Greyhound Saves A Life!!!

[KennelMom]

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld...e/16182941.htm

Gracie is formerly known as U Too Cady Key I hope her family gave her a few extra biskies as a reward!

Dog's pull saves neighbor
NMB greyhound guides her owner to wounded man
By Steve Palisin
The Sun News

A little skittish, Gracie, a greyhound belonging to Alan Burton (right) of North Myrtle Beach, gets a helpful nudge to connect with Ronnie Principato (left) at Principato's home Tuesday night in North Myrtle Beach.

Her life spared in retirement from racing in Florida, "Amazing Gracie" the greyhound has returned the favor for a North Myrtle Beach retiree.

Ronnie Principato was retrieving Christmas lights from the garage attic at his home Nov. 10 when everything blacked out, the 70-year-old recalled.

"I fell, and if it wasn't for the dog, I would be dead by now," he said.

Pam Burton, a close neighbor on Fox Hollow Way, walked along the road with Grace, an almost 4-year-old dog she and husband Alan adopted in 2005.

Burton said she and Grace stroll for fun and exercise three or four times a day in whatever direction the dog leads.

"She wanted to go that way that day," Burton said. Grace insisted on pulling Burton toward Principato's open garage door. They found Principato, who has diabetes, lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

Alan Burton called 911 and rescue crews lined up Principato's airlift to Medical University of South Carolina, according to his wife of 41 years, Connie.

She praised the "parade here in the kitchen" of neighbors, some of whom prayed together, and others who drove her that night to Charleston that night as her husband was stabilized.

Earlier this week, Ronnie Principato, with 20 stitches in his head, spoke of still feeling wobbly, but still in a Thanksgiving mode.

"Thank God for the dog, for the family and for the neighbors," he said.

Grace "passes by and she won't let go of my husband," Connie Principato said. "She wants to hang around him. ... Amazing Gracie they call her. I would like to buy her a medal of honor."

Connie Principato said she had gone Christmas shopping and that her husband was gathering strings of lights to help with homeowners' association decorations.

"I had told my husband to wait until I got home," she recalled.

Pam Burton said her family adopted Grace through Greyhound Crossroads, based in Chappells, near Greenwood. The group places retired racers in homes in South Carolina and surrounding states.

"She's a great pet," she said, noting that greyhounds bark little and don't require much exercise. "She owns me; I don't own her."

According to the Greyhound Pets of America, more than 18,000 retired greyhound racers get a new lease on life as family pets each year.

Cynthia Wilkins of Bolivia, N.C., Greyhound Crossroads' area representative, has given foster care to 40 pooches, including Grace.

"They settle from place to place quickly and easily," Wilkins said. "They're quite adaptive."

Dr. Randy Werkhoven, chief of staff at Waccamaw Regional Veterinary Center in Conway, has researched the olfactory wonders of dogs.

He said Grace's story stands out even more because greyhounds are sight, not scent, dogs, able to see a small, moving object a half-mile away.

Werkhoven said each dog possesses 120 million to 220 million olfactory cells in body tissue vs. 5 million in a human's.

When dogs sniff the air, he said, "they get chemical messages coming to them from hundreds of feet to hundreds of yards or further, maybe miles. It's telling them about their environment that they can't see."

"We're seeing more and more greyhounds because of rescue groups, " Werkhoven said. "They're very nice pets. One of the things they're known for is sleeping."

On their walks, Pam Burton had always exchanged waves with the Principatos, who moved to their street from suburban Philadelphia after he retired from the transportation industry.

"We just said 'Hello,' that's all," Pam Burton said, seeing a positive from Grace's good deed.

"We need to look after our neighbors. I truly think the Holy Spirit sent Gracie and me that way."Contact STEVE PALISIN

at 444-1764 or spalisin@thesunnews.com.
Information

Greyhound Pets of America | www.greyhound pets.org

Greyhound Crossroads | www.greyhound crossroads.org or call Cynthia Wilkins at 843-602-7367

Breed name is unknown and has nothing to do with color, as gray is not their common color.

The greyhound is the only dog breed mentioned in the Bible: Proverbs 30: 29-31 (King James version).

Greyhoundlike dogs lived with humans almost 8,000 years ago, evidence shows.

Treated with almost godlike reverence by ancient Egyptians and highly regarded by other cultures in the Middle East.

Appear in Greek and Roman mythology. Greek poet Homer, in 800 B.C., was the first author to mention the dog in literature.

First appeared on coins in 500 B.C.

Alexander the Great's favorite breed.

- Compiled by Greyhound Pets of America from "The Reign of the Greyhound: A Popular History of the Oldest Family of Dogs" by Cynthia A. Branigan (Howell Book House, 1997) and "Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies" by Lee Livingood (IDG Books Worldwide Inc., 2000)

[rottielover]

way to go gracie

[Swiftwind]

Absolutely amazing! What a wonderful dog!