Amazing Gracie: A Deaf Senior Dog Touches Lives

It's always heartwarming to learn how pets, particularly those with physical limitations, enrich the lives of their human companions. This touching "happy tail" from www.petfinder.com is a beautiful demonstration of animal sensitivity, and it's perfectly timed since Deaf Animal Awareness Week is celebrated at the end of September each year.

Happy Tail: A Deaf Senior Helps Three Grieving Girls
by Joan, Happy Tails editor

Special-needs pets often have trouble finding homes, and the challenge is even greater for pets with special needs who are no longer young. So when Sheltie Shack Rescue in Riley, KS, took in Gracie, an 11-year-old Sheltie, they knew her chances of being adopted were slim: A retired breeder, Gracie was not only old, she was also totally deaf.

She had been in another home for a year and was then relinquished because the family said she didn't fit into their lifestyle. Sheltie Shack's volunteers knew they needed to cast a wide net to find a special person for this special dog, so they listed her on Petfinder.

That special person was Beth Arnold of Gurnee, IL. When she saw the pooch on Petfinder, it was love at first sight. "My husband and I hesitated to bring another dog into our home, as we already had three, but there was something telling us to do it," Beth says.

Their gut feeling wasn't wrong. Gracie has fit into the Arnolds' household without a hitch, and her deafness has not been an impediment. What has been amazing for the Arnolds to discover is Gracie's sensitivity to people's emotional needs. A case in point: A few weeks ago, Beth's niece passed away at age 31, leaving three young girls motherless. Beth went to Michigan for a week to be with the family, taking Gracie along.

Usually Gracie sticks to Beth like glue, but in Michigan, "Gracie never left those little girls' sides," Beth says. "Carina especially needed her." It's not an isolated case. "I don't know how Gracie senses it, but she always gravitates to the ones who need her most," Beth says. "She always goes to the people who are hurting."

Though the Arnolds rescued Gracie, to Beth, Gracie herself is the rescuer. She's the family's amazing Gracie.

Healing HEART Sanctuary: A Place Where Special Animals Are Welcome

At a recent pet adoption fair that Michael, Dewey, Tulip and I attended, we discovered an amazing animal rescue group that is devoted exclusively to disabled animals - talk about an organization after my own heart!

Healing HEART Sanctuary is currently based in Kanab, Utah (although they hope to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area at some point in the future), and is home to a colorful cast of permanent residents. They include Dorie, a cheerful white goat with two amputated back legs, Precious, a Rottweiler mix who sustained a broken back as a puppy, and Eaton, a three-footed African Sulcata Tortoise.

Additionally, Healing HEART strives to re-home special needs animals such as Scooter-Boots, an affectionate tuxedo cat with hind leg paralysis. Scooter-Boots likes to chase dogs around in her wheelchair, and is particularly fond of extended ear scratching sessions. Click here to get adoption information about this special kitty and learn why one of her nicknames is "Miss Manners."

A key component of Healing HEART's approach is to match children and teens who are physically, mentally, or emotionally challenged with the sanctuary's disabled animals. The idea is that the youth who are involved with the animals' recovery/rehabilitation process can learn "that happiness need not be dependent upon circumstances" and get to experience joy, gratitude, and love.

After meeting Executive Director Laura Bradshaw in person, and reading more about her incredible vision, it's clear to me that Healing HEART is a labor of love in the truest sense. I encourage all of my fellow animal lovers to visit the Healing HEART website (http://www.healingheartsanctuary.org/) and get acquainted with this wonderful organization!

Friends Throughout The Decades: Vintage Pit Bull Pictures

Save The Date! The Friends Of Oakland Animal Services Benefit Party Is This Saturday!

If you will be in the San Francisco Bay Area this Saturday, September 10th please join Friends of Oakland Animal Services for their 4th annual fundraiser: Sweet! Pawsitivity for Oakland's Animals. Admission is only $10 and the event will feature live music, food and wine, a silent auction of animal-themed artwork, and many more delights for pet lovers! As an Oakland Animal Services volunteer, I can assure you that every single dollar Friends of OAS receives will help save and rehabilitate abused, neglected, injured, and homeless animals. Click here to learn more about some of the lives saved by Friends of OAS. For additional details about Sweet! Pawsitivity for Oakland's Animals, email me at reboundhounds@yahoo.com

Thinking Of Greta Seven Months After Her Passing

Not a day goes by when I don't think of Greta. She was such an integral part of our lives for over five years, and memories of her spirited little personality are still fresh in my mind. The other night I spent a long time looking at old photos from our first year together, before she lost her vision and mobility. We always knew Greta as a lady of advanced years (she was estimated to be around 12 when we adopted her from Coast To Coast Dachshund Rescue), but she was definitely more spry during that first year and a half, and the three of us enjoyed many walks and excursions together. Here are some of my favorite pictures from those days, when we were first getting to know the special girl who would touch our heart in such immeasurable ways...