Table of Contents
It was Bad. It was very bad. Junior was taken from us so suddenly on the yarzheit of our very first dog Gal. We were broken. We were devastated.
But there was Grace. Grace was his sister. Grace was his very very best friend in the whole world. Grace needed to grieve too.
So we took her in. And we cried. And we held each other. And we cuddled. We cuddled so tight. And none of us knew what the following days would bring. But we had a feeling that Junior would want us to adopt her and would want her to watch over us. So that's how we adopted Grace on that fateful day, January 31, 2020.
Grace, we hope we do good by you. We hope you know how much you are loved. And we hope that while we will never be able to replace Junior in your life and never be able to play with you as he did, we manage to still offer you immense joy as you have already done for us these past few days.
But there was Grace. Grace was his sister. Grace was his very very best friend in the whole world. Grace needed to grieve too.
So we took her in. And we cried. And we held each other. And we cuddled. We cuddled so tight. And none of us knew what the following days would bring. But we had a feeling that Junior would want us to adopt her and would want her to watch over us. So that's how we adopted Grace on that fateful day, January 31, 2020.
Grace, we hope we do good by you. We hope you know how much you are loved. And we hope that while we will never be able to replace Junior in your life and never be able to play with you as he did, we manage to still offer you immense joy as you have already done for us these past few days.
Gracie: You graced us with your presence on such a tragic day. A year to the day that our beloved first-born dog Gal died peacefully in our arms, your beautiful brother Gal Junior left this world as well. The trauma of witnessing his premature passing, the shock at the loss of our wonderful puppy taken way too young was simply horrible.
Gracie: When you were born as Cat-Cat on July 18 2018 we immediately adored you. We loved you along with all of your siblings. You were the one puppy chosen to stay with your mummy because who could possibly let you go? Also, because you lived so near you often came by to play with Gal Junior. You adored him. The two of you could play for hours and never get bored. It was so much fun watching you both. And it was so beautiful seeing such a special sibling connection. I believe you had that more with Gal Junior than any of the other siblings even though another one of your brothers also lived just as close by.
Gracie: On Gal’s yarzheit we had to lose another dog and we weren’t sure how we’d move on. We were extremely sad and felt so broken and empty. Not an hour passed before you were there to comfort us. We discussed it as a family and asked for adoption privileges which we’d been offered before. We were given them and, while still distraught, felt immediate comfort.
Gracie: When you first moved in it was a little challenging for you. But also in a good way. You’d never slept on a bed before! You’d also never had so much attention. You’d never been in our house without your adorable brother Gal Junior And you’d never been without your wonderful mummy Layla. Thankfully you knew Daniel very well which made the transition a lot easier. And of course you were familiar with our house. But when daddy left the room late at night to go to work, you cried at the door. We weren’t sure if you were crying for Daniel or for Gal Junior. I’m not sure you knew either…
Gracie: In your early days in our house we couldn’t help but notice astounding similarities in your behavior traits with your brother Gal Junior; that was both easy and hard. You both loved to jump up onto the couch and sit just right there and you both had the sweetest disposition. While Gal Junior was for sure more rambunctious than you (and perchance a little smarter), you were – and are – more about the love-giving.
Gracie: We don’t know why Gal Junior was taken from us so early. But we do know this: you were meant to be a part of our family. You were meant to come live with us. You were meant to be our little girl and grace us with your love, softness, sweetness and comfort. We all love you so very, very much.
Thank you, love
Mummy, Daddy, Golan and Eitan.
Gracie: When you were born as Cat-Cat on July 18 2018 we immediately adored you. We loved you along with all of your siblings. You were the one puppy chosen to stay with your mummy because who could possibly let you go? Also, because you lived so near you often came by to play with Gal Junior. You adored him. The two of you could play for hours and never get bored. It was so much fun watching you both. And it was so beautiful seeing such a special sibling connection. I believe you had that more with Gal Junior than any of the other siblings even though another one of your brothers also lived just as close by.
Gracie: On Gal’s yarzheit we had to lose another dog and we weren’t sure how we’d move on. We were extremely sad and felt so broken and empty. Not an hour passed before you were there to comfort us. We discussed it as a family and asked for adoption privileges which we’d been offered before. We were given them and, while still distraught, felt immediate comfort.
