Gracie's found a furever home...

I'm sure this won't be earth-shattering news to most of you...we have decided to keep Gracie. I think I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her broken body in Buffalo, Texas, that God sent this tiny girl to us. We always hear that God works in mysterious ways and Gracie is no exception. I would not have sought to own a blind Weim or felt that we were prepared or qualified to own one. But apparently God thought differently and dropped Gracie right in our lap. When I saw the email with her sad little picture stating she was in the shelter needing picked up, something clicked. The emails went on and it was said that we shouldn't take her unless we had a foster home for her due to her blindness and medical condition. A short discussion with David later and I was replying that if someone could pull her and keep her for a night or two that we would be willing to foster her. Things kept falling into place...another volunteer could pick her up and keep her for a couple nights, our rescue president was able to meet that volunteer and drive Gracie to a midway point between Dallas and Houston. And all of this was on the 4th of July weekend! I just love how our rescue works so well together.


I spent most of that night at work online researching blind dogs. I had a long list of things to do and ideas on training. Little did I know that it would be many weeks before her blindness would even be an issue. First and foremost, she was gravely ill. She had much to overcome but she was a fighter. I remember thinking that first day of having her home, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" But, there really wasn't time for that kind of thinking. As a family, we set about the business of healing Gracie. And heal she did. She has grown strong, stubborn and sassy...just the way we like Weims!


As she became stronger, I began to think, "what next?" Obviously, the goal of any successful fostering is to get the dog adopted. I know there are homes out there that would be more than qualified (maybe more so than us) to love and care for Gracie. But to think of that would bring tears to my eyes. I just kept imagining that moment of someone actually walking out of our home and taking Gracie with them. This just did not sit well with me. She has our house, backyard and family all mapped out in her head. She knows what the pantry and refrigerator doors sound like when opened and that it means there is food available for the taking. She knows that Miley will tolerate her bumping into her and biting more than Maggie will. She knows that my girls, even though they dress her in clothes occasionally, love her to death and would never be rough with her or hurt her. She knows that we will feed her, take care of her needs and love her unconditionally.

So, I guess the title of this post is wrong. Gracie hasn't just now found her home. She found it on July 3rd when she stole our hearts.

I will definitely continue this blog so please keep coming back! We won't officially adopt her until all of her medical care is completed. Plus, there will be plenty to learn and talk about as she grows and we begin our training of a blind dog. And, as with any Weimaraner, there will always be funny stories to share. This isn't the end...it's another beginning. Even though we won't be able to foster anymore (I think 3 Weims are enough for our home), we will be making Gracie 'earn her keep' as an ambassa-dog for WRNT. She will attend Meet & Greets and events to show what our rescue can accomplish with the help of volunteers and donors. That's the up-side of this. Had she been adopted by a family outside of the rescue, she wouldn't be attending all the WRNT events and you would never see her. This way, you will have more opportunities to see her in the coming months and years and watch her grow.
Like I said...this is the beginning of a new chapter. One filled with promise!

life with Gracie...

A little word association on that title: never dull, funny, sometimes painful due to her teeth, snuggle buddy, learning curve...

Life with Gracie is always changing. We are learning something new about her personality or our lack of knowledge in the area of blindness nearly every day. Let me explain what I mean...

A couple of weeks ago, Gracie had to be de-wormed again. I was not happy and thought about how she had gotten them. The answer seemed so obvious I was kind of embarrassed for having missed it! She poops in the same area all the time. This area happens to be right off of our patio which, incidentally, also happens to be her running area. This is where she does her circles. She will poop, start running around and inevitably step in it. If we see her do it or it's bad enough to smell/see it, we will clean her feet. Otherwise, we just let her in. Well, she also has a habit of putting one paw in her food bowl when she eats. At that time, she was still too short to use an elevated feeder. We have her using one now and that's a whole other issue that I'll get to. Anyway, of course she got worms if she has been stepping in poop, stepping in her food and then eating that food! Like I said, it's so obvious with all this hindsight! We were so concerned with weight and health that we didn't even think about that. And I keep up with the poop-scooping in the backyard. We now have a small trashcan, the Walker version of a diaper genie, with a pop-up lid designated for dog poop in the backyard and when Gracie goes it is immediately picked up and disposed of. Problem solved...hopefully.

