Gracie's Story
7/20/03
We made it safe and sound... a non-event trip to Los Angeles I am happy
to say.
Ernestine lay on the car floor for about an hour, and finally decided
that the seat with the blanket was a better bet. She slept most of the
way, drank little, but did take every cookie I offered. We made it to
L.A. at 3:00 p.m. and I probably stopped for a total of an hour for gas
and potty breaks.
She made herself right to home at my sister's, didn't chase the cats,
very friendly to all the kids that came by. She did get excited when a
dog went by but not in an aggressive way. Friday night we slept at a
hotel -- she cried a little, like a nightmare but went right back to
sleep. In the morning, she immediately went to the door to go
outside. Had a touch of diarrhea so I gave she some plain yogurt to
settle her stomach w/ her dog food.
We're decided on a name -- Gracie for Gracie Allen & George Burns.
Cute, comical with a lot of intelligence behind it.
Gracie slept on the way back to San Francisco, drank little again. She
made up for it when we got home -- we turned our back for a second &
suddenly heard the slurping of water from the living room. She
creatively went to a waterfall I have on a sofa table in the living room
and helped herself. She gently put her paws on the table to lick --- my
Giant would have knocked the whole thing over! She slept on her big
doggie bed without hesitation. She woke up early and sat there looking
out the picture window till we woke up.... too cute. She has taken a
strong shine to Ken ... as I suspected she would. We are working on the
doggie door --- she does it when food is the motivator, urinated outside
but took a bowel movement in the living room when we were upstairs. We
should have walked her right away.
She definitely is not a jumper. She scrambles into our Yukon on the
side & will not jump in from the back. We won't have to worry about the
side fence. I plan to ask our vet about gluocosamine given her age.
We took her to the Doggie Park this morning. She was great. Off leash,
she immediately went to the huddle of no less than 10 pugs playing,
sniffing, saying hi..... romped over to the Big Guys and hit upon a
small poodle who was in a bad mood. No problem, she just trotted away.
Suddenly she picked up steam like a rabbit heading to the Labs playing
fetch into the lagoon. I sent Ken after her to head her off but at a
slow lope he didn't have a chance. The next thing I knew, Gracie was
trotting through the 2' deep mud, with Ken sinking 3' deep behind her.
We bathed her out at the barn so she's back to looking like a princess
rather than the mudpie who left the park.
The Doggie bag you gave me was wonderful! It contained a purple collar
& leash, Airedale terrier stationary, a purple stuffed toy, liver
treats, a towel, and soap with a terrier on it... very nice.
Gracie is sleeping next me to as I write in my office. She has had a
good first day.
Tomorrow, Ken is taking her to Dr. Comilla, our vet.
Thank you -- she's perfect for us.
Connie
7/21/03
Well, today is a work from home day for me and I have a shadow (Gracie).
She is really settling in and making herself quite comfy! I am also
impressed by her astute hearing.....she can be upstairs, the TV blasting,
and she hears every time that refrigerator door opens!!!! I took her to
the vet today for a follow-up and everything was great!!
Ken
8/23/03
It's been 5 weeks since Gracie entered our lives... and now we can't
imagine our lives without her.
The first few days she was cautiously friendly but quiet, tentative...
rather withdrawn as she evaluated her surroundings. She cried at night
in her sleep, seeming to have nightmares and woke often in a panicked
state. We then moved into a period of Separation Anxiety where she
would howl outside during the times we were gone .... or so said my
neighbor. We quickly addressed this, seeking advice from our Vet and
friends who are trainers. We changed our behavior from one of sheer
excitement to see her when we did come home, to one of acknowledgment
without making it a big deal. The theory is that it then becomes a Non
Event for us Coming and Going. We also gave her Rescue Remedy that 2nd
week. It's a natural, herbal relaxant. We leave a light on and the
TV... Animal Planet of course.
We took her to the Vet that first weekend where she was deemed extremely
healthy at 72 lbs. Her right eye is still irritated. We plan to have
it corrected when one of us can stay home fulltime for a week since she
will have to wear a collar again.
All of this came together and Gracie has now settled in to her "home"
routine. She either sleeps on her giant down doggie bed next to our
bed; or if one of us is gone, claims her right to that space and sleeps
on our bed. And she sleeps like the Dead and does not cry or awake in
the middle of the night. She doesn't snore but we are challenged by her
desire to sleep horizontally versus a people oriented vertically. We
always wake to Doggie Kisses and the thumping of her tail. She has us
trained to walk her before we leave in the morning --- to check our the
current smells of the day. She has claimed the family room love seat as
Hers, and spends her idle time snoozing there. She is a champ at her
doggie door now but she only uses her potty place if she absolutely has
to! I am happy to say that since that first day, she has not made any
mistakes in the house. She is very clean & has a gentle orientation to
everything -- unlike our last dog who was a bulldozer. She loves the
deck and keeps watch for the deer and squirrels who are always passing
by. I have learned the Airedale cry --- Bark! Bark! Howl! Bark!
Bark! Howl! used to let everyone know she's on guard duty.
She loves her dog walker/ puppy sitter and every dog she has met. Her
mantra is "Come Play with Me" and is open to every dog of any size,
breed or color.
She believes the backseat of our cars were made
expressly for her... for us to chauffeur her around, with the A/C on ...
not the windows open! She loves going to the barn and has become Best
Friends with a Jack Russell -- Yoda; and a Rottweiller -- Samson. We
haven't taken her out on the trails yet, but she seems happy enough to
wait for us at the barn with her friends.
She is not a Jumper... which was a concern of ours. In fact, she
struggles to jump into the back of our SUV and uses the side door where
she can climb up. She's a Digger! She got out once, deciding to go
two doors down to play with her little friend. We fixed that in a
hurry! But she doesn't take off, stays in front of the house, or walks
slightly ahead of us.
Gracie is Ken's Little Girl as I suspected she would be. It's not a
pretty sight to see a grown man turn to putty over this 70 lb. puppy but
he does! People have guessed her to be a Giant Schnauzer, Bouvier, or
Kerry Blue... but he's always proud to say She's a Special Airedale
imported from Arizona!
Sidney, she's perfect for us and I don't think any of the three of us
could be happier!
Thanks for all the work you and the Rescue Group does.
Connie
9/13/03
Auntie Sidney: Gracie asked me to send along these photos she so
graciously posed for last week. The news here is great, we now
have a wonderfully well adjusted little girl that loves living
here in Marin County.
She has quickly figured out our household
patterns and goes into her "guard dog" imitation, strategically
placing herself in front of the front door, anytime she thinks
we are getting ready to go out so she never misses a chance for
a ride in the car.
Her favorite destination is Doggie Park
by the bay (see photos) where she loves to visit with everyone.
She often hangs by the gate and thinks she is the "greeter"......
all she needs is a blue WalMart vest!!!
Gracie said to send you hugs and slurps!
12/2003 -- Merry Christmas!
8/2/04
Just a very quick note to let you know that Gracie has moved. We moved to Seattle last week,
so spent the month of July trashing / packing and driving to Seattle w/ all our "kids".
We bought 1.3 equestrian acres which backs up to a state park so we are
looking forward to her catching all the moles in the back.
So far, she's a little slow --- not really a Jack Russell.
Connie
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