Gracie

I had just moved into a new home in Wells. It was getting deep into the Fall and felt like it was time to fill the home with another heartbeat/pulse.  I had a senior female dog for 16+ years that I had adopted (she lived to be 18+) and loved the temperament of the older females.

In November 2022, I took a peek at AWS website and saw that Gracie was available and looking for her retirement home. I said that is likely the most perfect fit. I met her and she came right up to me, so we bonded right away.  I worked with the foster family that was watching her and then picked her up to come to her home in early December 2022. 

She fit right in, I worked from home so it was great to have company during the cold winter days and nights! Gracie loved her walks in the neighborhood, though she wasn’t the most fond of 4 legged friends, but was a total sweetheart to humans and a lovebug.  She had 5 bed options at home and found herself following me throughout the house depending on where I was: in the office, living room or bedroom, she’d be by my side hanging out.  Not a big fan of toys, but she loved her treats after we went for a walk and pretty much demanded them upon entering the home – the routines she had were so funny to me.

Gracie loved bum scratches, ear scratches and head rubs. One of my favorite things was to pat her on the head and scratch her ear and feel how warm her skull got as it would radiate heat, knowing that she loved that so much.  I actually got a tattoo of this because it was our little connection to each other that will stay with me forever.  One of her ears was always flopped down and the other flopped to the side.

We sadly had to say our goodbyes on June 14th, but she had an AMAZING run here in her final years. I am so grateful for the 3.5 years we got to spend together and it felt so good giving a senior dog one really good last lap, as she was living it up in her retirement life. Those are some great memories I’ll be able to have and knowing she enjoyed the tail end of life.  

When the time is right, I’ll definitely do it again and adopt another senior dog – no question.