"My Gracie Girl" by Kristen Holt

"My Gracie Girl"

by Kristen Holt

I'm only in my teenage years and I'll admit I have alot to learn in life, but what I have experienced a great deal already in my years is the term:"pet loss" as a vet might put it but to me I have lost many family members that have held so dear to my heart, but one of my babies , "Gracie girl" is what I always called her was the one story I haven't and never will forget.... Graclan Danielle Holt, or "Gracie girl" and I met when I was rewarded my first responsibility of my adolescent years. I was overjoyed as my mom surprised me with the small angel that had a bow tied to her that was bigger than her whole body. She was a beautiful jack russell terrier, and after that day we started our journey together, and became inseperable, I knew her so well I knew what she would be "saying" to me with those big puppy eyes and I also knew her favorite snack was Chester Cheetah's Cheese Puffs:) Gracie Girl and I would go out into our field in the evening where she would nip at the dying dandelion puffs and she would sniff throught the grass taller than her body. But one day my baby and I were laying on my couch in our livingroom, and it was a beautiful summer-sunkissed day and my sisters were running in and out of the house, and my Gracie ran out after my youngest sibling, me being a natural paranoid person who always kept my baby on a leash (even in the field at night) ran after her, and as soon as I stepped my foot out the door I heard the horrible heart-stopping yelp of my baby girl. I ran to the road to find her laying on the asphalt, as soon as she saw me she tried to get up and walk but I could see the pain in her eyes and I heard my heart break and I felt a river of tears stream down my face. I screamed at my sister to get my mom who helped me load her in the car to get her medical treatment right away or I was afraid I was going to lose my world which laid in pain in my arms. We arrived at the vet's who immediately did a x-ray to check for internal injuries, I stayed right by Gracie Girl's side through everything. The vet told us that there appeared to be no internal damage but her right femur was broken in two places. So, we asked our options, he told us that we could sudate her and take her to Louisville for immediate surgery or we could euthanize her, the surgery would cost 1,000 dollars and would require pins that would hold the bones together until they finally grew together, and us at no question decided to take her to Louisville, so the vet handed us papers of release and my mom gave her John Hancock and he started to put a pink medicine in a syringe, us not knowing anything watched him put the shot in her stomach she started to breathe funny so I asked "why is she breathing so hard?" the vet replied "she's fighting it" I felt the world stop and life as I knew it crash "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHAT IS SHE FIGHTING?" "The euthanasia" we screamed and said "we told you we decided on the surgery!" But I knew I only had a few more minutes with Grace and I leaned down and kissed her and told her I loved her more than anything in this world, but what broke my heart the most was that at the moment I said that she turned her head just enough to lick my face, then she went home....

Comments would be appreciated by the author, Kristen Hol