About Grady
Grady is my service dog and best friend. He's six years old, and is a liver-spotted Dalmatian (that's right, he has brown spots instead of black!).
Grady started out doing something very different from being a service dog - he was a conformation show dog. Although he did well in the conformation ring (he's a breed champion!), he truly shines in his work as a service dog.
What's more, it runs in the family - he has a great-grandson who is in training to become a service dog, and my service dog candidate puppy is his granddaughter!
Grady and Me
After Grady retired from the show ring, his breeder, Patrick Jones, knew that he needed to have a job. Patrick donated Grady to me and Grady came to live with me to be trained as my service dog.
I owner-trained Grady with the help of Denise Mazzola, a professional trainer with service dog experience. While owner-training isn't suitable for many service dog users, I chose to owner-train so I could
be partnered with my breed of choice and so that I could tailor the training to be specific to my needs.
Grady was in training for about 15 months before becoming a full-fledged service dog. Grady goes everywhere with me, including places like Wal-Mart, the mall, the library, and many others - we've even gone to the Texas State Fair!
Grady has increased my independence an incredible amount. Just a few short years ago, I could only leave my house if I was accompanied by someone else. Now that I have Grady, I can go out alone. I've learned how to use public transport, I've made new friends, and I'm no longer totally dependent on others.
A Peek into Grady's Life
Although Grady is a service dog, he gets a lot of off-duty time to relax, play, and just be a dog. One thing he enjoys doing during his off-time is practicing for competition obedience. He has his companion dog (Novice) title, and we're training for Open now.
Grady also enjoys romping with my pet dogs, taking naps (and he likes being covered with a blanket while he naps), playing at the park, running, and swimming (so long as the water isn't too cold!). He also enjoys romping with my other dogs and playing "fling the stuffie."
Like most of us, Grady likes to indulge in treats occasionally. He especially enjoys banana fruit bars and frozen strawberries. He also enjoys the peppermints that he occasionally gets when we go to Sonic.