Senior dogs are getting a new leash on life thanks to a nonprofit headquartered in Georgetown, Texas.
“Living Grace Canine Ranch is a Senior Dog Life Care Sanctuary,” according to the website for Living Grace Canine Senior Ranch. “A 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to saving, serving, and valuing the lives of displaced, unadoptable and unwanted Texas senior canines. Our mission of mercy celebrates all breeds, regardless of physical, emotional, and medical challenges. From our bunkhouse doors, we shout ‘Come!’ Here, you will find rest, safety, and nourishment for your weary body & spirit.”
Dogs of all backgrounds and needs call the ranch home after Living Grace opened it’s doors in 2020. The ranch was started by Rhonda Minardi, founder of Living Grace Canine Ranch, who’s own personal experience prompted her to create a place where senior dogs can find sanctuary.
“My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer five years ago, and I was with her when the doctor told her she had less than a couple months to live, maybe weeks,” Rhonda Minardi told Hello Georgetown. “She sat there, very stoic, and then she looked up at me and she said, ‘Well, what about Lucy,’ and it took me by surprise. Lucy is her dog, and her concerns was who’s going to take care of Lucy when she’s no longer here, not about herself…that’s always been in the back of my mind, and then as I moved to Texas and realized the need for senior dogs, a safe place for them to live out the rest of their lives, I just concentrated on what can I do? What can I do to change this? And here we are a year later.”
62 dogs now call Living Grace home, with 52 who live on site and 10 dogs who are enjoying their sunset years in the Forever Foster program. One of those Forever Foster dogs, George, has found a new life and a new role after his arrival at Living Grace, as the newest member of The Delaney at Georgetown Village family.
“I have many conversations daily, whether it be with staff, residents, or resident’s families, about their wanting to help care for George if he should ever need anything,” Amanda Herndon, Director of Memory Care at The Delaney at Georgetown Village, told Hello Georgetown. “He has numerous baby-sitters inside our community who open their homes to him for overnight stays so he is never alone. George is also treated to a spa day once a month by a LGCR volunteer groomer, who also happens to be the sister of one of our residents! Many staff members come and spend a few minutes with George while on their break. You know the saying–It takes a village to raise a child? Well, it takes a Delaney Village to care for George, and we love every minute of it!”
The program allows George the opportunity to live and love his new family at The Delaney at Georgetown Village, while also remaining connected to Living Grace who still provides for all his needs including medical, grooming and food. Minardi says she thinks George’s success story can be a pattern for others as well.
“We think we have opened the door with Delaney George by letting the seniors and George have a relationship,” Minardi said. “We’ve seen the benefits on both sides for our senior residents there at the Delaney, and also enjoy how much they bring to love together.”
Read More: The Delaney at Georgetown Village Becomes Forever Foster Home for Senior Dog
There are other ways the sanctuary is helping connect their residents with love. Volunteers at Living Grace help in a variety of ways, including serving as “Cuddlers” for smaller residents who may not be able to handle long walks.
“They come and they hold, and love on, and brush our little dogs up front in the small dog house where those dogs are not able to go outside or go on walks very much due to their health conditions, but they still need the human touch and love,” Minardi said.
Love is instilled throughout the whole journey, even after a resident passes. Trees are planted around the edges of the sanctuary in honor of each resident’s live and love that still surrounds those who remain behind at Living Grace.
In the future, Minardi says, the sanctuary will develop a part of their property into a memorial space for residents who have passed on, including a physical bridge to represent the “rainbow bridge,” as many dog lovers say, that connects the sanctuary with the memorial spaces.
Throughout each dog’s journey, from arrival to final moments, love resides at Living Grace. That’s the overarching mission of the organization and everything reflects that, right down to how the facilities are built. The sanctuary is home to, as far as Living Grace is aware, the only dog focused tornado shelter in the United States. Living Grace also has an onsite grooming room operated by professional groomers who come in regularly to keep the dogs groomed and trimmed in a stress free environment.
Careful medical care is also part of how they show their residents love. Casey’s Healing Hands, the onsite resident wellness clinic, is equipped with everything the residents need to maintain their health through their final years. Wellness doesn’t just mean medicine at Living Grace though, as the clinic also focuses on diagnostics and nutrition, caring for the whole dog rather than just their medical issues.
“I believe what I’m doing is the Lord’s work,” Minardi said. “[Especially] the dogs who have never known love, I believe I need to show them and have them feel what love is like before they leave, and for many of our dogs that have come from a loving home, to continue that love until the day that they no longer are here with us.”
Minardi welcomes all those who would like to take part in that process to come and join Living Grace Canine Ranch.
“I’d love to have more people out here enjoying the lives of these beautiful animals,” Minardi said. ” They want to be loved just like that seven month old puppy. They need to be loved to the end. We cannot just leave. Society leaves senior dogs, and that’s not acceptable. I think that’s when they need us most…We need to step up and take care of them.”
To learn more about Living Grace, volunteer at the ranch or donate to their efforts, visit their website or their Facebook page.
You can view a gallery of photos of Living Grace Canine Ranch below.
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