Grady's Story

Pet's name: Grady
Adopted by: Trisha
From: A home where he wasn't properly cared for

From Alone to Home typically only posts stories of pets from shelters or rescue groups, but Trisha (who blogs at Glass Slippers and all sorts of stuff...) sent a wonderful story and photos of her dog Grady, who came into her life after he was mistreated. His story is a reminder that pets in need aren't only found in shelters and foster homes.

When I was growing up, we only had one dog and a couple cats, but never for very long. Needless to say, I have never been a big animal person. My parents got a dog when I was in college, and that dog is way more spoiled than us kids ever were. I never had my own dog until just over two years ago. My sister-in-law had a neighbor whose dog ran away to their house. They kept him for a week, and then the neighbor took him back. A month later, the poor dog came back to their house. He was so skinny his ribs were sticking out, he was petrified of people, he'd been left out on a two-foot chain in the middle of winter, and the little boy told my niece that they got a new dog so they didn't want him anymore.

By that time, my sister-in-law had already found a new dog. So they asked us if we would take this dog. I hesitated to take a dog; we have a small house and I think you have to be a good housekeeper to have a dog, which I don't think I am! But I couldn't let this poor dog go back to what he had come from. So I agreed, and we got a dog. I think his name was Mickey and my sister-in-law called him Sam. My husband wanted to call him Chevy but it just didn't fit. I wanted a cute boy name for him. While looking through a Sports Illustrated, my husband saw it—Grady, the name of a baseball player on his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. It fit perfect! His official name is Grady Al-O-Wish-Us or Grady Slim Shady, though we call him all sorts of funny names!

Grady is the sweetest black Lab you will ever meet. You never hear a sound come out of him unless he is feeling protective. He loves water and tries to "eat" it when it comes out of the hose. He loves to play catch, get belly rubs, and lick feet! He's a crazy guy! We don't know how old Grady is; we guess about four to five years old, since he is starting to get gray under his chin. He acts like a puppy because he has endless energy when it comes to swimming and playing! If I get my shoes on, grab my purse, or jingle my keys, he goes crazy because he loves going for rides. He sticks his head out the window and you can tell he is in heaven!

He loves hanging out with his dad, working in the garage or fishing. And he loves hanging out with me when I am in the kitchen cooking. He really is man and woman's best friend. Everyone that meets Grady instantly falls in love with him. I have never met a more well behaved dog in my life—I just hate to think how he got that way. Grady loves it when you pet him and he is always coming up to us and using his nose to lift our arm to pet him. He is so thankful for the attention and love that he just can't stop licking you!

Grady suffers from epilepsy, which we discovered just over a year ago. He is on medication for it and will be for the rest of his life. He loves taking his medicine and if you forget what time it is, he will remind you! He is my baby boy and I love him like a child.

There are days when I want to shave off all of his hair because my house looks like I never sweep. And after a swim in the canal he smells really bad. But I am so thankful that Grady is in our life. I can't imagine not having this faithful companion by our side. He has an amazing personality and so much love to give. I hope he's forgotten about the rough life he had before he was ours. I promise he will never have to live through that again. He has changed our lives in so many ways and I am so grateful that he found his way to us. Thank you Grady for giving us the opportunity to love you!

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If you adopted a pet from a shelter or rescue group and you'd like to share his or her story, please email me. I'd love to hear from you!