TyAva's Golden Gracie
"Gracie"

She was born on December 3^rd, 1994 in Marietta, Georgia, to a champion Yorkshire terrier sire named Tuff Stuff and a mom named Misty.  Although she had an impressive pedigree with ancestors out of the Wildweir and Clarkwyn kennels, it was not for this reason that I adopted her.

 After looking at more than 50 Yorkie babies, all it took was one visit with Gracie and my heart melted.  I sat down on the breeder's back deck as swarms of tiny Yorkie puppies ran to me, jumped in my lap, and barked their greetings.  With her sweet spirit and gentle manner, Gracie waited until the other puppies' frenzy had calmed and they ran off to play.  That's when she walked over to me, sat in my lap, and gently kissed me on the cheek.  As I looked down at Gracie, I knew that she was "the one" - but who had chosen whom?!

And so our lives together began in the Spring of 1995.  From that day when I brought her home to live with me, Gracie has been a joy.  She is a five-pound bundle of love with an irrepressible spirit and a zest for life.  Through all the seasons in Gracie’s life -- puppy, adolescent, adult, senior citizen, and now handicapped -- she has maintained that same sweet spirit I saw in her as a puppy.  Whether she chose me, or I chose her, I am richer for it.

She still melts my heart.

Happy 15^th birthday to my beloved Gracie
December 3, 2009

Gracie - 6 months old, June 1995