Timothy Stark Raisbeck

The BIG KAHUNA came to town in 2006 and Gracie was destined to ride it. The BIG KAHUNA doesn’t come to these parts too often but in 2006 do to various circumstances it made a swing through our town of Fulshear. Gracie’s eyes woke with a start that morning. She seemed to have a certain restlessness about herself as if she sensed something special to the day. I wasn’t quite sure why. That restlessness only grew stronger as she overheard Christy inform Kendall that her 12th birthday party was going to coincide with the visit of the BIG KAHUNA. The BIG KAHUNA became the theme for Kendall’s birthday party.

All eyes were on the BIG KAHUNA as it was being set up. There was the loud hiss of the air as it made its entry in and a constant popping as sections of the BIG KAHUNA begin to unfold and take shape. Gracie watched with a curiousity and uncertainty as the big blue structure ever so slowly started to take shape. She wasn’t sure about the noise at first and her face reflected a look of bewilderment. The BIG KAHUNA was postitioned just outside the south end swimming pool fence and under an extremly large Pecan tree. It siezed every bit of space it could take and then some. It wasn’t until the BIG KAHUNA was completely set up that Gracie realized why so many were attracted to it. The shear size of it, width and height was very indimidating but Grace also saw a certain vunerability that many others had seen as well. She knew the thrill of the fast, downward descent would overcome any initial terror she had.

Gracie’s chances of becoming a show dog would have been slim to none if for nothing else due to her conformation. It has been suggested she has what is commonly referred to as “hip dysplasia”. It is a common degenerative joint disease seen in dogs.

It is primarily a disease of purebreds although it can happen in mixed breeds, particularly if it is a cross of two dogs that are prone to developing the disease. This condition can be painful for a dog and in some cases a dog may be put down if the severity warrants it. Christy and I have been assured that Gracie is in no pain resulting from her conformation issues. It is something that is very noticeable with her, especially watching her walk away from you, and we have numerous people make that observation when meeting her for the first time. She has a bit of a swagger to her walk, reminding me of a bow legged cowboy. You expect her to have a couple of six shooters strapped low around her waist.

My first encounter with Gracie was three years ago when my wife Christy brought her to a horse show I was attending. She could not have been more than a few weeks old at the time. Christy had mentioned days previous that she had spotted a dog at CAPS (Citizens for Animal Protection) that was the cutest puppy she had ever seen. Lets be honest here, who hasn’t seen “any” puppy that isn’t cute? At that age they are all cute.

In Christy’s defense I think she had cleared it with me sometime previous, that she was interested in obtaining another dog. As a family, Christy, myself and our two kids are big animal lovers. We were coming off the loss of our first dog, Kelsey who became our first pet as a married couple. Kelsey was a Golden Retriever and lived to be 14 before passing on. We were not sure we could top Kelsey in the “best pet” category.

Gracie did not look particularly purebred anything as is the case with most dogs that end up at animal shelters. She seemed to have the look of a Doberman with a litle bit of Labrador thrown in. We started referring to her as a “Dobrador” thinking that was the most likely mix. To this day we are still not sure.