Like Special Agent Hart in the movie Miss Congeniality, this Gracie had somewhat humble beginnings: She was shuffled from house to house in rural North Carolina, denied necessary veterinary care for ear infections and other painful ailments, yelled at, crated, and forced to endure waste-caked mats of fur. A life of glitz and glamour (aka a warm, safe home and a family who loves her) surely seemed a distant dream to this seemingly doomed doodle.

Fortunately, one of her momentary former owners did one thing right: They called PETA to have her spayed. From the moment our fieldworkers met her, they knew Gracie was more than just beauty, grace, and a pretty face.

Even while she was enduring her former owners’ neglect, this “Miss North Carolina” has always been full of hart.

For years, PETA checked in on Gracie, tracking her from owner to owner. For some of her life, she was forced to live outside. Our fieldworkers brought the shy but sweet girl flea meds during the sweltering summer months, and they stuffed her plastic doghouse full of insulating straw bedding during the freezing winters. And of course, regardless of the time of year, they showed up with toys, treats, attention, and love every time they visited. And then one glorious day, after local authorities agreed with PETA that Gracie’s owner—who had nearly 10 dogs, all of them flea-covered and many of them worryingly thin—was in over their head, our fieldworkers were granted permission to take her so that she could enjoy the life every dog deserves.

And just like Michael Caine’s Victor Melling, they wasted no time in kicking off her makeover:

“The last time I was this naked in public, I was coming out of a uterus!” —Gracie Hart

Back at PETA’s headquarters, fieldworkers helped Gracie shed her dangerous mats—because regular grooming isn’t just a beauty treatment. Underneath the knotted tufts were patches of red, inflamed skin, not to mention fleas and feces galore. Following the shave-down, an oatmeal bath, some antibiotics, and lots of TLC, Gracie perfected her glide and proved she is elegance and taste!

Hey, Siri, play “Mustang Sally.”

Knowing that this beauty queen’s still-angry skin, unhappy ears, and irritated eyes would require continuing care, PETA’s own veterinarian swooped in to foster her.

She is beauty and she is grace.

In foster care, Gracie has proven that her talents go beyond water-glass music slurping: She’s great with kids, she gets along well with her foster guardians’ other companion dog, and she’s respectful of her new feline friend. She’s housetrained, and although she’s still perfecting her fetch game, she loves to chase a ball around in the backyard.

“You want to hug me … You want to love me … You want to hug me … You want to smooch me … You want to [adopt me]!” —Gracie

Gracie is a roughly 4-year-old spayed golden doodle. She is vaccinated and can travel anywhere on the East Coast, and although she’s all for world peace, she’s uninterested in a runner-up position—which is just fine because she’ll be #1 in her adopter’s eyes.

Will you be the one to crown Gracie “Miss Adopted”?

E-mail Adopt@peta.org to learn more.

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