Special needs TN pups-Gracie

She is so cute!! It is great to see her running and playing!!

What a lucky gal to be moving to the beach. Congrats Gracie!!

It's great to see Gracie up and about like Eli - I hope we can get the litter together some time, it would be fun to see them all playing / tripping us all up!!

Glad to see she has a wonderful life ahead of her!

This is so wonderful to see, especially since I saw her and her litter mates as puppies. To think that they were almost put to sleep and now she is running and playing when so many thought that it would not be possible.

Do you know how the male that was adopted by one of the vets at UT is doing since he had the corrective surgery?

Spirit's mam probably knows better than I do. I know the surgery wasn't as successful as they hoped it would be which is why they didn't do it on Eli, Connor or Gracie. I wonder where the other pups ended up? There were 6 altogether I think, and we know where 4 are. There should be two more with one leg affected that got adopted by someone.

Yes, their were 6 total. I know one of them was adopted by one of the vets and another one of them was adopted by a couple that I think was a long time client of the vet.

What is the situation ?

May I ask again what her condition is called?

I don't remember the technical name of the condition. It is thought to be caused by a parasite found in meat. The puppies most likely got it from their mother either before birth or while nursing. The mother did not show any symptoms of lameness, but she had a problem with her leg in the past that went away. There is no way to tell if the two are related.

It was thought to be neospora, a very rare parasitical condition. Eli's mom (Gracie's brother) works for UNC vet school and her vets think it is actually a genetic neuro/motor defect. Eli and Connor both tested negative for neospora, Gracie's test is still pending. Eli and Gracie tested negative for toxoplasmosis as well (similar symptoms). Whatever is wrong with them they cannot bend their back legs. I was told that the Dam's sister also had a problem at one time with one of her legs. Eli has a big sister named Spirit who has a similar or the same condition as these pups. There 3 that were affected in both back legs and 3 that only had one affected. We know where the 3 bilateral pups are, they are Connor (kept by Sire's owner), Eli and Gracie. Bach is the one who was adopted by the ortho vet at UT, he only has a problem with one leg. Eli's mom is trying to compile information on any dogs she comes across with these symptoms to try and get AKC to do some research.

Update on "Swiffer" Gracie. She has been adopted and I drove her to her new home today. She has two other dogs to play with although the old one (also named Gracie) isn't sure about the silly newcomer. She also has two kids to follow around and three pet rats to watch. She is fascinated by the rats, she just sits and watches them the way kids watch cartoons. lol Her new mom finally had to tell the daughter to sit down before Gracie had a heart attack. Anytime one of the kids moved, Gracie was right behind them. She looked as if she was thinking "I wish they'd just be still!" lol The subdivision is just one street off the beach. I'm jealous.

Wow--sounds great! And glad she's up an moving around so well!

bless her heart.

Here is the link to Gracie's web page. She wouldn't be outdone by brother Eli who has his own blog. Her name is now Delilah. They already had a dog named Gracie and it was too confusing to have both.

http://adyfam.com/us/delilah.htm

Oh Bless her, I'm glad she's found a home.

Here's the latest from Gracie (now Delilah's new mom):

Quote: hi!
update on delilah. she is doing great. she has become obsessed with tennis balls. the last dog i had with this obsession was blind, so i can't decide which is funnier to watch playing fetch. naturally, none of my 'normal' dogs care to play. i posted some new video to the web page http://adyfam.com/us/delilah.htm and you can see her movement. she gets up more easily- i think - than she used to. she still 'scissor walks' when she is on the carpet inside, and when she is lazy or moving a real short distance outside.
she likes being carried in the pool. no swimming attempts, just cooled off. she thinks she is swimming like the others. we are going to the beach today, so that will be fun for her. she loves going to sonic for ice cream.

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Another Happy Tail from my rescue. Those two alone make it all worthwhile. (Delilah and Star)

WONDERFUL news!!!