My Gracie joined our family after spending her first 7 years in a breeding facility. She was so timid of people that I had to keep her on a leash in order to prevent her from running in a corner of her kennel for the first few days. It actually took a few weeks before she warmed up to me, but she was the best eater! My husband passed away on 12/2023 and Gracie saved me from going into a deep depression, along with her brother Jack, our 10 year old shih tzu mix we've had since he was a puppy. Gracie and Jack were good pals, so between the 3 of us we have begun to move forward with our lives this past year. Last month I noticed Gracie beginning to cough more. Knowing she had a heart murmur I took her to our vet and he noticed her lungs were full of fluid so we started her on a furosemide twice a day. She improved for a few weeks, but after a while I noticed it was worse, took her to the vet and he gave her an antibiotic plus a different diuretic. She got worse throughout the day and passed away that night. She was only 10 years old! Jack and I are so broken...Gracie helped us both get through losing my husband with her sweet face, tiny tongue sticking out, sudden demands for food and competing with Jack for his snacks. The way she waddled after years of birthing litters of puppies was undeniably something and mother could relate to. She had just started appreciating me when I would pick her up from the groomer, happily smiling at me knowing she finally had someone she knew who loved her and a home to go to after years of being caged up. I wanted to share a few more years of that, I needed to share a few more years of that with her. We rescued her, but she rescued me so much more! I know that I will be adopting another dog or two in the near future, but it won't be Gracie. We've had other dogs in the past and losing them has hurt, but Gracie is different. It took a lot longer for her to trust me, and when I finally believing that I had her trust and that she loved me too, she is gone, gone now when I really need her the most. 😔

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