Grady is our dog.  He’s kind of everyone’s dog because he’s such a social guy.  And visitors to the farm have begun to wonder where he has gone.

Like all of the animals on our farm, Grady was “rescued.”  When he came into our lives, he was already 14 months old, but as wild as a March hare.  He jumped and tugged and ran and could care less whether he was petted or not.  So the first thing we did was to hire an excellent trainer who came to the house every day and worked with us to learn the ways of the Weim. 

Grady was a quick study (of our behavior) and in no time at all we began to take him everywhere -- to the bookstore, the hardware store, and even the grocery (where he sits quietly by the entrance taking in all the attention that comes his way).  At our favorite local bookstore, Grady is a regular.  They have these nice comfy chairs where you can lounge about with a latte’ while reading the paper.  Grady  likes to lie at our feet and roll over to have his belly rubbed by every man, woman, or child who walks by.  He is so loved by the employees that they bring him treats and even made him his own employee badge. 

Around the barn, Grady is a constant companion.  He greets every volunteer, plays with the horses, spars with the pig, and shares his food with the cats. 

One of the things we regularly do at Hope For Horses is host group visits.   Rarely a month goes by without a group of school children or vet students or employees coming out to visit the horses or perform much-needed work around the farm.  And Grady is always on hand to greet them. 

Back in June during one such visit, Grady somehow got injured and the result was that TPLO surgery had to be performed.  This is a fairly expensive and extensive operation in which the bones are remodeled and a metal plate is screwed into the bones to hold them together as they heal.  We were told to expect a 12-week recovery, but about two weeks in, Grady developed an infection.  Four more weeks were added to the recovery time. 

In mid-September, Grady was due for his check-up X-Rays, and at that visit the veterinarian discovered that despite two full rounds of antibiotics, infection still seemed to be present underneath the metal plate.  So on September 21 he had a second surgery, this time removing the plate and adding external drains.  The surgical site continued to drain week after week, which meant we had to take him back for bandage changes nearly every day.  We had to be especially careful when making the bandage changes at home, too, because apparently Grady had been exposed to MRSA during the original surgery.   MRSA is a type of staph infection that is very resistant to antibiotics and to make matters worse, since it’s zoonotic (meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans), we have had to be particularly careful in keeping his environment clean and sterile.

In mid-October, Grady was back for a recheck and the vet drained some remaining fluid from a pocket near the original surgical site.  Then it was back on yet another course of antibiotics with their own scary side-effects, and two more weeks before beginning light exercise and physical therapy. 

By December we were letting him out off-leash, but only under close supervision.  It’s now the end of February, and we’ve just begun to play ball again.  He’s back to visiting his “girlfriends” - a saucy little black Lab and her Shepherd companion - next door.  His leg shows the signs of the trauma - the scars that trace the outlines of his leg, the slight outward cant of the leg when he’s standing still, the occasional hesitation when he jumps up to cuddle in the big overstuffed chair.  But his spirit is back.  He’s smiling again, and crowing again when he enters his favorite bookstore.  He’s happy, and so are we. 

It has been a very long road to recovery for Grady.  And we thank you for all the good healing vibes you sent that helped him along the path.