Cary, NC (July 1, 2020)- When Stephanie Labbe found out that she couldn’t bring her dog Rio with her from Canada for preseason training, she opted for the next best thing – fostering a dog from Second Chance Pet Adoptions. Second Chance Pet Adoptions is a non-profit animal rescue organization that rescues stray or abandoned cats and dogs in the Triangle Area and finds them their forever homes. It was here that Labbe met Gracie, the foster pup that would come to be loved by the NC Courage.

“With being in North Carolina for a month without Rio and having a lot of free time considering we were in quarantine, I thought it would be nice to foster a pup and fill that void of not having Rio with me,” Labbe said, “[Gracie] looked so timid and scared and unsure about everything [when I saw her at Second Chances]. Between spending so much time with her and giving her so much of my love, and trying to get her to trust me, I fell in love with her right away.” When Labbe first picked up her foster pup from Second Chance Pet Adoptions, her name wasn’t Gracie, it was Jayna – a name that Labbe didn’t feel was a good fit for her new pup. She and her roommate took to Google to find a new name, searching ‘dog names for girls’ and reading through a list of options aloud until one clicked. Ultimately, they agreed that ‘Gracie’ was a perfect fit. Teammate Meredith Speck joked that the renaming of Gracie was “100% Steph’s call” and that the team went along with it. Speck would take shifts with Gracie so that she could be familiarized with more than just Labbe’s apartment. She even attended the team photoshoot, snapping a few photos with the players and getting to explore the Courage facilities. “[Gracie] was a bit shy at first,” Speck said of Gracie being around the team, “She hadn’t been in the locker room, and she hadn’t met some of the other players, but having her there was fun. She opened up a lot, and we wanted to show her that there are a lot of people that are going to love her if she will trust them.” Both Labbe and Speck had prior experience with owning dogs, but nothing quite like fostering Gracie. “It was hard towards the end. I wanted to put my name in to adopt her because I didn’t want to give her away,” said Labbe. “But I always had the thought that I was setting her up for success in wherever her forever home may be.” Though Labbe admitted giving Gracie away was difficult, she said that she would absolutely foster another dog in the future, calling it a very rewarding experience in that she was helping out an animal that had come from a difficult circumstance and gave them an opportunity to thrive. Gracie absolutely had the opportunity to thrive while spending a month with the back-to-back NWSL Champions. Interested in fostering an animal with Second Chance Pet Adoptions? Check their website here or give them a call at (919) 851-8404.