Next issue...I love my Ikea elevated dog feeders. They are metal and have three prong-like things that hold the bowls in place. It all folds down into itself. I was happy to get her into using this so that she couldn't put her foot in the food anymore. However, she goes into a frenzy when mealtime rolls around and literally can't control herself. She is so busy trying to get to the food that she hits the bowls with her foot or body and tips the bowls over, dumping contents out all over the floor. I've cleaned up tons of water and picked up thousands of pieces of dog food due to this. And, once she hears the dog food hit the floor, it's on. She switches into high gear and you can't hardly stop her. Then, if the bowl comes off the prongs, she will step into the feeder itself in her frenzy. This makes me nervous. I can just see her getting tangled up in that and snapping a leg. We are working on this issue. Maybe if we weight the bowls or attach them to the prongs somehow. Or, maybe we could figure out a way to keep Gracie from going into her hyperactive mode all together! As usual, any suggestions would be welcomed!

Teeth...thank the Lord above! Gracie lost her two bottom canines! All of our legs will be so grateful. She lost them both this past weekend and David said her adult teeth were already pushing through the gums. That's fine, at least those teeth aren't tiny needles. She is pretty mouthy right now, especially when she's tired but won't give up and go to sleep. We are working on this but it is a slow process. I know I shouldn't, but I feel bad disciplining her due to her blindness. Plus, I'm not sure of the best way to discipline her for the same reason. Thoughts?

Busy...this is her to a 'T'. She loves the refrigerator and the pantry. Go figure, they both store food; her favorite thing. She has the sounds of either being opened memorized and can hear it from across the house. If it's the pantry, she's there trying to climb into the bag of dog food. If it's the refrigerator, she's just trying to get whatever she can. Yesterday, I opened the refrigerator and she got past me before I could catch her. She tends to stretch her front legs out when she's unsure of where she is to 'feel' her way. She did this and caught the edge of a plastic pitcher with no lid on it that was half full of lemonade. Before I could catch it, she pulled it over on herself and it spilled all over the refrigerator shelf and floor. Then she's trying desperately to get into the refrigerator and I'm trying to keep her out without slipping in the lemonade. She's already slipped and has lemonade all over her. I yell for Addison to come help. What do I hear? "Just a minute" is lazily called out to me. "I don't have a minute!", I respond. Needless to say, I had a mess to clean up and a dog to wash but it all worked out. I'm sure we looked like a bad slapstick comedy. Just another day in the Walker home.

So, life with Gracie is a learning curve. Just when we have the 'kinks' worked out, another one pops up. We are taking her to an opthamologist on September 4th to get a good evaluation of her eyesight. I am not anticipating any miracles nor do I need any (more). Just the fact that Gracie is here is good enough for me. She more than makes up for these 'issues' with her puppy kisses and sweet nature. Gracie is Gracie...what else needs to be said?

gracie finds her voice...

Okay, I've GOT to get this on video to share with you all. Gracie barked for the first time this past weekend and has now realized that she can do this at-will. David said he heard her bark once a couple of weeks ago, but it seems that this weekend was when she realized she had control of this 'power'. She was outside by herself, and we all know how much she likes to be outside, but decided enough was enough. I heard her whine a little and then she just barked several times. It was so stinkin' cute! I'm sure the cute-ness will wear off and we'll be telling her to be quiet soon enough but for now, we are enjoying this newly-found talent. Since then, she is taking her cue from her older 'sisters', Maggie and Miley. They don't bark incessantly but will bark at noises outside. Gracie was sound asleep yesterday and M & M started barking at something out front. Gracie popped right up, ran in the hall where M & M were and started her baby barking right along with them. She prances around when she does this and puffs up her chest. She's trying so hard to be one of 'the big girls'. She apparently has appointed herself a watchdog now and takes her responsibility seriously!

weims and cheese for everyone...

