Amazing Grace was born July 10th, 2006 which means she turns 5 years old today. At about 9 months of age she was relinquished to Loving Companions Animal Rescue, described as being "hyper and destructive". You know, a typical adolescent dog. She found herself being fostered by Lynn Orbison. Lynn gave me a phone call to come over and check her out. OH MY GOD, what talent she showed from the very beginning. This girl could RUN.
I can't recall what her original name was, but when we watched her running she earned her name Amazing Grace straightaway. At every gait she is smooth she reminds one of running water.
We quickly learned that Grace suffers from Canine Obsessive Compulsive disorder, exhibiting stereotypical running as her compulsive behavior. It was so bad she couldn't stop running to eat (she just grabbed a bite every other lap or so) or to interact with humans. After consulting with our favorite certified canine behaviorist, we changed her feed to a totally corn-free diet (maize free) and began changing her environment on a frequent basis. We also ran her on every team leaving the yard.
Although she's a small dog by Stardancer standards, she has been a constant and consistent member of the team for several years, running mostly in the lead or swing positions. All of our dogs love to run and pull, but Grace seems to love running in the team even more than most. She can be a bit too exuberant at first, sometimes snarking at her team mates, but once she settles down she does a grand job.
In the yard, Grace gets along well with her kennel mates, and can be housed with nearly any of the males in the yard. She is a true love-muffin with humans, and is now an excellent house dog. She is fully house trained and is content to just hang with the humans.
There's really only one more thing to write. Happy birthday, Grace. We're glad you are part of the team.
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