Lady Grace of Louisiana

                I believe I owe an explanation as to the name of this blog. Specifically, I’m referring to the reason why I call my dog Lady Grace of Louisiana. It’s not a very long story, so I’ll do my best to keep it as short as a puppy’s attention span.

                The Sterling Animal Shelter has a connection to Virginia and the south, just like I do, and that’s the reason I liked it right away. The shelter accepts dogs transported north from a shelter in Virginia and another in Tennessee and then adopts them out. Due to overpopulation in the south, this prevents hundreds if not thousands of dogs from being euthanized yearly. My personal assessment of the Sterling Shelter is that a majority of their dogs and puppies are transports.

                I asked the shelter volunteer about Grace’s history when I adopted her, and the information I received was that she came from the shelter in Tennessee. She was transported north the week before with a group of puppies ranging in ages from three to six months. The assumption, therefore, was that Grace was born in Tennessee.

                “Why don’t you name her Lady Grace of Tennessee?” Dad joked.

                I laughed him off. “That’s too big a name for a little dog.”

                A few days later I looked at Grace’s rabies certificate before I went to get her a dog license, and I noticed neither the address for the vet clinic nor the shelter which owned Grace at the time was located in Tennessee. Both addresses were in Louisiana. From there, I figured Grace was probably born in Louisiana, rescued there, and then transported to Tennessee and then Massachusetts with the hope that she’d be adopted.

                “How about Duchess Grace of Louisiana?” Dad asked.

                “I like Lady Grace of Louisiana,” I said before turning to the dog. “What do you think, Grace?”

                Grace ignored me as she chewed on her squeaky toy. 

Grace (6.5 months) looking very regal.