If you missed WRNT's Weim & Cheese event, you really missed a great time! There was plenty of good food and conversation to be had. Gracie made an appearance in her formal bandage wraps (we specifically asked the vet for 'something in pastel' when they re-wrapped her tail and front legs) and princess collar. And, boy, does she know how to work a crowd! Her feet didn't touch the ground unless we took her out to go to the bathroom. I hope everyone who wanted a turn holding her had the chance. If you didn't, sorry! We'll catch you next time!
She had some friends there, too. Maggie and Jack, 2 of Sydney's mixed puppies were there. Sydney came into the rescue pregnant and has been a wonderful mom to her litter of adorable pups. Their feet didn't touch the floor, either. Nothing heals the spirit like a cuddle with a soft, warm puppy!
We had a great turnout and I think everyone had a really good time. I had made a slideshow of Gracie's journey up until now and those who were there got to see it. I will get it on the blog in the next few days. We've been busy at our house with back-to-school activities this past weekend so I apologize for the lack of posts. Believe me, it's not for a lack of material. Gracie is constantly giving me material to talk about...I just need the time to write!
Thanks again to all who came out to Weim & Cheese and a very special thank you to those who organized and ran this great event! It ROCKED!!! :o)

our good little patient...

Seriously, I'm starting to wonder if this dog can do no wrong. She has been the model patient in her recovery...she's been taking it easy, not messing with her bandages or the uncovered stitches in her belly and has showed no signs of needing any pain meds. She ate well this morning and went back to sleep with me (I worked last night) until noon. I hate to keep saying it, but here goes...Amazing! Gracie just seems to be appreciative of everything she receives and is able to do. I think we've heard her bark all of one time and she submits to the big girls, Miley mostly but Maggie, too, when appropriate. And she continues to be the sweetest, cuddliest (is that a word?) Weim! On a side note, Miley continues to be a jealous, mischievous sister. She was back to pulling Gracie's blankie out from around her last night. I guess she realized that Gracie's injuries and bandages weren't life-threatening so she could resume her bratty behavior. When this wasn't working, she pulled the pillow out from under my head twice! I could blog just on her quirkiness alone!
Anyway, I don't want to jinx us but it appears we might not need the inflatable collar. Gracie has licked her dew claw bandages a couple of times but that's it. I think she vaguely looked at her spay incision this morning and might have licked it once. She is just a perfect angel.
She must be feeling a little better because as I type she has Barbie's main man, Ken, pinned to the ground and is trying to amputate a leg. Better his leg than hers, right?
I guess that's the big news for now. It's looking good for her to attend Weim & Cheese this Saturday night. I'll put up a post about that later. Everyone is invited and it benefits the rescue and all that we do for the Gracies in Texas! She'd love to 'smell' you there!

gracie's home again...

Gracie got home today at about 5pm. She's doing pretty well considering all that was done to her today. She came home with bandages on her legs and tail. Dr. Carroll didn't send her home with any pain meds but had given her an injection before she left so hopefully that will last for the worst of the pain. I've heard the tail docking is very painful so that is what I'm worried about. We will keep an eye on her and if she seems to be in pain the vet will give us something to make her more comfortable. I just can't stand to see this little girl hurting anymore. She didn't appear to be slowing down any tonight. When she first came in the house Maggie and Miley were sniffing her and licking her face...too cute! Maggie even let Gracie lick her face! Gracie wandered around for awhile and ate a small dinner. She finally crashed on the couch and slept the rest of the evening.
I was worried that her tail would be docked too short, something I see way too often in our breed. But Dr. Carroll did an awesome job! Her dew claws were removed, too, and she has some bright neon green wrap bandages on those. Between those and the tail bandage, David made the comment that she looks like a racehorse. She does, too! She's still the sweetest little girl, too. Even more so on pain meds! :o)
We bought something to use if she starts to mess with her incision sites. It works like an
e-collar but without the cone. It's kind of a blow-up doughnut that goes around her neck. Someone had mentioned it in an email or comment yesterday and David went and found it. We don't want to use anything unless we have to so hopefully she will not start licking or biting at the stitches / bandages. But, we are prepared!
Depending on her recovery time, she will hopefully attending WRNT's function, Weim and Cheese, this weekend with us as an 'ambassa-dog'. We'll see.
Thank you so much for all the prayers and well wishes today! Gracie is a very lucky little Weim to have so much love and support!

