Grace

Grace is now almost a year and a half old. I never cease to be astonished at how fast puppies grow!

I mean, look how tiny she was next to Sam! Now I have a seventy-five pound puppy who still has almost a year more of growing and filling out to do.

She couldn't be more different from my beloved Sam. (We all miss him dearly, still.) Where he was chill, she's over-the-top high energy. Where he deeply desired to please you, she didn't care a whole lot, although that's changing as she gets a little more mature.

Thank goodness for doggy daycare! She gets to play with other high-energy dogs and gets to do activities she doesn't have, here at the house. I always check in with the daycare lady to see what she did during the day, and I get a full report. The other day when I picked her up, I was told that Grace's first time in the pool went really well. Too well, in fact. Apparently they had a hard time getting her out of the pool!

Jeez, I miss having a lake nearby. Getting her to swim would wear off a lot of energy and is so good for her!

It's interesting to see the different things they decide to do on their own, too. She taught herself to fetch my dad's morning paper, and she mostly gives it to me instead of running out the back door with it, anymore. She's also such a good girl with her treats!

I'm very fortunate in that I was able to take both her and Sam to work every day, and now, of course, I just take her. We have a couple of other businesses in our building, and she comes out to visit the other people from time to time. 

She's a terrible bed hog, but she is a comfort to have in bed at night. I've just learned to get ahold of the sheets before she gets into bed so I actually have them covering me!

I miss Sam every day. He was truly an exceptional boy! And while Grace does have big paws to fill, I'm more able to see her for her, and not compare her so much to him. I use similar training with her, but now I'm learning to adapt them for her specific needs. Developing a relationship with her is getting to be fun, instead of a constant challenge.

I'm interested to see who she's going to be in the coming years!