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.

• Outside of Portland, Ore.,authorities found 22 dogs, including 13 Basset Hounds and one Lhasa Apso, languishing at a substandard kennel.
• In Richburg, S.C., 87 Yorkies, Maltese, Chihuahuas covered with old urine and feces were removed from a home and from overheated storage units in the breeder’s backyard. The units were so full of stench that law enforcers have to ventilate them for several hours before going in.
• In Central Okla., officials discovered 65 Chihuahuas, Schnauzers and terriers with severely matted coats, eye problems and bloody feet.
• In Robert, La., more than 100 dogs, many of the Miniature Pinschers, were found stacked in filthy cages. The dogs had never stepped on solid ground and hopped about “like someone walking on hot coals” when they were set on the ground for the first time.

• In Bottineau County, N.D., rescuers saved 18 Poodles, Collies, Pekingese and other dogs from a squalid kennel.
• In Cortland, N.Y., 27 Boxers and Cockapoos were removed from filthy cages.
• Authorities near Tuscumbia, Mo., found 108 Cocker Spaniels, Poodles, Pekingese, Beagles, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Shih Tzus crowded into 2 by 2-foot cages. The dogs were suffering from eye infections, overgrown toenails and malnourishment.
• In Lee County, Fla., officials confiscated 26 puppies from a Missouri breeder who was selling them without a license or proof that they had been examined by a veterinarian.
• A breeder in New Tripoli, Penn., was charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty after the discovery of 18 Bichon Frise and Neapolitan Mastiffs in deplorable conditions.
• In Omaha, Neb., 35 dogs, mostly American Eskimos, with eye, teeth and coat problems were removed from a kennel.

• A breeder in Knox County, Tenn., was arrested after officials found 27 Chihuahuas and two parakeets in bad shape on his property.
• In Wilson County, Tenn., two dozen Shar Peis covered in fleas and ticks and lacking food or water were discovered at a kennel. When investigators returned to the property several days later to remove the dogs, they could find only 17.
• Near Charlotte, N.C., authorities found 40 English Bulldogs, Chihuahuas, Boston Terriers and Maltipoos living with moldy water and food and suffering from worms at a kennel.
• In Nashua, Iowa, 12 St Bernards, Dachshunds, Lhasa Apsos and other dogs were removed from an unsanitary kennel. Five dead dogs were also found.
• At filthy kennels in Norman and Oklahoma City, Okla., rescuers seized more than 70 Maltese, Chihuahuas and Yorkies.
• In Aurora, Neb., two dozen breeding Pugs in ill health were removed from a squalid kennel. The last dog to give birth ate her puppies “and usually that’s a matter of severe stress,” a Hearts United for Animals representative said.
• In Harrah, Oka., officials charged a breeder with animal cruelty after finding ”countless” dogs living in weeds several feet high and covered with ticks and fleas.
• Several rescue groups helped save more than 100 mostly small breed dogs from a kennel in Carriere, Miss. Take a look at a video the Humane Society of the U.S. posted after the raid. Incredible as it may seem, thousands of dogs endure this kind of life. http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2010/07/ms_puppy_mill_rescue_072110.html