Goodbye Grady
Four years ago today John Oldshue sent me a picture of a dog in a cage at the Mobile County Animal Shelter. The caption said, "Grady. URGENT. Severe skin condition. Please help."
The dog that needed help had a huge head and ribs and hips not completely covered in fur. John didn't tell me we were getting another dog to go with the two dogs three cats he had already rescued and given a home on our new farm. He later blamed it on me and posted on Facebook saying, "Lynn saw this poor guy was going to be euthanized on Friday and immediately wanted us to save and foster him so Grady is coming to live with us on Monday. We will clear up his mange, get him all well and then find him a forever home."
The forever home usually means our home and I would have said yes if he asked. John wants to rescue animals the way I want to rescue people.
For over a year, Grady was flesh and bones with a skin condition that made him itch so badly that he whined and rolled on his back all of the time. John healed him and Grady was ours for four years. He and John fished, wrestled and talked together but we all loved the dog with a big mouth full of broken teeth who ran too close to our car every time we rounded the curve in our driveway coming home.
Rescued from a swamp, the rumor was that Grady survived on frogs, turtles, snakes and other reptiles. We assume the teeth were broken from biting onto shells but we know he was fearless with snakes because we watched him skin a cottonmouth and eat it for a snack.
I approved of him killing snakes but not our chickens. I broke a broom and several big sticks on that dog trying to save hens trapped in his mouth. We finally gave up on raising chickens and I came to peace with Grady.
Grady died yesterday. He followed me on a walk and barked at a turtle crossing the road. I told him to go home and kept walking. When I returned, he was collapsed by the fence, panting. We carried him inside but couldn't save him. He died within 10 minutes. Maybe from a snake bite or heart attack. We will never know. He passed a physical 72 hours earlier and we believed a survivor like that was indestructible.
It is hard to watch my boys go through pain and grief together and hug each other in a way only they understand. I hope they learn how to comfort each other now because this grief won’t be their last.
There were many prayers said for Grady. A dog who was "funny, trustworthy, goofy and kind."
John said everyone should have a dog like this at least once in their lives and the once-in-a-lifetime dogs are rescues. They seem to know they are saved and try to show their appreciation.
I was writing this as John took Grady to the crematorium. He walked into the house a little happier and said, “You aren't going to believe this.”
As he was leaving the crematorium, four stray puppies came around the corner from out of nowhere. The lady who worked there didn't know anything about them, but is going to find out if they need homes.
“There is one that looked like an Australian Shepherd with big blue eyes. There was no mama, just four puppies playing with each other.
“I think it might be a sign.”
We will find out the full story on the puppies and if they need homes. If you want to get a once-in-a-lifetime dog now there are always plenty waiting for forever homes in the Mobile and Baldwin County animal shelters. This is the group on Facebook that lists the most urgent dogs that are running out of time. It is where we found Grady.
https://www.facebook.com/mobilebaldwincountyurgents/
