Gracie: Best in Show All Stars

13 Years of Love, and Still Going

My parents wanted to get my brother and I a dog for Christmas, but there was one problem: my mom wanted a purebred and my dad wanted a shelter dog. We met some purebreds and none were the right fit, so my parents took us to TAF. We walked into the puppy part of the shelter and Gracie was cuddled up with her litter. She saw us walking by and came up to the door to greet us. We always say that she chose us. Gracie made me realize why adopting is so important — I am very embarrassed to say my family ever considered a purebred. Every dog deserves to be in a loving home. She is 13 years old (we got her at 3 months) and is still as spry as the day we got her. She’s been with me through high school, college, and a master’s degree, breakups, moving … any life change you can think of. She is the most special dog I will ever have in my lifetime.