Jackson home, Gracie still rules. Linda has learned to appreciates evey day she has with her beloved pet.
If you’re anywhere near Lebanon, Penn., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, drop by the Lebanon Valley Mall. Linda and Gracie will be signing copies of books as part of a book fair featuring several dozen authors. If I didn’t live 2,000 miles away, I’d join them.
I read Saving Gracie and related so very much. I too have a puppy mill rescue, an English Springer Spaniel named Petey, about 3 years old now, from a puppy mill bust in — where else — Missouri that occurred in February of 2009. The Springers were adopted out throughout the country through English Springer Rescue America (ESRA) and Petey was one of those tansported to Illinois for fostering/adoption. When I met him, he commando crawled against walls, and was so very fearful of everything. The first few weeks of fostering it took everything just to get him to step outside the house and lay on the front lawn, forget even standing up or exploring. Now, 1.5 years later, he has learned to trust people, is socialized with other dogs, and is loves the attention and walks and activity. But it took nearly a year for him to come out of his shell; luckily he was only about 2 years old when we rescued him, so he has a lot of life left to enjoy. Some of the other dogs did not fare as well. I remember one volunteer who cried and cradled an overbred female in her kennel at the vet she was rushed to only to have her bleed out and die in her arms despite the best efforts to save her. Michael Vanderwall is still selling on the internet, he had set fire to his kennel property just before the Dept of Ag in MO moved it. The terror the dogs must have felt is unimaginable. It is even more unimaginable that he still sells dogs on the internet and proudly announces that “River Valley Dogs” are back. Please never buy from this man, whomever is reading this, and let’s continue to try and put these folks out of business.
Wow, Mari, what a story! Your dog is so lucky to have landed with you. I agree with you — breeders who try to burn their way out of trouble are the worst. There’s a special place in the hereafter for that man.
Anything I can do to help you out, you’ve got it. What Petey and the others went through is unimaginable. I guess you surmised I did end up adopting Petey. A back story to this, though, is that when I lost my Springer/Sheltie mix, Pudge, to kidney failure a number of years ago he came to me in a dream and told me to watch for a dog named Pete, that he would need me. Years had passed and I just had my Springer Cody and Toy Poodle Baby and the two cats and a few fosters that I had helped rehab and get adopted out.
The moment the River Valley dogs came up here and out coordinator asked if I could foster one, I went to met them and the last one I was introduced to was Pete. Can you even imagine the thoughts that ran through my head? This was just past three years after I had lost Pudge but they always say dogs will choose you more often than you choose the dog.
BTW, I have a new foster, Lindsey, not a puppy mill dog, but a stray that had been beaten to within an inch of her life, she has bad arthritis in her hips and spine, hip dysplasia, and glaucoma in her left eye, secondary to blunt force trauma. I have had her for about a month now, and she is slowly recovering, very attached already and believe it or not, it is Petey who is coaxing her to take that one step outside the door (she’s afraid of stairs for fear of splaying out on all fours). He comes up to her standing at the open patio door, goes in and out as if to show her that she can come back in even if she goes out, and had gotten ehr to take that step once or twice on her own now, with Petey right in her nose, as if guiding her. What a blessing.
ANYTHING I can do help in the Chicago area, please let me know. \
Mari
Thanks, Mari!