Grace Kelly

Today I met the lovely Grace Kelly who is a Spanish Mastin rescued from Spain.

You may remember, back in November I was asked to be part of my photographer friend Lynda's 'Finding Grace' project. Well Lynda has always wanted a dog and there's a really touching story of how she found Grace.

Lynda had been to various dog rescue centres and then she came across a lady who's involved in rescuing dogs from Spain - Lynda contacted her and arranged to see a couple of the dogs currently ready adoption, but when she got there they were too boisterous for her. Then she spotted a lovely female dog and asked who she was. The lady said that she was a special girl but was very nervous and not ready for adoption. But this special girl who usually wouldn't go near people, came up to Lynda and licked her hand. There was an instant bond between the two of them and so the lady agreed that they could take her for a walk with the other dogs - she walked by Lynda's side while the others were pulling ahead.

All the dogs were named after actors and actresses and when Lynda asked what she was called, she was amazed that her name was Grace Kelly. Not only is Lynda's surname Kelly, but of course her project is 'Finding Grace'. Well she certainly did!

She couldn't take her home straight away as a home check had to be done, and a few days later the lady came down to Brighton with Grace who settled in Lynda's apartment straight away. That was 11 weeks ago, and although she's very nervous, she's getting more and more confident and loves Lynda - the feeling is noticeably mutual!

The charity that rescues these beautiful dogs is called Save a Mastin. They also have a Facebook page with the same name if you're interested in having a look.

On another note, I swam 40 lengths before work today!