Gracie: When you first moved in it was a little challenging for you. But also in a good way. You’d never slept on a bed before! You’d also never had so much attention. You’d never been in our house without your adorable brother Gal Junior And you’d never been without your wonderful mummy Layla. Thankfully you knew Daniel very well which made the transition a lot easier. And of course you were familiar with our house. But when daddy left the room late at night to go to work, you cried at the door. We weren’t sure if you were crying for Daniel or for Gal Junior. I’m not sure you knew either…
Gracie: In your early days in our house we couldn’t help but notice astounding similarities in your behavior traits with your brother Gal Junior; that was both easy and hard. You both loved to jump up onto the couch and sit just right there and you both had the sweetest disposition. While Gal Junior was for sure more rambunctious than you (and perchance a little smarter), you were – and are – more about the love-giving.
Gracie: We don’t know why Gal Junior was taken from us so early. But we do know this: you were meant to be a part of our family. You were meant to come live with us. You were meant to be our little girl and grace us with your love, softness, sweetness and comfort. We all love you so very, very much.
Thank you, love
Mummy, Daddy, Golan and Eitan.
Today you are 2!!! It’s the first birthday we are celebrating with you and we are so excited to have the zechutto do it! We made you a cake and we hope you like it.
Gracie we want to thank you. We want to truly tell you how much we appreciate all you’ve done for us since we adopted you that fateful day six months ago.
This week is parshat Matot-Masei. We read in Matot:
כָּל־דָּבָ֞ר אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹ֣א בָאֵ֗שׁ תַּֽעֲבִ֤ירוּ בָאֵשׁ֙ וְטָהֵ֔ר אַ֕ךְ בְּמֵ֥י נִדָּ֖ה יִתְחַטָּ֑א וְכֹ֨ל אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹֽא־יָבֹ֛א בָּאֵ֖שׁ תַּֽעֲבִ֥ירוּ בַמָּֽיִם
Anything that is used in fire shall pass through fire and then it will become pure; it must, however, [also] be cleansed with sprinkling water, and whatever is not used in fire must be passed through water. (31:23)
This teaches us about the vessel purification process. Basically, for a vessel to be purified, it must go through the process that made it impure in the first place. If it came into contact with fire when it was made impure it needs fire to become pure again. The Chofetz Chaim taught that this is exactly how we do teshuva; if we stole we have to make sure we return what we stole and then give more to tzedakah. If we are mean to someone we have to be especially kind.
Gracie, adopting you was really the only whole way we were able to get over Gal Junior’s loss. Only you. Not another dog…you. Not even another sibling, but you. You were his best buddy and you spent time in what – probably only Junior knew – was to become your home.
Thank you. We hope that you’re as happy to be here as we are to have you. We love you to the moon and back!
Thank you, love
Mummy, Daddy, Golan and Eitan.
Today you are 2!!! It’s the first birthday we are celebrating with you and we are so excited to have the zechutto do it! We made you a cake and we hope you like it.
Gracie we want to thank you. We want to truly tell you how much we appreciate all you’ve done for us since we adopted you that fateful day six months ago.
This week is parshat Matot-Masei. We read in Matot:
כָּל־דָּבָ֞ר אֲשֶׁר־יָבֹ֣א בָאֵ֗שׁ תַּֽעֲבִ֤ירוּ בָאֵשׁ֙ וְטָהֵ֔ר אַ֕ךְ בְּמֵ֥י נִדָּ֖ה יִתְחַטָּ֑א וְכֹ֨ל אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹֽא־יָבֹ֛א בָּאֵ֖שׁ תַּֽעֲבִ֥ירוּ בַמָּֽיִם
Anything that is used in fire shall pass through fire and then it will become pure; it must, however, [also] be cleansed with sprinkling water, and whatever is not used in fire must be passed through water. (31:23)
This teaches us about the vessel purification process. Basically, for a vessel to be purified, it must go through the process that made it impure in the first place. If it came into contact with fire when it was made impure it needs fire to become pure again. The Chofetz Chaim taught that this is exactly how we do teshuva; if we stole we have to make sure we return what we stole and then give more to tzedakah. If we are mean to someone we have to be especially kind.
Gracie, adopting you was really the only whole way we were able to get over Gal Junior’s loss. Only you. Not another dog…you. Not even another sibling, but you. You were his best buddy and you spent time in what – probably only Junior knew – was to become your home.
Thank you. We hope that you’re as happy to be here as we are to have you. We love you to the moon and back!
Thank you, love
Mummy, Daddy, Golan and Eitan.
Gracie, our dear Gracie, who graced our lives just a few short months ago…Who could have possibly known back in January 2020 that the tragic death of your brother would have resulted in such comfort imbuing our lives?