Be sure to check out the new slideshow. It has pictures of Gracie post-surgery and some other cute ones we've gotten in the past couple of weeks.

pray for Gracie...she's having surgery today

Well, today is the day I've been dreading. Gracie goes back to the vet so that they can spay her, dock her tail, remove her dew claws and, hopefully, microchip her. It's alot but I'd rather we do it all at once so that she only has to be put 'under' one time. We might not be able to microchip her tomorrow, it depends on whether we can get the chip to the vet's office by the time they start surgery. (Long story and the details are not exciting so I will omit them.)
I don't know if you remember, but when we initially discussed tail and dew claws with Dr. Carroll he didn't want to do the dew claws. David feels strongly that they need to be removed. Gracie broke off a nail this week, although it wasn't a dew claw. I attribute this to the fact that her nails are somewhat brittle and thin due to her malnourishment. David feels that she is more prone to catching a nail on something because she can't see where she is stepping. I'm fine with either. I just hate to see her in any pain!
Some of you have commented that you love her natural tail and hope that she gets to keep it. The reason we are docking her tail is for her safety. It is really long and, again, due to her blindness she can't keep her tail from getting caught in something or hurt. I totally agree with this. That tail is strong, too! She's been knocking stuff over and 'hitting' us with it. :o)

Anyway, David will be dropping her off on his way to work at about 8am. I believe Dr. Carroll starts his surgeries at 10am. Not sure of how they order them, though. I hate to think of her in a kennel in a strange place without us! She is not timid, so I know she will be fine but I will still worry about her. The staff will be so excited to see how well she is doing, though! They haven't seen her in a month. I'll be sending her favorite blankie (which, incidently, Miley pulled out from under her again last night!) so that she feels somewhat comfortable. I do worry about how we are going to keep her from messing with the stitches in her tail and tummy. I can't see putting an E-Collar on her with her blindness. It will completely undermine all the mapping she has done in our house and confuse her, I think. The vet said we would just see how she does following the surgery. She may not even touch the stitches. That would be awesome!! The vet told us she would be ready to go at 3pm unless there are complications...God Forbid!!!! Guess who will be there at the stroke of 3!

Please pray for Baby Gracie today. She will be alone in a strange place with little, if any, sight. Pray that her surgery goes well and that she has a speedy recovery.
I will let you know when I hear something!!

this dog is blind...really? (video)

I know she is, but I'm constantly amazed at how well she does! We took Gracie to a nearby area that has a mile track in it and tons of fields. I thought she would be scared since it was new and she didn't know her way around. We were going to have to walk on the gravel track a ways to get to the field and I thought we would have to carry her most of the way. But no, once again she proved I know very little about blind Weim puppies (not that I dispute this fact at all!). I was up ahead of David and Gracie because the big girls (Miley and Maggie) were off leash and LOVING life, romping through tall grass and trees, so I had to keep an eye on them. Anyway, David said Grace was a little unsure of the gravel track but once she realized it was fine she TOOK OFF! That girl is fearless! The track is bordered by cement blocks so they make an excellent tool for her to use and gauge where she is. When she felt one, she turned back. It was great! David and I both want to be able to walk her and have her trust us so this is a great start. I would love for her to run with me and Miley and this track may be the answer.
I've linked the video to some of this trip. I apologize for the shakiness, but it was windy and I was walking to keep up with David and Grace. It's a little long (over 2 minutes) but so worth watching. You get to see her do all the things I've talked about and she did stray off the track at one point. She was either a little confused or just being stubborn (which is entirely possible, this little girl is sassy!) during that part but we got back 'on track'. (Pardon the pun :o)
Like I said, it was windy and you can see her big gray ears flapping in the wind. David said that if everything lined up perfectly, she might go airborne!!! My sweet little gray Dumbo!

the eyes have it...

