Gracie

Hi, my name is Gracie, and I’m a Carolina Dog. I was a young, homeless mama dog living at the edge of a city. I watched over my pups in freezing temperatures, snowstorms, and bad thunderstorms. One storm brought down a very big tree that almost landed on our den! I was a really good mama, but I was in a pretty dangerous situation and at constant risk of being hit by a car. I had turned a little drain culvert into my makeshift den under a busy road that I had been living in for months. The guy who owned that property had served us an eviction notice without progress. At first, I was stubborn, growling and cussing at the random lady who had come to save us. But hey, I had puppies, and I was just trying to protect them. The lady had to convince the property owner that she was there for me and not casing his house. I know it was a challenge for her, but eventually, the property owner could see she was making some progress with me. Her only options to catch me were out in the street with 50 mph traffic or on his property. People passing by on foot would yell at me and throw rocks because they were afraid of me, but I was even more afraid of them. Luckily, the property owner started allowing the lady on his property daily so she could try to earn my trust. She spent hours trying to calm me down—those hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. The lady wasn’t the only one trying to save me; lots of people were! The man who owned the property where I stayed had different food piles all around his yard from people stopping by to leave food for me and my pups. Having so many different kinds of food really upset my stomach. I would sometimes prefer to simply gorge on pine cones and leaves because my stomach was so upset. The worms and fleas I had collected didn't help matters. I was so stubborn that after my puppies were safely live-trapped and taken away for adoption, animal control gave up trying to catch me. They left me behind and closed my case. After my pups were taken away, the lady threw me pieces of cheese with Capstar and worm meds to eat while I was out in the wild, as she couldn't yet catch, collar me, or take me to a vet. She made sure to make it known to the Nextdoor community thread that she did this so that I wasn't over medicated. I had to learn to trust again after everyone had been so mean to me. Finally, I decided to give the persistent woman a chance. I followed her into a really big crate, and I let her collar me. It took many days and a lot of work, but look at me now! I’m doing so well! Admittedly, I’ve lost some of my freedom, but I’m safe, warm, dry, cool, happy, well-fed, and loved. I’m very food-motivated, so I’ve even learned some tricks. I can sit, lie down, shake both paws, roll over for belly rubs, and I know how to wait. I shed a ton—like 13 months out of the year, LOL! So my nickname is Yetti. Gracie for gracefully dodging all the cars and city buses, and Yetti for all the shedding. I’m still a bit stubborn on the leash, and sometimes I jump around like a wild horse, but I’m getting better every day. I’ve discovered that walking on footpaths or going for a run at the local dog park helps burn off some energy. The lady who wrangled me said she needed to get in 10K steps a day, and I’m here for it! After everything I had been through, the lady surrendered me as a friendly finder with the intention to adopt me—and that’s exactly what she did! I’ve finally landed a loving forever home. :) The lady who rescued me had zero experience with this type of situation, and it took a ton of reading and studying, but she felt my energy was so special that I was worth it. We have been together almost 18 months now. If you are trying to bring in a stray, please be patient and don’t give up on them..❤️