Our first child, Grace, was the sweetest little girl we could have hoped for. We had first dibs at the breeder and even visited her while she was being weened, leaving behind our clothes so she’d be familiar with us when we brought her home. Grace soon acquired the name Crazy Gracie, as puppies are just little balls of energy.
Grace received all the attention she could muster out of anyone. When she was 3 1/2, she was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Ironically, we had just found out we were expecting our first human child that we worked very hard to conceive. We couldn’t let Grace go yet – she was just too young. Without treatment, she’d have been gone in a matter of weeks. So Grace underwent chemo for 8 months and did very well. Then the baby came and she graciously shared the attention of everyone with her, but we had a rule that you had to acknowledge Grace before the baby. And she was good with the baby! Of course we knew she would be but after having center stage for so long, we thought there might be a bit of sibling rivalry but not a hint of it. God Bless her.
Grace accepted her new position in the family quite respectfully. A few months later, Grace was feeling ‘lumpy’ again. The cancer came back with a vengeance. We tried medicine and knew we were only buying a little more time, this time. On Memorial Day 2003, Grace just wasn’t herself. She wasn’t taking treats, cheese, finishing a bowl of milk, all of her favorites. She didn’t bark at the neighbors outside and had trouble up the step from outside. Loving her as we did, we couldn’t bear for her to go through the night this way so our vet met us on the holiday to free Grace from her pain.
The house isn’t a home without her. No one to greet us at the door, under our feet, begging for our food. We hear her tags rattle and miss her so much. She was everything to us for years and gave us so much.
Grace’s life was much too short but we are comforted knowing we did everything we could and she had a full life with lots of car rides (her favorite), walks, camping, visiting everywhere she was welcome to go.
We miss our Gracie. She cannot be replaced and she has very special, permanent places in the hearts of all who knew her.
Shine on, Crazy Gracie. Thank you for the love, loyalty, laughs and memories. We’ll be with you when our missions are complete.
Love,
| Grace |
| Paula & Scott |