Today is rainy but a dripping rain without any wind. It is the sort of day I’ve always loved. When I was a kid, I’d get home from school, take off my uniform and put on my pajamas as I knew I didn’t need my play clothes. I’d get cozy in bed and read the whole rest of the afternoon because upstairs was always quiet before dinner. The TV held everyone else’s attention. It was a wonderful alone time for me and my book.

Yesterday I had quite the scare, actually I am still worried. I was in the den when I heard something fall then I heard it again so I ran into the living room. Gracie was lying on the floor. Her eyes were wide with fright. I immediately grabbed her around the belly and picked her off the floor holding her so her feet were on the floor but I was keeping her standing. If I needed to, I was ready to carry her to the car, all 60 pounds of her. I was talking to her the whole time. She was shaking, and I told her to stop. She did. I walked her still holding on so she would know her legs could hold her. She started walking by herself. I checked and saw nothing wrong with her face, as in a stroke, or her legs and feet. I called my vets, and they told me to bring her right away. I ran upstairs to get dressed and Gracie followed and jumped on the bed to wait. She came downstairs on her own when I did. We went to the car. The vet saw nothing wrong but was keeping her for a while to do some tests. We speculated, the vet and I. The rug was a mess so she might have been going too fast and slid on the wooden floor to the rug. I’ve seen her feet slide before when she is fast-moving. The vet gave me a few other optimistic reasons. They did three tests, and the vet had the results of two: blood work and x-rays were fine. She’ll call today with the results of the third test.

My friend Tony, Uncle Tony to Gracie, knew I was supposed to go to dinner with some other friends so he volunteered to stay here with Grace to make sure she was okay. I couldn’t have been more thankful. When I got home, both he and Gracie were asleep: Tony in the chair and Gracie sprawled on the couch. He said she was fine all evening.

This morning was like every other morning. Gracie waited while I opened the front door so she could check the neighborhood, she then went to the back door and waited again. I opened it and she went out. When she came back in via the dog door, she wanted her morning treats. She is now having her morning nap on the couch snoring away with her head on a pillow. The vet hasn’t called yet.

Gracie will be nine in two weeks. My other boxers had just turned 8 when they passed away. I keep a close eye on Miss Gracie. I hope the last test is as good as the first two.

Today is a wait for the call day, but if we have time, we’ll go to the dump. Gracie will like that.