Grace Edwards is slight of build but stout of spirit.
A third-year veterinary student enrolled in the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Edwards earned a master’s degree at UGA, worked three years as a veterinary technician for Boehringer Ingelheim, and then applied for and was accepted to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program.
Driven to succeed but also happy to take life as it comes, Edwards’ philosophy is this: “I think things unfold how they should unfold.”
By that standard, her presence was preordained on a snowy Saturday a few blocks from the CVM in Athens. Edwards was snug at home watching television when she heard chaos erupt outside on the street. Peeking through the blinds, she saw a pair of aggressive dogs attacking a neighbor’s pet. Olive, a young Bernedoodle weighing about 60 pounds, was caught in the jaws of two larger dogs. Olive’s owner, Jason Goddu, was alone trying to fight off the attack and yelling for help.
Edwards grabbed her dog’s leash from its hook beside the front door and ran out barefoot to help.
She straddled the larger dog that had Olive by the throat and grabbed him in something akin to a headlock, a maneuver she learned from a police officer after her own dog suffered “a terrifying attack” two years previous. The dog released his grip on Olive, allowing Edwards to slip the leash on him and pull him away. She said she realized how impulsive her response was when the momentum of the dog letting go knocked her backwards on the street.
“I realized this dog could turn around and bite me, which I was glad he didn’t but I don’t think I would have changed my response because I couldn’t just stand there and not do anything or wait for it to play out in front of me when I felt like I could have made a difference,” Edwards said.
Olive, the Bernedoodle
With Olive free, Edwards identified herself to Goddu as a veterinary student and asked if he wanted her to examine Olive’s wounds. He agreed. The trauma to Olive’s throat and back where the second dog attacked her was superficial, but Goddu followed Edwards’ advice and took Olive to the emergency room at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for a more thorough exam. While still reticent to leave the house for walks, Olive is recovering well, he said.
“Grace’s courage, quick thinking, and veterinary knowledge made an enormous difference in a moment of crisis,” Goddu said in a letter to CVM Dean Lisa Nolan praising Edwards’ response. “Her willingness to put herself at risk to help an animal in need speaks volumes about her character and the caliber of students in your program. Because of her actions, Olive is alive today.”
While she doesn’t recommend jumping in the middle of a dog fight, Edwards said her previous experience with her own dog and her training equipped her to respond effectively when her skills were needed.
“I think I just saw my neighbor who needed help, and I ran out there to see what I could do and jumped in, which I would like to think anyone would do who feels like they could make a difference. I feel like we have been trained a little bit more than the general public to handle aggressive dogs,” Edwards said. “I don’t want to say I’m not afraid of aggressive dogs. I’m definitely more afraid of aggressive cats.”
Her plans after graduation are, as one might infer, flexible. A native of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Edwards said she’s likely to return home to North Florida and establish her own practice, eventually.
That practice could focus on small animals or horses. “I think I’m still pretty undecided, which makes me nervous because everyone else seems like they’re completely decided, but I feel like that’s how it normally has gone for me,” she said.
