My little buddy

When I was growing up, we only had one dog and a couple cats. Needless to say, I have never been a big animal person. My parents got a dog when I was in college, and that dog is way more spoiled than us kids ever were. I never had my own dog until just a little over a year ago. My sister in law had a neighbor whose dog ran away to their house. They kept him for a week, and then the neighbor took him back. A month later, the poor dog came back to their house. He was so skinny his ribs were sticking out, he was petrified of people, he'd been left out on a 2 foot chain in the middle of winter and the little boy told my niece that they got a new dog so they didn't want him anymore. By that time, my sister in law had already found a new dog. So they asked us if we would take this dog. I hesitated to take a dog, we have a small house and I think you have to be a good housekeeper to have a dog, which I don't think I am! But I couldn't let this poor dog go back to what he had come from. So I agreed and we got a dog. I think his name was Mickey and my sister in law called him Sam. My husband wanted to call him Chevy but it just didn't fit. I wanted a cute boy name for him. While looking through a Sports Illustrated, my husband saw it-Grady-the name of a baseball player on his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. It fit perfect! I'd like you to meet my little buddy Grady~ Grady is the sweetest black lab you will ever meet. You never hear a sound come out of him unless he is feeling protective. He loves water and tries to "eat" it when it comes out of the hose. He loves to play catch, get belly rubs and lick feet! He's a crazy guy!
We don't know how old Grady is, we guess about 3-4 years old since he is starting to get gray under his chin. He acts like a puppy because he has endless energy when it comes to swimming and playing! If I get my shoes on, grab my purse or jingle my keys-he goes crazy because he loves going for rides. He sticks his head out the window and you can tell he is in heaven!
Of course, I can't just call him Grady. I had to come up with a middle name for him too. And that middle name grew into so many more names. It's funny how he will respond to almost all of them. I call him: Grady Al-o-wish-us
Grady Slim Shady
Grady Pooter Skid
Pood
Boo Boo
Stinky Winky
And those are just the ones I remember-I am always making up something different to call him all the time! He loves hanging out with his dad, working in the garage or fishing. And he loves hanging out with me when I am in the kitchen cooking. He really is man...and woman's best friend.
He loves our 1 year old niece Madi. They like to give each other kisses. He is so good with kids and other dogs. I never have to worry about him being aggressive or scaring the kids.

When we are away at work all day, Grady hangs out in the house and never does it any harm. He sleeps on his bed all day and I don't worry that he will ruin anything. He even let's us "dress him up" in dad's hat's and glasses!

There are days when I want to shave off all of his hair because my house looks like I never sweep. And after a swim in the canal he smells really bad. But I am so thankful that Grady is in our life. I can't imagine not having this faithful companion by our side. He has an amazing personality and so much love to give. I hope he's forgotten about the rough life he had before he was ours. I promise he will never have to live through that again. He really is a special guy and my little buddy!