…it didn’t.
Last night we had to say farewell to our beloved greyhound, Gracie.
Some of you might remember my ramblings about her chronic tummy troubles. This winter she started having some troubles again, and once again we began the usual bland-diet-meds-look-for-a-new-food routine that usually got her back on track. But this time it was not to be.
She had been rapidly losing weight this past month. We thought we’d figured it all out with a venison-potato combination, but last Thursday she ate her last real meal and Friday night we had her in the emergency room. We brought her home Saturday morning with the diagnosis of “probably cancer” and were told if she didn’t eat we’d need to be making a decision. The worst words you can ever hear about a pet…
We made a last ditch effort over the weekend, offering all her favorite foods of which she’d nibble a bit here and there but on Monday morning we knew she was ready to go. The boys and I said our goodbyes and the Skeptic took her in to the vet. The Skeptic and Little Man went out to the family farm tonight to bury her. She was nearly twelve years old, old for greyhound.
Gracie was a rescue hound, adopted after she was retired from racing. She obviously had a pretty traumatic life up until we got her and it took years for her to come out of her shell. But she did and we had so many good times with her. Long walks, romps around the farm, running around the backyard, scratches behind the ears. She was a shy, sweet, patient and loving dog with just a bit of “yes I know I’m beautiful” in her. People always stopped to comment on her when we went for walks. Gracious, she was.
We will miss her terribly and I’m really having a tough time with this latest blow. The Skeptic and I were saying last night how 2009 has not been good to us yet. We’re having high hopes that as Spring gets going that hopefully things will be looking up again soon.
Here’s Gracie napping with her friend Bailey (who now resides with my parents). As usual, she has her “would you please stop taking pictures of me” face on. She was a tough one to photograph. Either she was too speedy or annoyed so it was hard to catch her happy face.
If you are ever considering a dog, please consider a retired racer. They truly are lovely, sweet dogs. We adopted her from GPA-MN. I’m hoping that once the boys are older we can foster some hounds and hopefully have one join our family again. Until then we’ll have the memories of our sweet, sweet girl who is very dearly missed.
Knittymama 
I’m so sorry. The loss of a beloved family pet is terribly hard. Hugs.
My deepest condolences on your loss.
May her sweet soul rest in peace. And yes, she was a beautiful dog. So sorry, KM.
Aw sweetie – I’m so very sorry for you and you men, big and little. It’s a hard loss. Be good to one another. Hugs all around.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about Gracie. *hugs* all around.
I’m so sorry…thinking about you and your family.
I’m so sorry. Losing a beloved pet is so hard…
My condolences, losing a pet is harder to cope with than many other losses.
I’m so sorry. It’s so hard to lose a pet. But at least you know she had a really good life, once she got to you.
I am so sorry to hear about this. Losing a pet is always hard. I’m sure that if any part of her understood what was going on, she was grateful that your family was able and willing to let her go when it was truly time.
I’m so sorry about your loss. I have two Greyhounds myself that I’ve adopted through adoption groups. Losing a loved one is never easy.
Oh, so sorry! We lost our dog last fall, and though I knew losing a pet was hard, I was surprised at HOW hard it was for me personally, not to mention the kids! Many tears were shed…
Hoping and praying that your year gets better,
Happy knitting-
ali
I’m so sorry, I know how much Gracie meant to your family.
I’m very sorry. I hope 2009 gets better for you too.
Oh no, I’m so very sorry about Gracie!
So sorry. She looked like a sweetie.
I’m so sorry. What a dearly loved pet!
I’m so sorry to hear about Gracie. She sounded like a wonderful character.
I was sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It certainly is a hard thing at even the best of times.
You definitely had her best interests in mind and gave her a calm and gracious end. Forever you and she will be grateful for that. Truly a gift.
I hope you can all enjoy the sweet memories of her and find peace in them.
She looks and sounds like a lovely dog – I’m so sorry that you had to say goodbye to her. Losing a beloved pet is never easy…hugs to you!
oh, sweetie. I am so sorry.
hugs – becka
so sorry to hear the loss of your dog. Hope things turn around for you and the fam *hugs*