Gretchen was a beautiful 7 year old German Shepherd who was surrendered to our shelter because of a divorce.  We were told that Gretchen had been a working dog during 9/11.  When she went in to be spayed, our veterinarian found a belly full of fluid.  She was immediately closed up and rushed to Barnegat Animal Clinic for a better look.  The vets at Barnegat spayed her and also did an exploratory surgery where they had found an enlarged spleen, but gave her a clean bill of health.  Gretchen was quickly adopted, but after some time passed her new owner found that her health was failing.  It looks like Gretchen was having some problems due to the time she spent at Ground Zero.  As of now, she is resting comfortably with her new family.  All of us here at SOCAF were proud to have known Gretchen and thank everyone involved in making the rest of her time with us as good as possible.