Gracee

Gail said she saw a picture of Gracee on the web at the Oakland SPCA site, and just knew she couldn't be sitting there for a month--she just had to get her out! Gail is one of those VSP's (Very Special People) who fosters and adopts unwanted dogs. Especially older dogs, even geriatric dogs, like Gracee. She was 17 when Gail took her home. She suffered from dry eye and systemic yeast. Gail nurtured and loved this little shih tzu for her two remaining years on this earth, and by the time she passed over that Rainbow Bridge earlier this summer at age 19, her skin was great and her eyes were, too. She had lost muscle mass and was very thin, so when Gail asked me to paint her, I plumped her up a bit and gave her eyes back that shine of youth.

When I asked Gail to describe Gracee to me so that I could get to know her a little bit, Gail told me that Gracee was just the sweetest of shih tzus, her little Angel. Feisty, determined. Loved to eat. Never got into a conflict with another dog in the household. Slept peacefully in her bed at bedtime. Gail said it took her awhile to get used to being held. Makes you wonder what her life had been like before. Was she owned her entire life before she came to be with Gail, all seventeen years, by someone who loved and cherished her, and then passed on? I hope so. That Gail was chosen to see her home is no surprise. Like I said, Gail is one of those VSP's who adopts old dogs....remember her, and Gracee, next time you make a donati0n to your local humane association.