My name is: Gracie
I came from: Cyprus
Now I live in: London
My favourite things are: monkey, ball, being on the bed in the mornings, vegetables direct from the chopping board, singing, going to daycare, going on buses, cars.

Gracie’s story

A friend recommended Underdog International after we'd had two very difficult fostering experiences with a different charity. I felt a bit guilty looking through profiles for 'easy' dogs, knowing there's no such thing, but I really wanted this to be the third time lucky! We applied for a few including Gracie who was the only dog described as being able to live anywhere, with anyone, with or without dogs, with cats, house trained, with good recall and able to walk on a lead. Needless to say, eyebrows were raised when I told people we had been matched with her. 

All of this was accurate and she is an absolute dream. She is everything you could want: affectionate, trusting, playful, smart, gentle, communicative, expressive and a keen learner. She's brilliant with children, makes friends and admirers every time she leaves the house, is known in our local shops and pub, is a huge hit at her daycare, loves travelling on public transport and lives to please. The smile she gives me when we walk down the street together as if to say 'look, look, look at me doing this thing' melts my heart again and again. Ditto the spins she does in the mornings, her attention seeking sneezing and her play growling. 

Her love of praise and attachment has made training relatively easy; she will do almost anything for a 'good girl'. She mastered the usual commands quickly, her fetch skills are 10/10 and she sought our guidance early on. She's very communicative and loves her group. Although initially she was very quiet, as she settled in she started barking in certain situations, particularly if there is noise outside our flat or another dog enters a pub or cafe. This has needed focussed work, but we've got tactics including carefully choreographed introductions, distraction, treats, reassurance and singing! We've also worked through chasing runners, barking at motorbikes and other dogs on the lead.

A few days after Gracie arrived she had a seizure which was very distressing. Prior to this she had no history of seizures that we or Underdog were aware of. After months of vet trips, second and third opinions and different medication, which did nothing but sedate her, we learned it's a condition called paroxysmal dyskinesia. This is relatively uncommon and often misdiagnosed as epilepsy. This was upsetting initially, but we got more used to the seizures as we understood they didn't cause pain, neurological damage and seemingly followed a pattern of a few minutes after which point she'd make an almost instant recovery. It was one of the Underdog volunteer vets who questioned the epilepsy diagnosis and I can't thank her enough! Not only was Gracie heavily sedated but that particular medication has long term negative effects. On her advice, we swapped vets and food, and - touch wood - Gracie hasn't had a seizure since April (prior to this they were every 2-3 weeks) and isn't on medication. 

Gracie brings such joy to us and everyone who knows her that, whilst the uncertainty and seizures were stressful, there's nothing we wouldn't do for her.

- Hannah