I took this video to give you all a chance to see Gracie's eyes and how they don't look 'typical'. She does just stare at times, but other times she seems to be looking right at you. Her pupils dilate and constrict and you'll see in the video that when she's 'looking' at the camera, her eyes shift a couple of times as if she looks from one thing to another. Don't get me wrong, I don't think she is going to make a miraculous 100% recovery of her sight. I DO think that she sees more than we originally thought. She does SO much better getting around the house when it is daytime or there are plenty of lights on in the kitchen. She doesn't bump into as many things at these times.
We are waiting for a clean bill of health from Dr. Carroll and then we will take her to an opthamologist to see if they can determine her level of blindness. (I mean, hey, if she's only LEGALLY blind and can't drive, that's no big deal at all! :o) I know she can distinguish shadows at the very least.
On the flip side of that... Today I was in the closet of our bedroom and Gracie was on our bed chewing on her bone. Everything was fine, I left her in the middle of the bed completely occupied. Next thing I hear is a loud crash followed by another loud crash. I don't hear any yelping or even whining so I know she is either fine or unconscious. I run into the room to find her happily walking around my room and the nightstand knocked over along with everything on it including a lamp! Apparently, she was walking across the bed and walked right onto the nightstand which then flipped over. Not a scratch on her and she continued to get into everything. She is a mess!!!
Today, I left her out in the house with Miley and Maggie when I went to work. David was going to be home shortly after I left (which is the only reason I left her out of our bathroom). I walked the house and put up all the things I thought would be dangerous for her and closed off rooms. She managed to find one of the girls' purses on the floor and managed to get her body through the strap so that she was wearing the purse! David said she had one front leg and her head through the strap. She was fine and David said she was walking around with it on but WOW, lesson learned. Gracie Gray stays in the bathroom where I can CONTROL her surroundings!!!
This girl is into everything and an accident waiting to happen!
And so we learn another lesson about living with a blind dog (who apparently doesn't realize or care that she is blind)!

video of Gracie having her first ice cream cone...

OK, this is BY FAR my most favorite video of Gracie to date! We took her to Double Dip for her first 'doggie ice cream cone'. Miley and Maggie get to go every once in awhile as a treat so we decided to introduce Gracie to ice cream. (Just a tiny scoop for those who worry!)
She was a MESS...literally! She got it all over her nose, ear (of course, how could she not with those big soft ears?) and even on her eyelashes. She managed to cover David in ice cream, too! It was a treat to watch and I LOVE introducing new things to her that I know she will like. She is like a blank slate with food. We are trying to keep it healthy, but everyone deserves treats here and there!
P.S. I know it's been awhile since I posted...too long. I wanted to at least get this up tonight. I will post a longer message tomorrow detailing her progress and what's in store for her this week at the vet. So no one worries all night, she is absolutely fine and lovin' life! Talk to ya'll tomorrow!!!

Princess Gracie...

Man, is she living up to that title! This video is of her on her new 'throne'. We bought a couple of the Love Sac bean bag chairs this past weekend and haven not been able to use them much between the girls and the 'other' girls... a.k.a. Maggie and Miley. Gracie obviously can't jump on them herself but she fits nicely in them so we usually put her in one for her numerous naps.
She's also still enough in this video for you to actually be able to appreciate how cute she is. Usually, she's a blur of activity.
Enjoy!

video of Gracie is 'crazy' mode...

I knew you wouldn't believe me if I just told you how energetic our tiny weim has become so I tried to videotape her playing. This video is too cute! She is trying to catch the girls as they run around the back yard. She is such a mess! She will take off running across the back yard! (Have I mentioned that she is blind?!)