After being surrendered by her owners, who were no longer able to afford her medical bills, a pup named Grace had no idea what the future held for her.
Since she was quite sick and didn’t have a diagnosis, Grace’s only hope was to find a loving family who was ready to do anything to figure out what was wrong with her.
Luckily, The Animal Pad, an all-breed, non-profit dog rescue in San Diego, California, got in touch with the pawfect family.
Easy Does It
The first night spent in her new California home with all those strange faces wasn’t easy for Grace.
She had absolutely no energy and spent most of her nights cuddled up in a pile of blankets, whimpering and whining. This was her way of telling the kind people that something was off.
“We were up all throughout the night with her. She was incredibly underweight.” Katie told The Dodo.
No matter how hard they tried to feed her, Grace simply wasn’t interested. However, whenever she did grab a small bite of food, the family was absolutely overjoyed.
They cheered her on with every small bite, hoping that the next one would be even bigger.
“Whenever she would wag her tail, which was rare, she just made our day,” she added.
Coming Out Of The Shell
As time went by, the loving and happy environment really did make Grace feel so much better. She started acting like a puppy again!
At first, however, she would only play with her family while lying down. But after getting tons of encouragement from her family, she started running!
The whole time she was at her foster’s, Grace had regular vet visits. Everybody around her was determined to find out what was really happening.
After countless tests, the medical staff reached a breakthrough. They found out that Grace’s breeders hadn’t vaccinated her. She also had distemper, a serious neurological disease.
Even though she is finally a happy and healthy pup, because of this neglect, Grace will have some long-term effects that will follow her for life.
“She had a little bobbing, ticking head that is pretty constant, and she’ll live with that,” she said.
A Foster Failure
While spending so much time with Grace, watching her grow into a beautiful pup, her foster family just couldn’t see themselves parting ways with her.
“We really went through something together. Me and my family were by her side getting her through these lows. So, seeing her just be a happy dog full of life now is incredibly rewarding, and I just adore her,” Katie added.
Adopting this sweet girl was the best and easiest decision her family ever made.
Fast forward to today and Gracie is living the most perfect life ever. She is spending her days with the best people ever, having adorable playdates, the coziest naps, and the yummiest treats.
What more could a pup want?!
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