One of Macy's adoring fans has asked for an update. First of all, how nice to know that there are folks following her story and wanting more! Second of all, foster mom apologizes for being so delinquent with the updates. It's not like me, but life has been busy, and Macy is making up for lost time with fun new adventures, great walks (which she LOVES!), trips to the dog park (on leash), and lots and lots of TLC! She is really doing fantastic!

I should clarify, Macy is more commonly referred to as Gracie now in her foster home. No, we're not trying to confuse her, rather just the opposite. You see, I have a resident dog named Mason, who is my pride and joy, but quite the handful nonetheless, and sometimes requires a sterner tone of voice. Imagine poor Macy when she's carrying around a stuffed toy, being her usual sweet self, and all of a sudden hears "MAS!" in a less than sweet and gentle tone. It was causing some confusion, so her nicknames naturally morphed to Gracie. "Macy Gray" became "Macy Gracie", or just "Gray", or "Gracie Mae", and well, you get the idea. She pretty much responds to anything that is said in a sweet, loving tone and has the best recall of a dog named "Gracie" for all of a week that I've ever seen. :)

Gracie went through her spay surgery without any problems, and has healed just fine. Her sutures have dissolved and she can now have another bath. I think that is on the agenda for tonight. She's finished her antibiotics and is officially off all medication (awesome for an 8 year old girl!). She has also learned to eat out of a bowl just fine, no longer wants to "free feed", but rather is eating two meals a day, and I've switched her  to a high quality, all natural food that she is finally eating without the addition of canned food or other goodies. I do still give her a tablespoon of plain yogurt once a day since she's been on antibiotics. This helps to replenish the good bacteria and she loves it!

Here are some of the things we've learned about Gracie/Macy's personality in the last couple of weeks:

• Although she remains the sweetest, most loving, and cuddly girl around, she has a lot of personality that's begun to shine through. Gracie is, shall we say, finding her "inner puppy" (common in dogs of any age that have never lived as family pets before, and are discovering many new things for the first time). This has resulted in a couple bouts of minor "naughtiness", like chewing up a kleenex box. FM couldn't run to get the camera fast enough, since it was pretty darn cute, and resident 1 year old Zach couldn't resist joining in the fun. It was a riot to see those "innocent" faces looking up at me with pieces of tissue hanging from their mouths. Of course, by the time I got back with the camera, she was sitting on a dog bed with a perfectly appropriate dog bone in her mouth, surrounded by kleenex, but lacking in "evidence" (see photo below). :) No harm done and she hasn't tried it again.
• Gracie LOVES to carry things around in her mouth, and will require plenty of toys. The good news is that she doesn't destroy them (although she does love a good chew bone), the not-so-great news is that she's still learning which things are actually dog toys, and sometimes gets confused with things like shoes, FM's sweatshirt, and even FM's purse, which she "counter-surfed" from the kitchen counter and proudly pranced around with hanging from her mouth, spilling its contents as she went. As you can imagine, it's impossible to get mad at her for any of this puppy-like behavior, as she's just learning the rules of living in a house for the first time, and is very easily re-directed. 
• The other thing Gracie and I agreed on is that there will be no crating in her future. She definitely does not like being confined, and it's the only thing I've seen that actually makes her anxious. This is understandable since we can only assume she spent most of her first eight years living in a kennel (her canine teeth are worn down, presumably from trying to chew her way out in her previous life). She is trustworthy with free roam, other than the fact that you will need to "pick up" anything you don't want her to collect and cuddle with.
• She is 100% house-trained! No accidents, and quickly goes out to do her business, then comes right back to the door... unless I'm outside with her, then she knows it's playtime! (see next bullet)
• Gracie LOVES tennis balls, and will fetch and fetch and fetch. She could easily get all her exercise in retrieving balls. She's great about bringing it right back to you, but hasn't mastered the "give" or "drop" commands yet. You usually have to pry the ball out of her mouth to throw it again, but she is gentle and lets you do this with no problem. The "work-around" I typically use is to have 2 balls in play, and when she brings the first ball back, I will throw the second. She will often try to get two balls in her mouth, and sometimes succeeds!
• She walks perfectly on a flat collar -- no gentle leader needed. As I mentioned previously, Gracie LOVES her walks, and her tail wags nonstop. She walks right by my side, in a perfect heel position, not because she's been trained to do so, but rather b/c that is exactly where she wants to be. How refreshing after wrangling my two young, headstrong, explorers on walks! :)
• One thing that has changed since Gracie's initial write-up is that she does NOT need a fenced in yard. Gracie has never once tried to "escape" my yard, but rather wants to be as close to me as possible. There have been several occasions where she could have tried to sneak out, and one time the gate didn't latch properly and one of my guys pushed it wide open. Gracie did follow my dogs out, but didn't even make it to the front yard because she turned on a dime and came right back when I called her. Her recall is absolutely great, and I have no doubt she could be boundary-trained for supervised play time (but never left to roam outside).
• Gracie does, however, need another dog in her adoptive family. Although she doesn't really play with other dogs (at least not yet), she does follow their lead, takes cues from them, and feels much more comfortable when they are around. Gracie also loves kids, is very gentle with them, and has really taken to my 6 year old niece, who just loves to sit and pet her for hours. On the other hand, since Gracie is still learning about being a cherished family member, and will need a lot of attention, patience and TLC, a very busy family with young kids might not be the best fit for her. A family with older kids, or one who has young kids over for visits would be great for her.

Phew, I guess I had a lot of catching up to do. Last but certainly not least, Gracie met a wonderful family last weekend, and we are currently working out the details to see if an adoption makes sense. They are the "perfect" family for Gracie, but we need to make sure the timing is right, as one of their senior GR's went to the Rainbow Bridge just last week. I will update as soon as I know if Macy/Gracie is adoption pending, or available once again!

Thanks for reading up on my sweet Gray, and she sends her appreciation to RAGOM and friends for showing her just how great the Golden life can be.

Macy with her head held high

Macy showing her "inner puppy"

I tell ya, this is the life!