Gracie and I met in Dallas almost 22 years ago, on or around August 1st, 1994; she was given to me by a friend who found her in unusual circumstances. She has been a constant companion, a pain in the butt sometimes, but always and forever a sweet little girl, delicate from day one until the day she passed into the beyond. She truly embodied her name.
Grace, unlike Archer and Quincy, was never sick a day in her life. She was easy that way. She was, however, a very picky eater—until the very end. Sometimes there could be as many as 5 food bowls lined up on the kitchen floor and me hoping one of them would be adequate enough for Grace to eat. Such a picky eater!!! (Admittedly, I gave in to her more as she got older. I revered her age, which made me much more susceptible to her picky ways.) Toward the end I would bring the food to her, but still if it didn’t suit her, she would turn up her nose.
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| See what I mean... |
After moving to Boulder, I adopted Quincy Blu, an Australian Cattle Dog, who was kind and sweet; he passed away last summer. Although Grace lived with him for over 7 years, what seemed like each and every time she saw him she acted (and reacted) like she had never seen him before, looking incredulously at this giant beast who had walked into her space or who she was passing by. That always made me chuckle.
After 22 years together, I called this sweet girl by many names, some of these included: Grace, Gracie, Grainy, Gracilla, Princess Grace, Amazing Grace, Sweetie, Puddin, Pumpkin, Lovey, Sweetness, Silly Girl, Macy, Macy-Macy-My Gracie, Mookie, Mocha Chocolata, Brown Girl (she’s espresso—Burmese—but looks black), Little Girl, Sweetness of Life, Sweet Thing. More recently I was calling her Skittles. (She lost some function/stability of her back legs—so she kind of side-winded and skittled about.)
Thank you Grace for these 22 years. You came to me (thank you, Teel) unexpectedly and gave me unimaginable years of joy and love. I love you, Sweet Girl. Macy, Macy, My Gracie—rest, in peace.
Although I mentioned I think her passing was at the right time, I
didn’t think that at first. Like so many pet guardians, I struggled with
the thought that perhaps I was putting her down too soon. I felt this
with Quincy Blu as well. But like Quincy, once the day was dawning for
the vet to come over, it was abundantly clear that indeed I was not too
early, in fact I was hoping I was
not taking these steps too late.
When all is said and done, I truly believe
that her passing came at the perfect time—for her. She felt ready, she
seemed in some discomfort, and I feel blessed that I could have my
wonderful vet come to the house (like he has done twice before) and
euthanize my sweet 22 year old in the peace and comfort of her home and in her “place.”
The special place that was all her own where she slept and ate and
finally took her last breath.
Thank you Grace for these 22 years. You came to me (thank you, Teel) unexpectedly and gave me unimaginable years of joy and love. I love you, Sweet Girl. Macy, Macy, My Gracie—rest, in peace.
For more animal-related articles, see:
- 21 Years of Grace written a little over a year ago on her 21st birthday
- Moving Through Loss
- QUINCY BLU—A Beautiful Life a memorial piece to my sweet pup
- My 4-Legged Family—she is now in the Memorial area (currently unavailable)
Thank you for sharing this very intimate experience with us.