Saturday, January 10, 2009

Lady Grayce



We had a visit today from a very special girl and her momma. Grayce is likely a collie-shepherd cross, and was recently adopted from Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue by my friend Kate. Grayce, who was known as Kansas in her former life and during her stay at TG, is a sweet girl who has the gentle personality of a collie, and the vocalizations and ears of a German shepherd.

[A little aside, here: In my former life, I once had a German shepherd, named Samantha. Ironically, I had been terrified of shepherds when I was a child – in those years, they had the unearned reputation of “unpredictable, vicious breed” that later became attached to dobermans, then rottis and now pit bulls. When the man I was living with (now my ex-husband) wanted a German shepherd, I resisted – no way did I want one of those vicious beasts in my house! But eventually I caved and within no time at all fell in love with Sam and with the characteristics of the breed. One unique feature of shepherds is the way they vocalize - they are one of the most vocal breeds, with a huge range of pitches and tones, and at times sound almost human in their speech. Sam was a far better conversationalist than my husband – she would talk to me for hours, was a good listener, and she always held up her end of the conversation. I should have married the dog instead of the man.]

Anyway, back to our visit today. It was pouring outside, so Grayce didn’t get a chance to run around outdoors with my crew. Five dogs in my tiny house is a bit overwhelming, especially when three of the dogs are on the large size. But Grayce handled it very well, and chose the safest, most secure place she could find – hanging out under the kitchen table by her mom’s chair. Not the best location for a photoshoot, but I snapped a few pics anyway.







Thanks, Kate and Grayce, for the visit, and for the thoughtful gifts too! And the piggies send lots of piggy smooches for the peanuts.

Next time, we’ll try to order good weather so Grayce can run around outside with her new friends.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Kate, your Grayce is a Beauty... I wish you many wonderful and happy years together.

Ellen and the Whippets.

Patience-please said...

(Ellen and the whippets? Do we know each other?)
Thank you for sharing your lovely visit with us. My dear friends have shepherds and I have gotten to know them and appreciate their "talking" as well.

all the best-
Patience and more whippets

Anonymous said...

Hi Patience,

My claim to fame is getting my good friend Jean hooked on your blog and now to see YOU here is a beautiful bonus :-). It all started with my own personal autographed by you copy of Mama Pajama Tells a Story and I absolutely loved it.

I am Mom to 2 beautiful rescue whippets, Kinley(2 1/2yrs) and Cisco(almost 11 or 12,)who have awakened in me a deep passion for their breed. Kinley started lure coursing here in the lower mainland of BC this past summer while Cisco makes sure the play by play can be heard as far away as Paducah, Kentucky.

I'm so glad that you and Jean are enjoying each other's writings. I absolutely love BOTH of yours...

Oh and thanks Patience, I'll never be able to look at support hose again and NOT crack up laughing. For anyone wondering... check out Patience's blog at http://patience-please.blogspot.com/

Roo Roos,
Ellen, Kinley and Cisco.

Black Jack's Carol said...

Jean, those photos of Grayce really show off her beauty. What gorgeous eyes and magnificent colors! I read Turtle Gardens blog almost every day, and love to hear good news stories about adoptions. Yvette is an incredible woman. Kate and Grayce, I hope you continue to enjoy each other for many years to come.

Have to admit, your "I should have married the dog instead of the man" comment made me laugh out loud:)

Unknown said...

Thanks Ellen, we will have to co-ordinate our visit, and have a dog rally at Jean's, (of course when the weather is better!) we have a few issues of "who's the boss", so I'm going to have to take more lessons from Jean, or buy the book "German Shepards for dummies"
She is totally sweet, (90% of the time) but I consider her my "normal" dog, she is definitley a keeper, and I was lucky to be chosen her guardian.

Anonymous said...

So wonderful to see pictures of Grayce down here. I followed her story when she was with Yvette and sadly how long it took to realize she could not go home to her original Mom..She was so lucky to have had Kate adopt after we followed the wonderful story of beautiful Laddie. I hope Grayce has helped heal the pain of the loss of Laddie and I am sure she has her own quirks that are endearing. Thanks all for the great update..

Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Sure loved seeing Grayce, she is looking so beautiful, I'm so glad Kate went for a visit and you had the camera out. Lynda

Anonymous said...

I agree, Grayce is lovely.

Else