Grace ... when brought to our SPCA in January 2007
Picture this ....January 2007
A dog so severely neglected she had to be carried through my office door. She gasped for breath and, indeed, I thought each breath may be her last. The putrid smell of rotting flesh filled my office. Every bone in her frail and emaciated body stuck out - she was indeed a walking skeleton. The look in her eyes told me that she would welcome death - she was ready. Man had wiped out every hope, every spark of life that had once been in this dog. But, fate stepped in and she didn't die. We named her "Wonder" because it was a wonder she was still alive.
Picture this .... March 2008
At Penny's insistence we renamed her "Grace" and Grace she is. The old "Wonder" is gone and a happy, vibrant and very much alive Grace is here with us today. The road to recovery was not an easy one. There were many trips to the vets and medications to be given. The Demodectic mange that ravished her body was like a monster out of control.
In the beginning, the Ivomec that was given to kill the mange mite was also killing Grace. She had to be taken off it until she got a little stronger - her frail body just couldn't handle the necessary poison we were putting into her. Antibiotics and regular bathing got the terrible skin infection under control. She was fed a specially cooked homemade diet of meat, eggs and vegetables along with vitamin and herb supplements to boost her immune system. I noticed she always seemed to have a painful neck.
On one of my trips to The Pas with her I asked to have her neck x-rayed. Dr. Dyson came out of the x-ray room shaking his head in disbelief. The x-ray showed a pellet lodged in her neck. To add to her misery, someone had shot her with a pellet gun. I consider Grace's physical recovery a miracle but what also amazes me is that in spite of all her harsh treatment and neglect, she loves people.
She especially loves children and her eyes light up when a "little person" walks her way. Grace loves to be in our house. She loves the house even more than she likes food, so that's an awful lot! When she comes for visits she doesn't want to leave. Her favourite foods will not entice her back out the door. It breaks my heart to have to put a collar and leash on her and literally pull her out the door.
So, now that she is healthy, I picture this......a happy Grace sitting on a couch surrounded by her new family that loves and cares for her.
The SPCA needs the third picture to complete this story. Until then there is an empty picture frame sitting on my desk waiting to be filled.
by Debbie Hiebert
The following link is a video slideshow clip showing images of Grace when she was brought into the care of our local SPCA organization, January 2007. Click on the link below:
Grace video slideshow (45 seconds in length)