Therapy Dog Beats Rare Disease, Joins Groundbreaking Study

When Gracie the therapy dog started developing mysterious sores, her owners had no idea their rescue pup would soon become a pioneer in veterinary medicine.

Mary and Paul Brinkman adopted Gracie from an Alabama rescue because of her calm, gentle nature. After obedience training, she became a certified therapy dog at Jackson Elementary School in Jackson, Wisconsin, where special education students read her stories.

But in 2025, the dog who spent her days comforting children faced her own crisis. Small skin lesions turned into draining sores, and soon Gracie was limping, losing energy, and refusing food.

Tests revealed blastomycosis, a devastating fungal infection usually found near water or disturbed soil. Gracie lived in a quiet neighborhood nowhere near water, reminding veterinarians that this disease can strike anywhere.

By the time Gracie arrived at UW Veterinary Care, the infection had ravaged her lungs, bones, skin, and lymph nodes. The inflammation in her left eye was so severe that she permanently lost vision in it.

"Despite how extensive her disease was, what stood out most to our team was Gracie's incredibly sweet and happy personality," says Claire Ludwig, a small animal internal medicine resident. "Even while she was clearly not feeling well, she remained bright, affectionate, and eager to interact with everyone."

Sunny's Take

While fighting for her life, Gracie became the first patient in a clinical trial using advanced PET/CT imaging to track blastomycosis. Current testing methods can detect the fungus but cannot show exactly where it has spread, making it hard to know when treatment is working or when it's safe to stop.

The disease has a 20% recurrence rate even when tests come back negative. Treatment takes months and costs thousands of dollars.

Gracie's PET/CT scans revealed inflammatory lesions doctors hadn't detected in her digits, muscles, and limbs. This technology could help veterinarians monitor recovery more accurately and save future patients from unnecessary treatment or dangerous relapses.

For the Brinkmans, enrolling Gracie in the trial felt natural. "Gracie has always been a kind, caring helper dog," Mary Brinkman says. "This is her way of helping others of her own species to get better treatment for this horrible disease."

Today, Gracie is back to watching squirrels and taking neighborhood walks. She's preparing to return to the classroom, where her journey will teach students something new.

With vision in only one eye now, Gracie will show the children she works with that looking different is okay and that diversity is beautiful.