Gracie, we knew you from when you were just a day old. We held you and stroked you and warmed to you and when we adopted your brother Gal Junior z”l you still had a special place in our hearts and in our lives. So often you would come and play with him; he was your best friend. You loved just being in each other’s company and whether you guys were crazy running around each other or puffing and panting out of breath lying next to each other you were like two peas in a pod, just wanting to be in each other’s presence.
That day of Junior’s passing will never be erased from our minds. It was horribly tragic and very traumatic. But because of you it became bearable. Because of you it was manageable. Because of you we slowly began to heal.
You are the first female dog we’ve ever had and we see a big difference between you and your male counterparts. You are gentle, soft and nurturing. We were never really sure we wanted a female dog in our house – as I always said “one bitch was enough” – but you don’t have that negative connotation at all. You are so loving, so gentle and so incredibly giving. In fact, in as much as the Sass dogs that preceded you were able to comfort and love us, you are the first dog that has truly personified the notion of being a “teddy bear with a soul” and for that we will be forever grateful.
Both boys have a special connection to you. And today, at Golan’s aliya l’Torah because of the crazy corona situation, you were able to show your support by being a part of the simcha. Dressed in your delightful little pink dress, you stole the show in the forest. Which was good for Golan as, like me, he’s not so into being the center of attention.
Who would have thought that there could be any comfort in such a difficult situation? We weren’t able to follow through with our original plan of having Golan’s aliya l’Torah at the kotel but because of that, you were able to celebrate with us. It was a peaceful, beautiful and calm morning, which was so matim for our bechor. The kotel probably would have been crazy and stressful which isn’t good for Golan’s temperament and you wouldn’t have been able to be a part of it.
The classic adage of “man plans and G-d laughs” is annoying to hear at times. But Gracie, twice in our lives you have proved just that. Thank you.
Gracie, we knew you from when you were just a day old. We held you and stroked you and warmed to you and when we adopted your brother Gal Junior z”l you still had a special place in our hearts and in our lives. So often you would come and play with him; he was your best friend. You loved just being in each other’s company and whether you guys were crazy running around each other or puffing and panting out of breath lying next to each other you were like two peas in a pod, just wanting to be in each other’s presence.
That day of Junior’s passing will never be erased from our minds. It was horribly tragic and very traumatic. But because of you it became bearable. Because of you it was manageable. Because of you we slowly began to heal.
You are the first female dog we’ve ever had and we see a big difference between you and your male counterparts. You are gentle, soft and nurturing. We were never really sure we wanted a female dog in our house – as I always said “one bitch was enough” – but you don’t have that negative connotation at all. You are so loving, so gentle and so incredibly giving. In fact, in as much as the Sass dogs that preceded you were able to comfort and love us, you are the first dog that has truly personified the notion of being a “teddy bear with a soul” and for that we will be forever grateful.
Both boys have a special connection to you. And today, at Golan’s aliya l’Torah because of the crazy corona situation, you were able to show your support by being a part of the simcha. Dressed in your delightful little pink dress, you stole the show in the forest. Which was good for Golan as, like me, he’s not so into being the center of attention.
Who would have thought that there could be any comfort in such a difficult situation? We weren’t able to follow through with our original plan of having Golan’s aliya l’Torah at the kotel but because of that, you were able to celebrate with us. It was a peaceful, beautiful and calm morning, which was so matim for our bechor. The kotel probably would have been crazy and stressful which isn’t good for Golan’s temperament and you wouldn’t have been able to be a part of it.
The classic adage of “man plans and G-d laughs” is annoying to hear at times. But Gracie, twice in our lives you have proved just that. Thank you.
Dear Gracie
I can't believe you're already 3 years old. On the one hand it feels like you just came into our lives and on the other, that you've been with us forever.
Today is Tisha B'Av, probably the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. But as we know, it has the potential to be the happiest as we have the ability to turn things around and transform sinat Chinam into ahavat Chinam. That is very fitting given that that is EXACTLY how you came into our lives...from a tragedy (Junior's death) to complete and utter joy (your adoption). Such an opposite feeling.
One recent example of that was Golan's barmitzvah. It could have been such a disappointing event given all the lockdowns and restrictions. But what did you do? You totally turned that around. Not only were you pretty much a lifesaver during the peak of coronavirus but when we were told we couldn't go to the kotel for the Aliya l'Torah, what did we do? We went to the local forest and had YOU join us!
A few weeks ago we brought two other dogs to stay with you for a month. It could have been very hard for you but you welcomed them with open arms, sharing your food and even giving up your space on the bed. We were very proud of you.
I am also very proud of how you let me brush your hair and clean your teeth. Your gentle and loving nature seems to know no bounds.
We love you so much and look forward to spending more time with you as a huge part of our family. Thank you for everything!