One-Eyed Dog

All right, it's time for the next dog.

Riding with me from Tribeca to Greenwich Village one night last week were Gracie, a seven-year-old mixed breed, and her owner, Eric.




I'm finding a lot of the dogs in my cab have interesting biographies, and Gracie was no exception. Before winding up in the care of Eric, she spent the first three years of her life in a basement in Queens, never seeing the light of day. Definitely a cruelty to animals situation.

But she was rescued by Eric and things were fine until it was recently discovered that a bump near her right eye was cancerous, and the eye had to be removed. So Gracie has what looks like a furry patch covering the socket where the eye had been.



Eric said her years in the basement affected her socializing skills with other dogs. But she does well in the socializing with humans department. Her special skill is standing on her hind legs and hugging you for no apparent reason, as if you were a long-lost friend.

I'm considering doing the same thing to increase my tips.